the Alien

         The rear windshield of the vehicle in front of me was weeping trails of dirty meltwater like runny mascara down it's bumper. I wondered who the truck had been crying for. With the changing of the traffic lights my attention shifted from the windshield back to the road and I proceeded en route to the rendezvous spot. We had planned to meet in the wooded area behind the local palliative care centre-- the alien and I that is. I met it several days earlier under most unusual circumstances. It was sitting listlessly on the steps outside my apartment, twirling its short, pale finger through it's long black hair in an extremely inconspicuous monotone black outfit. "Ma'am?" I attempted to grab its attention only because I had noticed a long procession of tiny ants beginning to crawl up the being's stunted pant leg. It turned it's neck to meet eyes with mine, except where one would expect to find the usual white sclera and dark iris, I found two gaping, still oozing sockets. I stared in utter disbelief for a few short moments. My disbelief began to mount into disgust and fear, underlined by a deep curiosity. Betraying my nervous response to this horrific sight I leaned in closer-- I had always wondered what it looked like behind the eyes, and found it a much more shallow spot than I would have previously guessed. "Is there a problem, sir?" The creature asked in an all too human voice, somewhat surprised and daresay offended by my fascination. "Are you ok.. your.. your eyes?" It patted off the dusty steps next to itself as if to gesture for me to sit. I obliged its offer, I was too curious now to flee. "They were stolen-- my eyes. Gouged out by a man who hoards them. The greedy devil sits every night before his altar of eyes and just stares.. for hours he just stares. And I have to watch him! Unblinkingly for hours I watch him before he grants us a respite from the cruel light." I shifted uncomfortably. "You can still see through them, your eyes?" It sighed. "Yes, but only when they are exposed to light. During the day, when he is gone and my eyes are shrouded in darkness I begin to feel sensations through these burning sockets, and I can see another world before me altogether-- its dark, and filthy. A pussy, blood stained wasteland, but it is sight nonetheless, I mean, I can see you right now."

         I refer to 'it' as such because it is not from our world, and after meeting eyes with it for so long I began to see things within it's dark, fleshy eyes, things so unbelievably grotesque and alien that they could not have originated from our planet. As for the origin of the thing itself when I asked it chuckled and had only this to say: "I fell through the earth and landed here. This isn't my home." After we spoke for a while on the sun bleached steps outside of my apartment I discovered a strong sense of ennui shared between the two of us. It had become increasingly lethargic on our planet as the search for its eyes grew ever futile. I also lacked any real objective in life, and had grown quite stagnant. "I could help you find your eyes." My suggestion brought a brief smile to it's face. "You can still see through your eyes right? Then you must be able to ascertain some details about their whereabouts, or who's taken them. This man, what does he look like." The creature's smile fell flat. "I have no idea-- he's just a shadow." I racked my brain for any possible leads that I could come up with. "You said you fell to earth? Where did you land, maybe we can find some clues there." It explained that it had landed in a nearby forest and when the Alien began to describe the surrounding area I quickly recognized it as a wooded area behind the local palliative care centre. We made plans to meet there in a few days.