"Well, Aaron, I met James a few months ago," he began as he dried his tears. He took in a deep breath and managed a sorrowful smile as our eyes met. Then, he continued, a little more pleasant than before with a faint smile.

"It was during one of those warm seasons a few months ago. After a few hours of searching for unicorns in the dreadful heat of summer, I decided to rest on a particularly high tree far removed from everything below me. Let me tell you, the view was simply fantastic! I saw the mountains in the distance rising, magnificently piercing the sky and clouds. From where I stood, the dark, ebony trees looked like soldiers marching to the mountains to destroy them in a grand, yet futile conquest.

A sudden jerk in the leaves below ruined the quietness. I sprang down from where I stood to find the source of that horrible noise. Then, I saw him sitting so perfectly still beneath the cover of some leaves. I called out to him but he didn't exactly respond. He turned back to me with a fierce warning glance accompanied by a deep frown. All of his features tightened the moment when our eyes met. Some children were screaming below us.

Vile monsters!

He only spared them his looks, his beautiful glance. At that point, he turned away from me as quickly as he turned to glare at me. He must have known their cheap tricks; he must have seen this as a compliment! Yes, yes, he must have. Think of it like this: it's like roses (he meant the rocks that the children threw) but they're hard and they hurt! He sat so still, so prettily and perfectly I mistook him for a statue. I wondered if we were in the same world together...

I vaguely remembered him saying something to those freaks before the screaming stop. "Come and sit next to me," he said. He gestured towards a dark green space I couldn't see. "I could appreciate the company," he later added with a lovely smile.

And so I did. I hopped down a couple of branches more and found my way next to him. Before allowing me to look at him, he looked like he was about to sink deeper and deeper into a deep green. His long delicate fingers held onto a short stem of baby flowers while its pink mother hovered above him, resting on his head like a butterfly. Some deep sighs escaped him for several moments. I speculated that he wanted me to say something first - to get the moment going. However, he took that chance away from me. He removed one hand from the flowers and gripped his leg so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Aren't you a part of the UEC?" He asked rather quickly.

That was the coldest thing I have ever heard!

"Why, yes!" I replied. His slender eyebrow arched slightly. I continued hastily, "Is there a problem?"

"See this?" He pointed upward to the horn on his head ridiculously. "What do you think it is?" He asked again, half-joking.

"My dear! How did you know I was in the UEC?" I asked him in a hurry.

His features gave way to a displeasing grimace. "I've seen you around," he vaguely continued. "Around with those murderers..."

"They..."

"I'm a unicorn, am I not?" he cut me off quite gracefully. He pushed a lock of hair behind his ear, showing more of his face. Sunlight trickled through the sunset and illuminated his pale, almost silver skin. The sweet summer sunshine gave his skin a short burst of life, his cheeks were just the right amount of red and he was about to laugh a little. I swear to you that I could have fallen in love right there and then!

"My dear, you are a delicate sight to behold! Unicorn or not, I find you breathtaking. I would ask for your hand but unfortunately, that would be too rash and impolite. So, may I be so bold as to ask for your name, instead?" I asked. Trust me, I had nothing else to say! Admittedly (in hindsight), I should've paid more attention to that (the fact that he's indeed a unicorn) because he seemed so concerned about it.

Still, I didn't care; I wanted to talk to him some more. "Would you give me that permission to know?" I continued hesitantly.

Now, Aaron if you're still with me, let me describe to you one of the greatest things I have ever seen. He turned away with a smile emerging from his unfriendly facade and his cheeks were stained a bright red. He muttered several strange things over and over again. While it frightened me at first, I couldn't help but laugh when I managed to hear of it. When I asked, he immediately moved those small flowers to his face as if to shield himself. It was so much incoherent and ridiculous nonsense that I found it utterly adorable! But you know what, Aaron? He finally agreed!

"James," he said in such a whisper that I would've missed if my attention wasn't so focused on him. "James Blake," he continued when his grey eyes met mine.

I told him my name (that you already know) and shook his hand. It felt cold but our fingers fit into each other perfectly. He showed me a fragile smile and he miserably shrunk into the dark leaves.

"I should go," he muttered unwillingly as he evaded my gaze. He stood up and immediately left me, alone and unwilling to accept his sudden absence. What could I do? I couldn't argue with him and he was far too quick on his feet! But, anyway, he went down the tree speedily and darted away from my sight for quite a long time."

That was the end of Franklin's account of his first meeting with James. I was wide awake then and we had just finished all of our tea. To review it later, I wrote as much as I could down in scribbles in my scraps of paper stapled together.

Once he was done with the story, he closed his eyes abruptly and refused to look at me as a heavy stream of tears came down. I knew that was enough for the night and prepared a towel and a blanket for the poor man. He refused. He denied my offer so violently like a drunk man and insisted that he continued. His confused attempts continued for a few minutes until I finally convinced him that sleep is loneliness' friend. I endured several bruises and scratches here and there but nothing too major, of course, as I laid him to rest.

I allowed his long limbs to rest comfortably on the sofa as I lit another candle for his sake. I left a note next to him that read the following:

"Franklin when you wake up, feel free to call for me. I ought to be in the office. If I'm unable to attend to you, please take a sheet of paper and describe what happened after meeting James for me. I will see you tomorrow. Eggs are in the fridge so cook some breakfast for yourself with them. Signed, Doctor Aaron Alber."