Beyond the Northern Lights by Arizona Tape

Author:Arizona Tape [Tape, Arizona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

Multiple weeks had passed since he met Ym'e and without fail, he had returned to the lake every night so he could shine up his spotlight. He had found an old piece of pool cover in his grandfather's basement and taped it over the glass, to give his beam a bluish hue. Just for good measure.

And so he sat in the frozen wasteland with only the alien’s thoughts and his own. Over the days that passed, he brought a dusty comforter with him that made his stupid chair slightly more comfortable. A cut-up pair of socks serviced as gloves so his fingers wouldn't freeze and an old piece of rubber had become a makeshift hot-water bag that gave him thirty extra minutes with Ym'e.

Over the past weeks, they had been talking non-stop. Ben taught her about all the silly things humans did and Ym'e absorbed every word like a sponge, hungry for more.

Why does paper win?

I... Ehmm... Because. That is the game. Rock wins from scissors, scissors from paper, and paper from rock.

But why?

I... Honestly don't know. That is just how I always played it.

Isn't ketchup technically a fruit smoothie?

Well... No... I don't think so... I mean, maybe?

Why is it called an apartment if the houses aren't apart?

Because... You are all living together, but apart?

Why is red stop and green go?

It just... Ehmm... Blood is red and blood means stop?

Why do you give each other sacks of air for your annual celebrations?

I... What?

Balloons.

Because... It is... Festive.

What is so romantic about flowers?

They are beautiful and it means you were thinking about your partner.

But the flowers are dead.

Yeah... But... They are pretty...

Why do human mates wear metal bands around their fingers?

Those are rings... It is to show the world that you are married to each other.

So they chain themselves together?

No, it is a symbolic bond.

How come you don't mate for life?

We do... Sometimes... It just doesn't always work out.

I don't think I understand.

I... Me neither, to be honest... Ben admitted, as he realised how illogical the world actually was. The more he talked to Ym'e and tried to explain the human ways, the more he got confused.

We Ythereann, we mate for life. At least... We used to.

But what if you fall out of love?

That doesn't happen. You live together or you die together. When we merge, we become one soul... And you can't possibly split apart after that... You wouldn't want to.

I... That must be nice.

Ben?

Yes?

Have you ever been in love?

Ben thoughtfully scratched his beard as he thought back to the girls he had dated. There was Rachel, his high school sweetheart, but as college approached, they just grew apart. Ellie, the girl that worked in his favourite coffee shop, whom he dated for a couple of months. And lastly, Jamila, the girl that smelled like sun and tasted like summer. He had loved spending time with them, but had he loved them? He wasn't sure.

I don't think so...

Me neither. What do you think it is like?

The young man curtly chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder that had grown stiff from the cold.

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