by Zara Zenia
4
Egrix cursed under his breath in his native tongue.
"What the hell is this?" He held his hand against his chest feeling his heartbeat slow its pace with each breath. "Why am I doing this to myself?"
He glanced over his shoulder, looking through the wall of his pod. The material of his campsite was specially crafted on his planet to be impenetrable from the outside, both visually and physically, but was easy to dismantle from inside and translucent like glass. Cara sat at the table with her hands folded together waiting for him. Egrix let his eyes linger for a moment, confused and irritated by the emotions that she sparked within him. He shook his head to clear, it then went to collect some of the human clothes he'd been given by the union.
The pod door opened again, and Cara looked over toward him, that smile lighting her face again. He'd pulled his hair back in a ponytail with a rubber band, revealing a pair of gold hoops dangling from what she'd called his elfish ears. He'd dressed in a simple black tank top that draped loosely over a pair of slim jeans. He'd left his feet bare, he was in his own space after all, she was the intruder here. Cara focused her attention on his six toes, and he had to wonder what she was thinking. He strolled back to the seat across from her, perching casually on it with his eyes on her.
"Okay, Cara was it?" Egrix tried to pretend he was trying to remember the name she had given him..
She nodded but at the sound of her name, she seemed a little dazed. As if he'd stolen her voice, which he knew he had not done.
Instead of questioning her on her voice, he asked, "Would you like me to introduce myself first?"
Her cheeks took on a warm pink hue and she glanced down at the table. "Uh, yes please." Her gaze bounced between his eyes and her hands on the table in front of her.
He smirked at her cute, awkward response. "My people are called Daxians. Our planet, Braxis, is a part of developed space, where we adhere to certain agreements and laws for those who have discovered and explored interplanetary travel. As most planets go, yours is quite underdeveloped, which is why I was sent here. I work for the Spacing Guild which is currently making efforts to reach out to other planets for interplanetary trade within and outside of developed space. Essentially, I'm here to study Earth and its inhabitants, specifically humans as the species with the highest intelligence."
"So, space travel is common and regulated elsewhere in the universe?" she asked inquisitively.
He could feel himself relaxing into the familiar feeling of conversation after several months of loneliness in this hidden corner of Earth. "Yes, though it is a lifetime away with your people's current technological advances."
"Okay, and you're here to trade with us?"
Egrix shook his head. "No, not exactly. Making contact and working out trade agreements is another department. I'm only here for market research. I'm meant to infiltrate humanity and find what benefit could be gleaned from a trade agreement. It's an extended stay mission."
"Infiltrate? How are you meant to do that as an alien? If an average person saw you there inclination wouldn't be to work with you. I mean… you're… you look like an alien, you'd stand out." Cara seemed to be processing his words, but she also seemed somewhat bewildered and overwhelmed by the idea of him and the Spacing Guild as a whole.
"I can disguise myself as a human if I need to get supplies or integrate myself and finish the job." He pointed at an item latched on to the upper portion of his ear, barely visible if you didn't know it was there. Cara looked at him with confusion as he pointed out the piece of alien technology unable to stop the turbulence in her head from showing on her face.
"Then why weren't you disguised when you met me?" She tilted her head to the side as she asked, clearly unable to understand the strange person sitting across from her.
Egrix blushed with a mix of embarrassment and guilt for his earlier actions. His knew his cheeks were probably glowing gold with the heat in his face. Cara stared at him with a look of awe and clearly seemed to forget what they were talking about, at least until he answered, "I don't really like using it," he said bashfully, "and I don't really like humans much either. I was honestly hoping to scare you away."
"If you don't like humans, why would they send you to Earth then?" Cara seemed at a loss with the opposing information Egrix was sharing with her. "I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time understanding why you're here. You don't like us but you came here to study us so you could report on trade possibilities. However, now, because you don't like humans, you aren't able to do your job and are just staying in this cave? I feel all mixed up, am I missing something?" She looked confused by him and he couldn't blame her.
Egrix looked down into his lap, ashamed. "No, you're right to be confused. If it were someone else from the union they wouldn't have blown their cover and, if they had, they would be able to explain this to you better. The problem is that I am conflicted about this job. I didn't actually want to come here." He remembered the pleased smirk on his superior's face when he told Egrix about the assignment to this planet, knitting his eyebrows together in anger.
"Then why did they send you?"
Egrix looked up at the human across from him, an endearing look of concern decorating her face. She was so interesting. He didn't find her feisty, cute, empathetic personality as off putting as he, admittedly, wanted to. He stared at her face for a few seconds, trying to figure out what he should do next with the nosey woman sitting in his campsite. He didn't want to tell her the truth, out of spite or pride he wasn't sure, but he couldn't convince himself to kick her out either.
"It doesn't matter. I'm assigned to remain on Earth for twenty rotations, or twenty years as you call it." He could feel the melancholy expressed on his face and avoided eye contact with Cara, wanting desperately to escape the conversation he'd willingly started.
"I'm sorry, Egrix." She caught him off guard again, offering so much kindness to him as she sweetly spoke his name. "I don't know if I can do much but let me help you while I'm visiting my parents." She smiled gently, a gleam of hopeful sincerity glistening in her clear blue eyes through the lenses of her glasses.
"You are very strange, Earth girl." Egrix laughed a little, the melancholy lingering in his voice. Cara had somehow managed to entirely enamor him. "Alright, I'll let you help me if you promise not to bother me too much. I may not be physically studying the planet, but I have been researching with your primitive computers, so no interruptions unless you have something to offer me."
Cara giggled and it sounded like tinkling bells. "Deal! What do you need to know?"
Egrix studied Cara for a moment, inquisitively. She could actually make this easier for him, having years of experience where he could only rely on his current impressions. He decided to test her, at the very least. "Right now I'm paying attention to what's currently traded amongst your people to get an idea of what is commonly produced for the exclusive purpose of marketing. I'm finding that there is a level of seasonality that is making the data a little difficult, so I'm narrowing things down categorically to try to get a base of organization to send to headquarters as an update."
"Categories of physical trades between the average human or is it more than that? Do you need to report on nonphysical trade and corporation production too?"
"Yes, the important thing is to be able to narrow down what could be useful outside of your world and what could be produced in a capacity that the trade would be possible. Obviously, a good starting place is what is already available, but I have to track possible trades based on all of Earth's resources. That includes understanding availability and ability to produce on a large scale, what exports might need some middle man, whether interaction is possible to instigate the production and trade process. It's a pretty involved study. You could help me understand what is available and used by humans as a starting perspective."
"Okay, I will do my best!" Cara gave a little salute, as she grinned back at him, her eyes alight with glee. "This time of year humans on this
continent are very focused on seasonal trade because we have a lot of holidays around the end of the year with certain traditions. In the United States, because we're so diverse, we have several religious and other holidays, so depending on the culture, or religious background, there's Hannukah, Christmas, and then um, Kwanzaa and Boxing Day, that one's not religious I don't think, nor is New Year's, but that's January first. Here in the United States, we had our Thanksgiving holiday last month, but I think that's just an American holiday, while those others I mentioned are celebrated around the world."
Egrix grimaced at her mention of Christmas, something that had taken over his current research, despite his attempts to avoid the distasteful event.
"Christmas is probably one of the most celebrated holidays around the world. In America people get pretty into it, even those who are non-religious tend to celebrate some aspect of it, so it's a very large market here for the last three months of the year. I imagine that's something you've noticed in your research."
"Yes, I have been engulfed in this Christmas experience," he agreed bitterly. "It is atrocious."
Cara lifted her wide eyes to his and seemed to be taken aback at his opinion. "It can be a little overwhelming and overdone sometimes, but it's also a lot of fun." She must have seen the spark of irritation in the his expression because she frowned as if she didn't understand how he could come to such a conclusion. "It would be really exciting for those of us who celebrate this holiday to trade traditional holiday items across the cosmos, and I know humans would be ecstatic to search for prospective alien Christmas gifts."
Egrix scoffed aggressively, pulling his arms across his chest and turning his annoyed expression away from her small face. "Yeah right. Space trade isn't for pathetic practices of social exchange because that would be a waste of time and resources. Your human holidays are ridiculous, and I can assure you the planets in the union have no use for them."
He glanced back at her to see her face contorted in outrage. Cara's cheeks had a red sheen across them with her eyebrows pulled close together, creating a tiny wrinkle at the top of her nose. A small frown lay on her face, pulling the corners of her lips down and making them purse slightly with her frustration. He looked away again, aggravated that she was angry with him, and even more so because her expression was so cute. What a nuisance.
"You are completely missing the point of the holiday!" she demanded. "It's no secret that consumerism takes advantage of the season, and it's true that some only celebrate for that reason, but that's not what's important about the holiday!"
He scoffed, provoked into interrupting her. "No, of course that's not important. Causing humans unnecessary stress, wasting time, spending energy and resources only to push people to the point of committing suicide in unmatched numbers, that's what matters. This holiday is a precise example of why I don't like interacting with your species. You are all pathetic, selfish, shallow creatures. I'm surprised the Guild even wants to consider trading with you when you have so little to offer."
He stood up from the table, looking down on the human girl he had invited into the conversation with an almost sadistic look on his face. "I'm done for today, I need to focus my research elsewhere. If you want to be of some use to me you should forget about your silly human customs, the Guild has no need for them." He began to walk away from her, dismissing her presence and making it perfectly clear that he wouldn't deal with her obstinance if she were going to work for him.
"You're a very self-centered person, aren't you," she asserted.
Egrix stopped in his tracks. It seemed she was refusing to allow him the pleasure of thinking he held the power in their dynamic.
"Fine, I'll be going for today. If I come back, you should keep in mind that trade is between two parties. It doesn't matter how sure you are of your opinion, if you aren't willing to, at the very least, accept that people have the right to a different perspective you won't learn anything from us silly humans."
5
Cara sat up in bed, wrapping herself in the quilt her mom had made her when she became a part of the family. A yawn fell from her lips and she blinked, letting the memories from the day before flood her mind. She had stormed back to the mouth of the cavern, waited for her camera to finish, then packed it up after angrily leaving Egrix behind in his campsite then trekked back to her Jeep. It was just after dark and she was glad she remembered her flashlight as she made her way across the darkened sandy landscape. She couldn't wait to develop the hours of late sunlight she had been able to capture while in Egrix's cave. The image was going to be magical, she could feel it.
A twinge of concern sat in the back of her head after the way things had ended with the alien man. She wasn't sure if she should try to go back, but she definitely didn't want to think about it right then. She stood up, slipping some fuzzy, white slippers on her bare feet, and strolled out of her room toward the smell of breakfast.
The dining room was empty, save for a hot cup of coffee left abandoned on the table. Cara peeked her head around the kitchen door frame to find both of her parents hard at work on what was sure to be a magnificent breakfast. Her mom stood at the stove garnishing a small omelet in the pan in front of her. Next to her, her dad cut into a fresh loaf of bread, preparing to butter it. Cara watched the two make their simple toast and omelet breakfast with a huge smile on her face. She admired her parents immensely, feeling overwhelmingly grateful to be a part of their family.
"Good morning!" she sang, striding to the coffee pot to pour her morning dose of caffeine.
"Good morning, sweetheart!" her mother exclaimed brightly. "Are you hungry?"
Cara turned to lean her back against the kitchen counter, clasping her mug in her hands. "Starving! That smells so fantastic it woke me up."
"Well, there's plenty to go around," her father declared, pushing the lever on the toaster down. "Why don't you wait at the table, Cara Bear, we'll be done in just a minute, then we can have a nice morning gossip session," he said in a goofy accent.
The three chuckled at the ridiculous character he had emulated, then Cara left with her coffee to wait at the dining room table. The dark beverage reflected her gaze back to her as she contemplated what to do with her Saturday. The birds chirped outside the open bay window, flitting in and out of the trees that lined the driveway. She remembered sitting outside in the grass with her mother as she taught her to stitch. Her mom would sit Cara in her lap and wrap her arms round her to show her how to gently and methodically move the needle, layering her with praise whenever she was successful. The only thing she'd ever successfully made was a loosely threaded cat stuffed animal, but her mom had always cherished it.
Thinking about how hard her mom worked to do what she was passionate about, made Cara remember how determined she had been to become a photographer. She would go back to the beach later, she decided. She wanted to get more pictures, she told herself. She continued to avoid any unwanted thoughts of the grumpy alien man and the conflict she was sure to be faced with later. From the adjacent room she heard the toaster pop, and her parents bustled around to finish the meal. The two came into the room, plopping the plates on the table.
"What are the plans for today?" Cara wondered aloud.
"I don't have any," her mother responded as she sat down, her long dark hair escaping from the bun on her head in loose, curly tendrils that framed her face like a painting. "What about you, Dennis?"
She looked at him for his answer to find him staring back wide-eyed with his mouth full of food. He did his best to smile with his cheeks full and nodded vigorously. Cara laughed at her father's goofy expression while her mom rolled her brown eyes dramatically.
"The food isn't going anywhere, Dennis." Her mom laughed lovingly at her dad who blushed in response. Then she turned her attention to Cara. "I may get the Christmas decorations out, will you be home any earlier tonight?"
"I should be," she assured her mother. "I captured a beautiful sunset last night, so I'll do some daytime shots tod
ay. I was thinking about picking up some supplies to develop the shots too. I want to see how they turned out as soon as possible."
"Well then, I suppose we can do some decorating together when you get back."
"Maybe we can play some cards too," her dad cut in.
"That sounds lovely." Cara smiled, thrilled to be home with her family again. "I'll head out to do some shopping after breakfast then and I'll make sure to be home before dark."
After breakfast and a shower, Cara headed to town to collect some supplies. When she had discovered photography as a passion, she realized she preferred film cameras to digital and learned to develop photographs wherever she could, even going so far as to rearrange her bathroom so it could be used as her studio and dark room for years before going away to college. Now, whenever she visited home she only needed to buy whichever items needed to be replaced or replenished. She stored her purchases in a big black bin in the back of her car before heading back to the beach for another day of landscape photographing.
The walk was easy and familiar, as it had been the day before, but she carried her camera openly this time. She snapped amateur photos of anything interesting that drew her attention, intentionally stalling her progress toward the cave even though she didn't want to admit it. When she came to the rocky incline that led into that private corner of the beach, she tried to make excuses for why she didn't want to continue forward. Finally, she had to admit that she was worried about meeting Egrix again after the way things had ended the night before.
"Suck it up," she mumbled to herself, hating the pathetic feeling eating away at her stomach. After scaling the rocks with her gear, she walked toward the cave with her camera and peeked around the outer wall into the blackness beyond. She knew that there would be more light just beyond the dark void, but she was surprised to notice, again, that it was completely unnoticeable unless you ventured deep into the foreboding cavern. Seeing no sign of movement within, she snuck toward the hidden campsite, sticking close to the rock wall. As the cave floor sloped back upward and light began to penetrate the darkness again, Cara tucked herself into an alcove and observed Egrix's alien base, gauging her feelings about the situation.