shorts. That was a shame.
“You’ll have to forgive me. Our transport system can only move living organic matter and your clothes were most likely left behind when I brought you here. I also forgot how … modest human beings can be.”
I squinted up at the blue man, pushing back my amazement and disbelief over my current situation and asked.
“Is there any way you could turn down the lights? The glare in here is killing me.”
The blue man made several swift motions with his hands and suddenly the lights dimmed, but we were still surrounded by a brilliant white which seemed to pulse as if it were a heartbeat.
“Where am I?” I asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.
“You are on my ship. Its name would be impossible to pronounce it your language, so I will simply call it ship.”
“It’s alive?”
“Yes, ship is organic. They are my home world and they help us travel between universes … But before I answer any more of your questions, please answer mine: Where is Dale Huggins?”
“My Grandpa died. He died almost over five years ago. I figured with you kidnapping him so much you would’ve known that.”
The blue man’s face became slack and sorrowful. It almost looked like he was going to cry.
“It has been quite some time since I was last near your planet. I was not aware he’d moved onto another universe. I’m sorry did not get to say goodbye to him. He was my friend.”
“Your friend?” I said at a near shout. I couldn’t help myself, this blue man, this alien had destroyed my uncle. He had cost him everything. “You kidnaped him for years. You literally drove him crazy. He lost everything that matters because of you!”
I was on my feet, in the blue man’s face, and shaking with anger.
“I… I did not mean to do this to him. But it was necessary because of the nature of our mission I had to wipe his memory when I returned him to earth. When I would bring him back to the ship, I would restore his memories. But once he was on earth, he would have been in too much danger if I allowed him to remember. Just as if I allowed you to remember, Amanda.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You … You kidnapped me, too?”
I wanted to smash his face in. I wanted to tear his eyes out with my fingernails. This man … this thing had been kidnapping me for god knows how long!
“No, Amanda, not me, but another of my brothers. He was your trainer, just as I was Dale’s trainer. You and I … We were something else.”
“We were what?” My mind couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing. What he was saying to me made absolutely no sense.
“Here,” He said as he gently tapped his finger against my forehead. “Let me show you.”
Suddenly my mind flooded with images of me as a young girl, maybe only 8-years-old, being comforted by my Grandpa as a bald blue man with a thick yellow beard stood over us, and a blue boy stood next to him looking at me with concern in his eyes. Then I am older, maybe 12, I am sparring with the bearded man, Grandpa is fighting against the blue boy. The blue boy is fast, almost faster than the eye can see and he easily brings Grandpa down. I do the same to the bearded blue man. Next, I am 16, the blue boy and I sit holding hands, he kisses me, his hands explore my body and I explore his. We are both shy, but we love one another. Next, it is me at 18, I hold the blue boy as he cries. I wipe away his tears with my fingers, I kiss them away, but I tell him that I’m sorry, but I have to go away.
And just as suddenly, my mind snaps forward to now, my eyes fill with the boy who is now a man, D-Arin. HIs name is D-Arin and we’ve known each other since we were children. We’ve loved one another for just as long. As children, it was as brother and sister, but as we grew older, it became deeper. I pull D-Arin’s face to mine and I kiss his angelic lips. He is so