Page 6 of So I Married an Alien
Amara simply shrugs.“Who knows?That’s just the cycle of life.”
I sit back against the headrest, thinking this over.In my world, the cycle of life is to be born, to suffer for a while, and then to die.When you die, of course, you’re ejected from the ship without a pod.They stopped giving out pods a long time ago unless you’re one of the very wealthy.
Not even Earth is free of this inevitable destruction, I suppose.But at least it sounds beautiful on the way to death, and then there is thisspringshe mentioned, when it all comes back.
“I look forward to seeing it,” I tell her, attempting a version of a smile.
This seems to please her immensely.“Good.You’ll love it.And that time of year is Halloween?—”
“Halloween?”I repeat, trying to commit this to memory.The more I know and understand about Earth, the easier it’ll be for me to build a life here later.
“Oh, it’s thebestholiday,” Amara says, brightening even more.This time she does, thankfully, keep her eyes on the road.“Everybody cuts open pumpkins and carves faces into them.”
I hope that a “pumpkin” is not an animal of some kind.My translator supplies some kind of large, awkward fruit.
“What do you do with these pumpkins?That seems like a waste.”
“You put a candle in the pumpkin and then set it on your porch, so at night, it glows!Then you can see the scary face.Or happy face.Or whatever you want it to be.Some people do, like, really amazing pictures.”
She talks so fast that even my translator has a hard time keeping up, blending her words together until all I can picture is a fruit covered in ominously grinning faces.
But something about her voice… settles me.I can sense that she’s nervous, but she appears to be a kind enough human and is enthusiastic about our future.
I think this will work in my favor.
ChapterThree
Amara
Roth’kar listens attentivelyas I tell him all about Halloween and how kids dressed in costumes go from house to house, asking for candy.
“Trick-or-treat?”he asks.“The children are threatening to do something foul to you unless you bestow them some candy?”
I can’t help a laugh.“You’re right.The idea is kinda messed up.Guess it’s a good thing they’re just children.”
“Their smallness is deceptive,” he says in a very serious tone.
I give him an odd look, but I won’t be deterred from my enthusiasm about Halloween.“Still, it’s a really fun holiday, and I love seeing what costumes everyone is wearing!People also like to put out scary decorations.Like when the kids walk up, a witch screams.”
He looks bewildered.“The intention is to frighten?”
“Yes!That’s the whole point of Halloween.To get scared.People even pay to go to haunted houses to get scared out of their minds.”
“I cannot imagine such a thing asintentionallygoing to be frightened,” he says, shaking his head.“A Karthinian would avoid such a thing.One does not need the additional cortisol.”
“Well, you don’t have to do it.There are lots of fun Halloween activities.In Mexico, it’s called the Day of the Dead, and they have all these cool traditions…”
“Day of the Dead?”Roth’kar is aghast.“So obsessed with death, you humans!”
I clear my throat and decide to move on.“Halloween is at the end of October, so… in three weeks.And the parties, oh my god.You’ve never seen anything like it.My friend Marguerite throws this huge thing with bubbling cauldrons and spooky music, and everybody gets totally toasted.It’s so fun.”
“Toasted?”He squints, as if thinking.“My translator suggests bread that has been in the oven?”
“Um, like, really drunk.We drink a lot of alcohol.”Do Karthinians have alcohol?
A moment passes.“Ah,” Roth’kar says suddenly, as if his translator has just given him the answer.“A substance that dulls your nervous system.”
“Sure, it’s technically a downer, but it amps the fun factor!”I slow down as we approach our exit off the highway.It was a bit of a drive to the spaceport, but I’m lucky I live near one at all.There are only four in the United States.“You get a little loose-limbed after a few drinks, start dancing, maybe make out…”
