The 3rd A: My Nerd

 The 3rd A: My Nerd

Untied shoelaces, the sixth floor, 

For the first time - I scrolled through my pictures

Reminiscing on being together,

My little brother chose him,

picked him as the favorite;

even my dad liked him,

called him 'man bun' with endearment.

Peanut butter and a gallon of milk

My mom saw how we look at each other, read 

my essay of an email and approves more daily

Dragon stickers, neck pains

Laughter as entwined as our fingers. 

We have years to catch up on

Full-body hugs, ankles crossed,

forehead kisses and tickling ribs

Class schedules memorized, so often just two

against the world, dinners and dorm rooms

Friends mock us, making dirty jokes,

the teasing never stops, I hope we never do

The 2nd A Slug

 The 2nd A Slug

Those last semester pictures;

I posthumously notice how I leaned 

away from him, attention ramrod straight ahead.

Against my will, thoughts of 

him, face cringes, pulls disgust. 

Frogs still decorate my room, gifts

hold no emotional attachment,

because attraction never existed with him,

emotions were passive at best.

Engineers are fine,

but I'll gag at the mention.

My family calls him slug ugly

I laugh along, not regretting,

just wishing it had been shorter. 

I'll never get those two months back.

A nasty part of me celebrates:

the holiday breakup,

a chipped tooth,

those awkward (for him) avoidances.

I moved on the day after,

only fought against the loss of friends for a week

Because 

I found someone better because of him. This

final thought, a cementing thanks, but no more

waste of brain space

The 1st A Bore

The 1st A Bore

He was fine, never more than

passing interaction. 

I don't see him around campus 

but even if I did, hellos would elapse 

emotionless 

and

painless.

Broke up in five minutes. 

I don't remember any of our conversations.

I knew about him from my

sister; his mouth was too focused on mine. 

There's no association with his name,

barely a photo in my phone.

I don't consider him my first anything.

Present on a technicality.

Second Week

Causality of routine

Quiet settling, four chairs,

one warm. Both ears full

of serenades to other deep sighs

A text home dries the leak

of a student, alone

Still content, happy in a

different Routine

NaNoWriMo

 Hi!

As some of you may know, November is National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo). I've known about it for some time, but it always seemed like too big of a project to tackle, especially since November is a big month for school assignments. Not to mention my side projects of training service dogs and learning Korean.

But this year, I'm trying something new! Since the beginning of the month, I've been trying to write everyday and so far my Work-In-Progress is at about 7500 words! 

I literally decided to do NaNoWriMo at 9 PM on November 1st, with no characters, no ideas, and a whole lot of blank pages. For someone like me, who needs a set plan, was a really big deal. But I've had so much fun working through each step of the story and really finding my own creative voice. 

I'll try to keep you all posted on how NaNoWriMo goes and maybe, someday, I'll post my WIP.

Hugs,

Cairn 

Summer: Time

 Summer: Time

Summer before grad

pressure, everything 

to do, seeing all

but none;

ending afternoons inside

scrolling complacent

wanting more of 

the summer idea

Fear Not, Fear Night

Fear Not, Fear Night 

A most beautiful time, filled

with moonlight and intrigue, and calm. 

But for half, also filled 

with danger and nerves. 

Dark is where most is concealed. Concealing love 

and terrifying shadows, 

shadows connected to fear

ones that disappear never 

shadows with bone and blood 

and the soul of unstoppable. 

But for half does the night carry such terror

Only for half

Unmet but Known

Unmet but Known

I didn't know you but I admire you

Chance never taken

We've existed in the same space before

Words never spoken

My friends were your friends

Names never exchanged

I learned your plans, our paths may have crosses

Hands never shaken

I know those who wear your name, always

And those who mention you often

I think throughout all, about who would have been,

could have been

Now a hero, to those who remember, who care, who know

Even if the chance to know has passed

Martial Art

Sleeves snap, thunder of heavy bags

Labored breathing of many

Individuals work and learn, instructors roam

Sharp connections of foot and hand

Crisp movements, each organized and uniform

Tradition flows through each student, 

connection to old and others

Containment (Part 2)

Kya

I was close, only a little bit more. I reached to radio for back up, but my fingers had only grazed the radio when the person I was chasing took a sharp turn. Directly into a brick wall. 

Frozen in surprised horror, I watched the figure slide down the wall, completely unconscious.

Hysterical laughter rising in my chest, my brain went into overdrive. Oh my god, I did this. I made this person slam themselves into a wall. What if I killed him?

I shook myself out of my head. I had to do something. And quickly.

Okay, Kya, think. What's the biggest problem right now? 

Duh, my brain says, it's the unconscious guy. 

"Thanks, brain," I say out loud. "Okay, after that, I need to get my cohort off my tail." I was pacing now, running my hands over my braided hair.

Right then, my radio crackled to life, "L-19, do you copy? What's your status?"

Great.

"I copy, Y-34, my status is," I breathe hard and fast into the radio, hoping to trick them into thinking I'm moving. "My status is still in pursuit of a single person, late teens early twenties. Easy catch and release. I've got this one handled, Cap."

Please buy this. 

"Copy that, L-19. Cohort 12 is moving into the Siena district, follow when able."

I breathe heavy into the radio again. "Understood, Cap. I will follow when able."

Thank the bees that we were spread thin this week, Cap would never let me go off alone normally. 

I watch my GPS tracker for a moment, making sure my cohort moves into the next district, then I pull the plug. The screen flashes, first showing a warning message, then going black. Next, I pull the antennae off and take the batteries out of my radio. Hopefully, they'll buy this.

Now, back to the unconscious guy.

Containment (Part 1)

Kya

It was so empty.

"No signs of life on the outside, Cap." My voice reverberated off the houses. Man, it never failed to unnerve me. The emptiness was suffocating, and almost scary.

I mean, I knew there were people in every one of the houses I passed, but the lack of movement was strange.

There! A shadow had shifted. Someone was outside.

"You there! By the alleyway. Stop!" I quickened my pace to catch up. "You are now under local government jurisdiction and must undergo testing. Please remain still as the team prepares," I shouted out my memorized and state-approved speech as I approached the figure. Most people didn't really mind the government testings, they figured it was better to protect the weak.

I was less than a yard away from the figure when they finally turned to face me. Most of their face and body was covered. The only thing exposed was their brown eyes. Their eyes bore into me before they turned and took off running.

"Cap, we got a loose one! I'm starting pursuit!" Keeping my eyes on the brown-eyed person, I took off running.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Milo

Oh my god, this was the worst decision of my life. I should have stayed inside. Why didn't I stay inside?

Even though I was running as fast as I could, I could feel the tears well up in my eyes.

"Milo, you are so so stupid. Mom is going to call you the biggest burro ever."

I glance over my shoulder and see the disease-control soldier chasing me. The two seconds of eye contact intimidated me so much I never wanted to see face to face again.

"Stop running!" She was gaining on me, and she didn't even sound out of breath. I don't want to admit it, but that scared me. A lot.

A little farther, Milo. There! An opening in the wall of houses. 

Pirate of the Sands

Dedicated To Samantha, My Favorite Atiny

Sand, why'd it have to be sand. I would have preferred a bog full of smelly moss. But no, it had to be sand. And it was scorching hot sand, too.

At least I wasn't in the sand for the time being. My current situation wasn't much better.

I was stuck backward riding on a camel, tied to my captor. The one who captured me was a massive man, almost as big as the camel and smelled about the same. Not that I minded, I was used to stinking and being surrounded by stink.

I squirmed in my bindings, half trying to get a little more comfortable and half trying to get my body away from him.

My jailer's gruff voice came quickly. "No use. Stay still." He managed to kick his boot into my leg. How? I wasn't sure.

Giving in to the stubborn spirit that got me into this mess in the first place, I continued to move and writhe my body.

After what seemed like hours on the backs of the camel and the captor who was almost a camel, we arrived at "the place" as my jailer referred to it. I was beginning to think he wasn't too bright.

While I was still caught up in thinking about my captor's brain powers, I hadn't noticed the group of other men that had come to assist my man. All of them appeared as big and brawny as the first one I had had the pleasure of meeting.

I watch them trade payments as well as trinkets my jailer had brought back. While they all seemed distracted, I worked on cutting the ropes that held me. They had checked me for weapons when they first picked me up but forgot to keep their own weapons out of reach. Oh well!

There! I cut through, but I could see that the group was started to disperse. Unfortunately, that meant the attention was turning towards me.

"Hello, boys. Nice to see you all came out to greet me!" I called out in my cheeriest voice.

"Shut up, water scum," was their response.

"Alrighty, I guess I'll just be going then. As I'm clearly not wanted here." Lithe as one of my mousing cats, I jumped down from the camel and waved.  I managed to snag one of the bags of rations as I turned to run into the sand. Clearly, this was their first time kidnapping, as they left all of their supplies on the camel.

Then, slinging my stolen bag over my shoulder, I was running. When I dared look over my shoulder the looks of shock were honestly enough of a reward I was willing to be stuck in the sand for the next few days. They didn't even try to chase me! And I quickly found out why.

Apparently, running in sand was hard. Really hard. I made it over just two dunes before my strength left me and I collapsed into the scorching sand.

"That's strange," I thought. "Sand shouldn't be this hard to run in." I picked up my hand, examining the specks that stuck to my hand. I had seen many different types of sand tracked onto my ship. But these grains looked strange and completely different than anything I'd ever seen. They were green in color and they all seemed to be a uniform square shape. I scooped up a handful of the sand, checking for more of the green particles. And when I looked, I saw something more disturbing than anything I could have imagined. The green sands were not only strangely shaped but they were also taking over regular sand, turning normal sand from brown to green.

Dropping the sand immediately and standing, I tried to get all the sand I could off, fearing that I'd be next to be turned green. I needed to get out of here, as quickly as possible.

Okay. Okay. Okay. I got this, now think. I was spinning around in the sand, almost shaking with anxiety and nervous energy. I was SO completely out of my element.

Then, it hit me. Sand, and deserts, were just dry oceans. Oceans are my thing. All I needed was a ship. And I knew just where to get my desert ship.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watching people walk around aimlessly got boring, really really fast. If only I hadn't tried to fit one more lot of crates into my ship. I could still be on my ship, with my crew, with the winds and the storms. No. I shook my head. I had to focus.

It had taken me hours to walk the same sand I'd traveled over just days before. I think that the weird green sands were draining me of more energy now that I knew they existed. I was still thinking about the strange properties of green sand when a shout from my captor's camp brought me back to reality.

"You there! New boy, are we ready to go?" The burly man I had guessed was the leader was now shouting a variety of orders around the camp.

Here was my chance, to sneak just one camel away and then travel a day or two behind them, making them lead me back to the port. Or if that didn't work, go the exact opposite direction.

I moved slowly towards the corral where the camels were kept, keeping my eyes on the group of bandits. Just like when I had escaped, they weren't paying attention to their surroundings.

Low to the ground, I slipped into the camel pen. The camels barely opened their eyes to see the intruder, probably because I left as quickly as I came.

There, in the makeshift closet, hanging on the wall was one of the few items I always carried with me. My carpet.

I stood to grab it off the hook when the door was swung open. I whirled around. It was the new boy the bandits had been bossing around.

He looked as surprised as me. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Okay, I'll let you in a secret. This carpet," I gestured to my carpet, still hanging off the hook, "will take us anywhere we want. And now that I've told you, I'm going to have to kill you."

The new kid's eyes widened, "please. I'm begging you, don't kill me."

"Convince me not to." I flicked my wrist, bringing the stolen knife into my hand.

I didn't think it possible, but the kid's eyes widened even more. He was just stammering now. I would feel awful killing this kid or even tying him up. I'm sure the other bandits would not be kind to him once they saw the carpet had been stolen.

After a moment more, I gave into my pity. "Say, kid. What's your name?"

"S-san. My name is San."

"Alright, San. What would you say if I offered to take you with me on my fancy carpet?" As I offered this to the kid, I stuck my knife into the wall and reached to pull the carpet down. "I could use a new deckhand."

"Please, I'll do anything." The kid, San apparently, regained his voice enough to answer.

"Perfect," I turned, tossed the carpet to the floor and sat down. "Hop on, San."

He obeyed without question and I commanded the carpet to fly us back to my ship. Finally.

We burst out of the closet, making enough noise to startle the bandits. I threw back my head and laughed. I felt San give a half-hearted wave before tightening his grip on the edges of the carpet.

As we flew up into the bright blue desert sky, I shouted a question back to San. "Will you be my friend?"

The Shimmering Dark (Part 3)

Well, I thought I had turned away from it. But there it was in front of me again. Strange.

Shaking my head, wondering what kind of strange mess of a world I had stumbled into. I turned around again. But there was the curtain. Again

Okay, this is really getting strange now, I thought to myself. I tried again and again, to no avail. Maybe I can trick it, I thought, so I spun around in a circle, trying to be smart.

Now, I realize that was my greatest and dumbest mistake. And for next time this happened, I learned that when you encounter a giant, dark, shimmering, grandma curtain on your way home from school, don't try to trick it.

As soon as I started spinning, I couldn't stop. I was caught in a painful rotation. My hands were pinned at my sides and I couldn't move my head a centimeter in any direction.

All I could move was my eyes, so I did. Desperately.  I tried to focus on one spot or at least get an understanding of when was going on around me. Then with dread settling in my stomach, I saw that, around me the curtain began to change and curve onto itself. Curving all around me, I realized. And I was stuck in the middle, spinning without a way of stopping. I noticed with horror, to my left, the curtain had completed its circle. I made one last, desperate attempt to stop the spinning when I was plunged into the darkness.

After what felt like an eternity and at least a thousand turns, I felt my body slow its rotations. Whatever the hold the curtain had released and my legs caved under my own weight. In the pitch darkness, my eyes tried hopelessly to adjust and see my surroundings but wherever I seemed to be, was devoid of light.

Just then I was proven wrong. What seemed like light was starting to filter in from somewhere. And as my eyes continued to try and adjust, I saw the horror of where I really was.

The Shimmering Dark (Part 2)

Well, technically never expected to see in real life.

Let me explain that. At this point in my life, I was used to my unusually vivid dreams. Most of them were just random conglomerations of bits of my daily life combined with a completely nonsense plot-line.

But this thing in front of me something that often showed up in my dreams. I had always chalked it up to some sort of sci-fi idea my brain figured I needed. But now, staring it down, it was definitely something I didn't need.

Whatever this dream thing was, it was almost as tall as a skyscraper and at least as long as two schools stuck together. And it was just floating in the middle of my neighborhood.

I pondered it for another second. Actually, it looked like a giant grandma had strung her dark curtain across the street. Weird.

Once making that connection, I probably stared at it for ten minutes, with a mixture of fear, pure annoyance, and maybe a little excitement.

I started to think, maybe I could finally be like those kids in the books. The ones who got to go on all sorts of wild, exciting adventures. Traveling across magical lands or flying through space.

The insane, impulsive voice chimed in, saying do it! Be who you've idolized!. And my heart sided with that little voice.

No! I thought, I'm not going to just walk through a giant grandma curtain because my heart wants to be a book character. I'll probably die anyway.

Despite all my internal reckoning, I let myself stare at it for a few more minutes.

Then I turned from the curtain and took the other path home.

The Shimmering Dark (Part 1)

Something in the air was different today.

Something in the ground was different today.

Something was changing the world around me.

Making existence heavier, deeper, darker.

The feeling changed in intensity almost constantly, fluctuating in power. Sometimes, but rarely, it just felt as if I had eaten too much. But most of the day it had felt as if this heaviness was trying to push me into the dirt, so hard that I would cease to exist.

I tried all day to shake it off and go through my day as normal as possible, going through the motions with classes, friends, teachers, but every moment felt so off somehow.

In every breath in and out.

In every twitch of my hand

Every heartbeat keeping me alive

Every muscle movement was wrong.

Everything is wrong, my body was screaming at me. Get out, it said, get away from this place and never come back.

I was so tired by the time school was over. I just wanted to get home, get food, and hide under my covers until this awful feeling went away. Or until my mom forcefully pulled me out for dinner. Whichever came first.

I was still lost in a sort of mentally drained daydream when I saw something so awful I felt as if my body was shocked into another dimension. All thoughts of what I was going to do when I got home fell away.

What was in front of me was so glaringly wrong. It was so wrong that on the first actually beautiful day of the year, whatever this was had to appear. In the middle of my little Montana neighborhood, was something I never expected to see. And it was awful.

Alone in Manteiv

It was strange, how I didn't fit in here, even though I should, even though I thought I would. 

I adored it here, don't get me wrong. I loved walking the streets, watching the sun rise and set, learning as much as I could about the culture, the language, and the people. But despite how much I loved it, it didn't love me back.

I had moved to Manteiv to study, more specifically study the language. So I did. Now I can say confidently that I am nearly fluent with the standard dialect and I'm learning the other dialects slowly. 

At least, school is easy here, for me at least. The tests match how I remember information so I ace one after another. But school quickly gets lonely if every day is spent alone, alone but surrounded by people staring at me. 

I tried to make friends, I really did. I talked to kids in my classes. The kids in my neighborhood. I talked to the kids that hang out in the parks after dark. The kids that worked in the convenience stores near my apartment. Most of the time they were pleasant and curious, making small talk with me, but as much as I tried none of them really wanted to be friends. 

So I was alone, but I was working on it. I stayed in touch with my friends from home, keeping those friendships strong. And I wasn't going to stop trying to make friends here, eventually I will find that person that won't stare at me, amazed at my skin. And I will make a dear friend with that person, so that even if our friendship falls apart, I will have hope that I can find another person, who won't stare.

Lies and Liars (Part 4)

Once I realized that I only had two choices, the decision was easy.

I would go to Etia and give Alaska Hess her book myself or face punishment from the Elders, exile or... worse.

Immediately, I started, a solid plan motivating me to move, pack, work as fast as possible. In a flurry of action, I packed all I thought I would need. Food, clothes, tools, and of course, Alaska Hess's book.

OK, I thought, staring out into the black abyss of space, Etia the corner of my vision, you can do this. 

I stepped off what had been my work, my home, my one safe place in the universe and I fell into space.

And I fell.

And fell.

And fell.

I fell.

I didn't grow up wanting to be a mechanic, nobody did in Etia. No, being a mechanic was reserved for the people who were deemed damaged goods, damaged brains. The people who didn't fit into Etia's perfect ideal of a lifestyle. Most often, mechanics were low-level criminals, people who stole, people who vandalized, the one's with desperate minds, the hidden needy. 

I hadn't been desperate because of being poor or hungry, nobody was on Etia. I was desperate because I needed an escape and that wasn't allowed. 

From afar, Etia was paradise. Nobody was hungry, poor, cold, disadvantaged. But if anyone from the Creches bothered to look into what was actually happening, they would find that Etia wasn't as perfect as it was designed to be. 

Everything from sports to hobbies to school had at least seventeen rules in place to supposedly keep it running smoothing. But with the rules, I always felt closed in, restricted to the point of death by suffocation. 

So I rebelled. At first it was little things like putting away my school supplies a little bit different, then taking notes different, then not taking notes at all. I kept pushing my limits to see what I could do different. I never got caught, probably because no one cared to look at what I did anymore. 

Then, I pushed too hard. Hard enough to break.

And when it broke, my whole life collapsed around it. 

And I fell.

Maybe poems

Silver Hawk
The bright silver gas-hawk,
stark against navy clouds,
humming and buzzing far above

Darkness warming
The morning sun warms my dark clothes,
the grass beneath my toes soothes my frozen skin,
the birds flit by and sing, brightening my eyes and ears,
the life and love around me warms my darkened heart

After The Swim
Stiff skin, damp hair,
smell of chlorine in the air

Still Threatening
Surrounded on all sides by trees,
bigger and better than us,
we stood our ground and claimed our fame

Trying To Be Still
Grinding of a distant engine,
burrows into my thoughts,
interrupting my peace of self

Above The Birds
High above the warm earth,
the clouds cast gray-blue shadows

Before Sun
Covered in sticky sunscreen,
car loaded with toys and fun,
off we go into the sun

Burning Lake
Pointed silver wings
red hot walls carved
into waves of sunstone

Hard Rock Life
Rocks abound, deep green water,
determined plants, grow a little smarter

Naked Chickens

Coming home to this place still gave me a feeling of disbelief, as if ever after seven months of living in the castle on the hill, my brain still couldn't comprehend it. Shaking my head, I finished pulling my car into the garage.

Everything about living in a castle was amazing! From elegantly walking down the stairs just to feel fancy to the food to sliding down the ancient hallways hand in hand with Archer. I smiled remembering my first few nights in the castle.

Archer and I had only been married for a couple of hours. And still, I felt as if I was walking on water every second because of how impossible the whole matter was. A servant girl marrying the prince of one of the strongest nations in the world? No way could that ever happen, much less to a luck-less human being like myself.

When I walked into the kitchen, I snapped out of my memories by the sudden onslaught of smells. The kitchen was my second favorite place in the castle, and it always smelled amazing! Multiple foods were being waved in my face for me to taste. Without even thinking about it, I opened my mouth to the flood of amazing food. Feeling way too full for so early in the morning, I waved to my friends and continued on.

Honestly, even though the walk from the garage to my rooms was almost ten minutes, I enjoyed every minute of it. Just the act of walking through the hustle and bustle of castle life is completely calming after my day at work.

I finally reach my rooms and instantly collapse on my oh-so-soft bed. "Archer?" My voice is muffled by the mattress. I sit up and call out again. "Archer?"

A faint voice responds to my call from three rooms away. "Yeah? Come here!"

I pad through the rooms towards him, socks buffeting the cold tile. When I walk in his room, he is sitting sprawled on the couch, hands over his eyes, his laptop thrown opposite him.

"Oh, dear." I'm already giggling. "What has happened here?" I move his legs and sit down.

Without opening his eyes, he wraps his arms around me. "I just Googled what chickens look like without feathers, and I'm severely uncomfortable."

I laugh at the sheer absurdness, the prince of a powerful country, broken by a naked chicken.

"Don't laugh! It's freaky!"Archer point to the open laptop, "Look! Just look!"

Still laughing a little, I reach and pull the laptop to me. Right in the middle of the screen is a living but plucked-looking chicken. Everything about the picture is made slightly off by the weirdness of a naked chicken. "You're right, it's really weird." But not weird enough to warrant this reaction from a prince.

"I know!" Archer finally opens his soft eyes to look at me.

I close the laptop and put it down on the coffee table. I turn, so my arms can hug him comfortably and he rests his head on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't let any naked chickens get you."

Excuse you, Demon (Full)

An elderly woman sitting on a rocking chair opens a thick book and says, "This deary, is how I met the love of my life." She starts rocking and begins to read.

Feet pounding, I could slowly feel the weight of home's problems lift off my back. This feeling was the reason I ran every day. It felt as if I just kept running, all my problems would float out of my life and I would be free.

Running. It's my hobby, my past time, the only escape from the hell that is my life. It was the routine I needed when everything else fell apart.

As always, my mind wandered as my body pushed on. I knew the route so well that I often closed my eyes as I ran. Today, I thought about what my life would be like after school ended, after leaving my past behind me.

As I came up to the first curve, I opened my eyes. My eyes caught something unexpected. Within the shadows of both the approaching night and the tall trees overhead, hid a person. Or maybe it wasn't.

I stopped short, more out of surprise than of fear. The figure was shaking with seemingly silent tears, its face buried in it's hands.

Oh no. As always, one of my ill-timed sneezes tickled my nose. "Ah-choo!" The sneeze burst out of me like a water balloon hitting its target.

At my sudden noise, the figure jumped and turned around with a screech of surprise and terror. Somehow, I managed to hold back my own scream.

Now that I could fully see the figure, I realized how otherworldly it was. It was a basic human-like shape, but every possible detail was strange and different. The skin was a ghostly gray and was decorated with orange, moving tattoos that almost looked like portals. From its head sprouted two horns, similar looking to deer antlers. Dangling from one horn was the most unlikely accessory, a fedora. The figure's eyes locked on mine.

Now feeling very uncomfortable and slightly scared, I cleared my throat and timidly said, "Excuse me, Mr. Alien, sir?"The second the words came out of my mouth, the figure's face morphed into a mask of anger and resentment.

"Excuse you, I'm a DEMON." A raspy voice replied indignantly. "How typical, humans not knowing the difference between an other-world creature and an outer-world creature." The demon muttered under his breath.

Now, I'm a person who gets angry relatively easily, but some things send me over the edge more than others. Two things in the top five are muttering under your breath and assumptions. This so-called demon was making me very angry very fast,

I squared my stance and curled my hands into fists. "Excuse you, you rude demon," I scoffed on the word demon, making the fury in my voice even more evident. "Two points. One, how in the world am I supposed to know the difference between a demon and an alien if I've never seen either. And two, I honestly can't take you seriously in that stupid fedora." My voice rose sharply and I nearly shouted the last word.

The demon's face seemed to crumble as I finished my rant. The tears that had disappeared when I scared the demon came back full force. The previously sure-of-himself demon flopped on the ground, in a waterfall of tears.

Now collapsed on the trail, the demon began to speak between gasps of teary breath. "I'm... sorry I assumed... that you.. were being... ignorant. I...I... I'm sorry I spoke so rudely. And... and about the fedora,... I can't... actually get it off. Some... kids stuck it... on my horn... and I can't... reach it." The demon buried his face in his hands again and sobbed more forcefully than before.

Apparently, all of my good choices have gone out the window at this point. I sat down next to the shaking demon and awkwardly patted his back. "Well, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gotten so angry at you. You really weren't that rude."

We sat like that for a while, me feeling awkward and out of place and him too busy crying to care about much else. Finally, I stood and shook off the trail dust. I turned and offered my hand to the recently dry-eyed demon. "I've got a run to finish. Wanna come with me?"

"Really? After all that and after you know what I am, you still want to be around me?" He sniffled and blinked up at me.

"Yeah, I guess so. You don't seem like too bad of an alien."  We both smiled at the joke. He reached up and grabbed my offered hand and stood.

"Alright, explain this human concept of running to me."

After much explained and testing to see if demons could run, we were ready to set off. "All right, one last thing before we start, there is a bit of a uniform to running." He looked at me confused. "No fedoras!" With a laugh, I reached up and pulled the hat from his horns, ripping it more in the process. "Done! Let's go!!" We dashed off together.

"The end." The elderly lady closes the books with a dreamy look on her face. "Actually what the book doesn't say is that we ended up running all the way to his house, where I meet the rest of his family and what was eventually my family after we got married." She smiles at the also elderly demon beside her, squeezing his hand.

"And that's really the end of the story." They say together.