Navie rang the bell of the apartment below hers and brought the groceries in when the door opened. A woman greeted her in a low voice with a tired smile.

“Sister Tati, I got everything on the list. But the soy sauce was out of stock,” she whispered.

“No problem. Thank you, little Navie,” the woman whispered back. She wasn’t the girl’s relative, but she watched her grow up and loved her like a little sister. “You’re a great help. Vivi cried the whole night I couldn’t sleep a wink.”

A man, wearing an apron over his creased suit, stepped out of the kitchen. He was carrying a plate filled with fragrant dumplings. So that’s why they wanted soy sauce. He greeted the girl with a nod of the head. Everybody was taking care to not disturb the baby's sleep.

Navie tiptoed to the bedroom and looked at the sleeping angel in the cradle. How could such a small little thing cause so much noise? It was a mystery.

Navie didn’t stay for dinner. On the table there were clearly only portions for two people. She didn’t want to intrude. They said goodbye after some brief small talk.

“Dumplings aren’t the same without soy sauce. If she had gone to Genie’s, she’d find it there.” 

Navie heard the complaining male voice through the closed door behind her. 

She smiled shaking her head. There was no privacy in this building. She wasn’t angry or hurt. She helped them do groceries because she wanted to. They both were busy people, they had no time to do everything. And sister Tati and Vivi were dear to her, so it was okay.

If she felt she couldn’t do it anymore, she wouldn’t. 

Before going home, Navie took the cat food can from her pocket. She got to the woods behind the apartment complex. Trees grew close together and most of the ground was in the shadows.

“Hello, Snow. How was your day?” She crouched in front of the felines. 

Snow, a stray cat, had given birth some time ago and the kitties were so cute. Navie wanted to take the whole family home, but it wasn’t possible. They sniffed the plate, and tasted the food. After verifying it was their favorite brand, they allowed her to stroke their backs. They were very selective.

She heard rustling from the darkness inside the woods. 

Navie squinted pointlessly trying to see anything through the darkness of the woods. Unfortunately, she didn’t have night vision. One more item to add to her “I wish I had” list. Wings were ranked first, and tail, second. Beautiful singing voice, third. Then fourth could be night vision. 

The rustling stopped but the silence was worse. Her shoulders tightened. Should she run to the back gate? Once she entered, there would be a fence between her and whatever was out there. 

She was overreacting, wasn’t she? She imitated sister Tati’s breathing exercise from when she was in labor. It did help her calm down and being in an illuminated area was reassuring. This was a good neighborhood and she never heard of anything happening in the park. It was all in her head.

At least she wasn’t alone. She looked down. Snow and her kitties left after finishing their meal.

“…”

It was good the cats left so calmly. The fact that they didn’t sense anything was proof that there was nothing wrong out there. She read somewhere that animals had very keen sense of danger. They might even see the supernatural! Spooky.

As soon as a sigh of relief passed her lips, four eyes met. Two brown with black pupils and two purple with yellow pupils. 

Navie gasped, stepped back, losing her balance and falling on her butt.

Nikeila arrived at a town. She observed from a distance for some time.

She was very pleased with what she saw. It was a lovely place full of history and charm. The town didn’t appeal only to her, she saw people excited at the sights and taking photos. She came to the conclusion that those groups were tourists. By the humans’ behavior and activity, it was very clear who was local and who wasn’t. She gave herself some time to appreciate the urban scenery.

It was already dark when she found the girl feeding animals by the edge of the woods. She recognized the animals, they were cats. Humans, cats and dogs had a long history together. Although it wasn’t an equal relationship, some humans would go crazy over those furry fellows. Cat slaves were a thing.

Nikeila had a good intuition when judging people. And she knew the human girl in front of her was a kind soul. So she chose her to be her food provider. At least temporarily. She stepped out of the shadows. It was blind self-confidence that made her certain the girl wouldn’t reject her. Nikeila still had no idea how she looked in her current form. 

She sat down under the light and looked inoffensive. 

After recovering from her surprise, the girl stood up again. Her curious eyes glued on Nikeila.

“Hello?” The girl said uncertainly.

Nikeila responded with a short meow.

“Are you a cat? You don’t look like a cat… Are you… Are you a youkai?” She babbled, “like one of those animals that live for more than a hundred years and get powers and a second tail. Ah, you have only one tail. But you have horns!”

Did she have horns? 

“Maybe you’re born youkai? Or are you some other type of magical creature? Maybe a fairy?”

She was an alien in this planet. She didn’t plan to confess now. She’d wait until the girl loves and trusts her to tell the truth. No need to cause panic.

“Could you be an alien?”

Nikeila’s shock was visible, her eyes like saucers.

“Am I right?” The girl clapped happily. “I said I saw something falling from the sky, but they said it was a falling star. I didn’t know what to think. But I was right! Did your ship landed in the woods? Is it still there?”

The girl wasn’t as averse to foreigners as she imagined.

Nikeila nodded.

“You’re the cutest and only alien I’ve ever seen,” she said excitedly.

Nikeila appreciated her honesty.

The girl got in a daze and Nikeila had to call her attention back.

“Sorry. I was imagining a group of cute creatures like you piloting a small spaceship. The image was just too adorable.”

That was certainly true.

“So you can understand my words.” The girl crouched. “I’m Navie. What’s your name?”

Nikeila could not only understand and speak human languages but also write and read. She wrote her name on the dirt. 

“Can I call you Nik? Or Nikky? Nikei? There’s also Keila. Which do you prefer?”

Nikeila grimaced and refused all. Why should she shorten her name? So rude.

“So why are you here? Are you lost? Do you need help?”

Nikeila’s stomach responded in her place.

“Are you hungry?” Navie stood up. “Wait here. I’ll bring food.”

What? She was going to leave her outside? That wasn’t what she wanted! Nikeila wanted to go inside and sleep comfortably tonight.

Nikeila shed all notions of shame and pride, and hit Navie with the ultimate cute attack. Her little paw help Navie’s pants and she meowed sadly. Navie turned around and a love arrow stuck right in the center of Navie’s heart. 

“Don’t… Don’t look at me like that…”

She intensified her watery lovable gaze.

“They prohibit pets in the apartments…”

They, whoever they were, didn’t need to know.

“It isn’t allowed…”

Let’s be bad together!

“You have to be quiet.”

She could be the quietest. And secrets were safe with her.

“Alright.” 

Nikeila triumphed.

Cuteness was justice!

Navie carried the fluffy alien. She took the opportunity to caress her soft orange fur. Softer than chinchilla fur. So good! And therapeutic. All her worries and grievances were cast off with each touch.

Spy music was playing in Navie’s head. She imagined herself as a spy on a grant mission sneaking Nikeila in the apartment complex. 

Reality was different though.

When they turned the corner, There was a middle-aged couple waiting for the elevator. They heard her gasp and turned around to see her facing the wall like a grounded child.

“Navie?” Their tone was uncertain and worried.

The girl’s neurons hurtled to find an excuse. Then she had a brilliant idea.

“No makeup! I have no makeup on. I can’t let you see my bare face. Sorry.”

“I see.”

The couple had a doting look as they chuckled. They didn’t question why the girl was hiding a strange animal in her closed jacket and walking sticking to the walls. 

Ding.

The elevator arrived. And some neighbors got out. They all greeted Navie with curious gazes.

“Are coming in?” the middle-aged man asked.

“No. I’ll take the stairs. I need to work out. I’ve been consuming too many calories.”

Nikeila exchanged glances with some teenagers as they climbed the stairs. They smiled and waved at her. 

When they got to her door, Navie wiped the sweat off of her forehead. “That was close.”

Close? 

Nikeila looked at her expression. She was serious. It wasn’t sarcasm.

She let the girl stay happily in her delusion.

Navie seemed to be well-liked here. Nikeila was satisfied with her choice. She found a foolish good person, in other words, a generous food provider. Since Nikeila decided she’d take it easy, being a pet was a viable option. She read the reports that humans did everything for their pets. The pets could live a carefree life. 

Imagine not having to worry about anything, and just eat and sleep. All her needs taken care of by her human manager.

It was paradise!