Surya spent the rest of the day in a trance-like haze. He knew he walked into the house—Layla and Jamie ushered him and the other kids to get some baths before going to sleep, since they were all dirty and dusty from everything that had happened earlier. But unlike Nina and Mattie, who were chattering excitedly about the aliens they met, Surya was quiet.

He was numb and tired. The feeling he felt was different than when his dad died. It felt as if there was a black hole growing inside his chest, sucking out all nice feelings in the world. Even though he was sad that Aenzel left, he didn’t cry. He couldn’t.

When he woke up, he felt like he had just fallen into the ravine a hundred times over; hurting and disoriented.

“Oh no”, he heard Layla mutter when he went downstairs for breakfast. He felt her gently placing her hand on his forehead. “You’re really burning up, Surya. Are you shivering too?”

Surya gave her a small shrug, before plopping down on an empty chair. He noticed Layla and Jamie’s identical worried look and felt bad. Quietly, he picked up a toast and began to nibble at its corner.

Aenzel left him. They left him like his mom… Somehow, it hurt more when Aenzel left him. He was still a baby when his mom left, but that wasn’t the case with Aenzel. He saw them leaving. He heard them say goodbye. Surya didn’t know if they would come back.

He sniffled miserably—only then, he realized that he had been crying.

“Oh, Surya…” Layla pulled him into a hug. Surya allowed her to because it felt nice, because he never had a mom to do this to him. He could hear her saying something to Jamie, but he couldn’t hear her. He hugged her tight in return and sobbed even harder.

Layla heaved him up and carried him upstairs, back to his room. She put him down gently to his bed and tucked him in. When Surya wiped his tears away, he saw how worried she looked. She was biting her lips, as if wanting to ask something but not doing it to spare his feelings. He really didn’t want to have this conversation right now, but he figured it would be better sooner rather than later.

“It’s okay to ask, y’know”, he told her.

“You’re such a smart kid, you know that?” She smiled at him and brushed his hair.

Surya shrugged again. If he was smarter, he probably could make Aenzel stay—or maybe not. Aenzel was still smarter than him, no matter what.

“I’m just…” Layla paused, sighing. “Surya, did you know the… y’know.”

“Yeah”, Surya answered. “Their name’s Aenzel. They’re my mom’s—They’re like family to my mom.”

If Layla was surprised, she didn’t show it on her face. “Did your mom tell you that, or did Aenzel tell you that?”

“Aenzel told me that”, Surya answered, knowing how it sounded to Layla—it sounded like Aenzel was lying to him to get close to him. Surya couldn’t blame her, though. A very small part of him still couldn’t believe everything that Aenzel told him.

But a large part of him believed in Aenzel—he wanted to believe in Aenzel and everything they said about the evil alien queen and everything. About his mom fighting in the war because she wanted to protect him and she had no other option. Because if it was all a lie…

If it was all a lie and there was no war and no evil queen…

… it meant his mom left him for nothing.

Layla looked like she was about to say something, but Surya cut her off.

“You don’t understand! They knew my mom, they had her photo. They even had the same pendant like my mom’s—the one that my dad gave me!” Surya dove under his pillow and plucked the photo thingy out of it, shoving it to Layla’s face.

“Look!” he cried, turning it on. His mother’s image came out of it, and Layla’s eyes widened.

Gingerly, she took the thingy from Surya’s hand and turned it around, examining it. It seemed that she was satisfied with whatever she was looking for and she sighed. When she talked again, her voice was calmer.

“Alright, I trust you”, she said. “I still… don’t fully believe it, but I trust you, Surya.”

Surya breathed out in relief. That was the least he could ask from her. If she believed in him, then maybe he could make her believe in Aenzel too.

With a sigh, Surya flopped back to his bed and watched her still staring at his mom’s picture. The soft light from it was reflected on Layla’s dark brown skin.

“Why don’t you tell me from the beginning?” Layla asked, after a moment of silence.

—

When Jamie, Nina, and Mattie came home from groceries, Surya was done telling Layla everything about Aenzel, his mom’s request, and the war—well, sort of. He still didn’t understand fully about the war, but he knew that his mom was fighting in it and that was why she couldn’t come to Earth to get him.

Immediately, Layla pulled Jamie aside so the two of them could talk. “Privately”, she sternly added to Surya and Mattie. Surya took the cue and flopped back on his bed while Mattie sat on his own bed next to him.

“Bet they’re talking about the alien ninja from yesterday”, Mattie said. Surya shrugged, but Mattie eyed him suspiciously. “Oh my gosh! They so are! Did you know that alien ninja?”

“Yeah…” Surya answered quietly. He didn’t want to repeat what he said to Layla, but he knew that Mattie would ask him relentlessly if he didn’t get the right answer. “Their name is Aenzel. They’re my mom’s family.”

“Does that mean your mom is an alien?” Mattie asked again. Surya nodded. “Oh my gosh! So you’re an alien?!”

“Yeah, basically.” Surya bundled up inside his blanket and closed his eyes, wishing he could go sleep.

“Is mister alien ninja going to adopt you?” Nina asked this time.

Surya shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t know. Aenzel said that they would take away from Earth only if Earth was no longer safe. And now Aenzel was gone to wherever they had come from—probably to keep Earth safe. Would that mean Aenzel would leave him here? Would he never be able to see Aenzel again?

That was good… wasn’t it? That meant he would stay on Earth, with Layla and Jamie. He could still visit his dad. And then, maybe, once he was older, he could get into the UESA and go to space himself.

But space was big. Could he find Aenzel again? Could he find his mom? He… didn’t want that. He wanted Aenzel to stay on Earth and tell him about his mom. He wanted them to take him flying again, occasionally. Aenzel had been so happy when they were on Earth. Wouldn’t it be better if they stayed on Earth and forget about the war?

Mattie kept asking more questions and for the first time, Surya wished he would shut up. He wasn’t in the mood to talk, and he couldn’t answer some of Mattie’s question. Had Surya seen Aenzel’s spaceship? No, the ship had always been invisible to Surya’s eyes, but Surya didn’t tell Mattie this. Had Surya flown in the spaceship? Yes. Had Surya flown the ship? No. What kind of ship was it was? He didn’t know. Why was the ship invisible? Where did Aenzel come from? Why did they come alone?

“I don’t know!” Surya finally snapped, throwing his blanket away just so he could glare at Mattie. Mattie and Nina looked at him back, wide eyed.

Then, Mattie began to cry.

“Ah, geez…” Surya immediately climbed Mattie’s bed. He felt like he just did something really, really awful; like kicking a puppy. He pulled Mattie into a hug and shushed him before either Jamie or Layla heard it.

“C’mon, don’t cry. I’m sorry, okay?” Surya murmured. “Today’s been… really awful. And I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“Y-your eyes”, Mattie hiccuped, still trying to contain his tears.

“My eyes?” Surya asked, head tilting in confusion.

“Th—they’re red.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Surya rushed out of his room, still dizzy and disoriented, but still forcing himself to the bathroom. Reflected on the mirror was him—except he was purple and his light purple eyes were now red. He opened his mouth and found that some of them were sharp.

He looked like his mother. He looked like a Vaidesse.

Layla and Jamie rushed into the bathroom, probably attracted by the commotion. Through the reflection on the mirror, Surya saw fear in Jamie’s eyes—and that hurt more than Surya expected.

Layla didn’t hesitate, though, and she kneeled down in front of him.

“Surya, it’s gonna be okay. It could be temporary”, she said, taking Surya’s hand in her own. Her thumb rubbed the purple skin gently,  as if she was trying to make it pink again.

“What if it’s not? What if I stay purple for the rest of my life?” Surya sobbed. “I can't go outside like this!”

“W-well… then maybe we should ask Aenzel?” Layla asked with a forced smile. She didn’t want to ask Aenzel, Surya realized.

“We can’t”, Surya sobbed. “They’re gone, Layla, and I dunno how to call them!”

Aenzel was gone. Just like his mom. Just like his dad.

Why did everyone who knew him left him? Did he get cursed? Would Jamie and Layla leave him too, now that he was purple and alien?

“I'm scared…” Surya said, and it felt like spitting something sour out of his mouth. He was scared and he didn’t know what to do, and he doubted that either Jamie or Layla knew what to do.

Where would he live now? Would the UESA take him and experiment on him? Would he forever live in a lab as scary people in white coats tried to figure out what was wrong with him?

Neither Jamie or Layla had the answer to his problems, and somehow that made it even scarier.