He led me about a corner in the alley, stopping short at an abandoned shop. I stood, curious to his next steps. There weren't any. I stared up at the signboard of the shop, and made out something of the worn out texts and graphics. "The space shop". Space shop? The stranger took out a key from his left pocket, and unlocking the door, entered. I parked my bike a distance away and followed with all apprehensiveness. The store's interior was no better than it's exterior, rugged and worn out, yet it still alluded to the senses an otherworldly feeling. I gazed, amazed. Antique collections of all things space-related. Make- shift comets, stars, the solar system hanging high above my head, and a vessel containing red sand of which I assumed was supposed to represent Mars. In transparent containers were a pair of swords I instantly recognized; the lightsabers from Star Wars, or at least replicas without all the shimmer yet still as wonderful to the sight. I moved to the center of the room where a strange structure stood, frozen. It had a ginger colour and had his eyes open, an expression of ironic disbelief on it's face. Strange creature it was, reminded me of E.T from the movie. Same body build and all. It looked and felt all so life like, and reaching out, I nearly touched it when… "I'd advice against that Elliot", he said. I looked behind me and we locked eyes. I turned back to look at the alien, baffled. E.T suddenly gave me an omnious feel, and I took a step back. The strange man approached me."A hard catch he was, that one", he laughed. I frowned. What did that mean? He stood right beside me as he pointed at the creature, "Came right through the loophole, wandered through the parks and all. Luckily it was halloween", he laughed again, I shivered. Had I perhaps encountered a mad man on my way back from school? Suddenly, all the warnings I had heard of children following unsuspecting people only to end up with a plight far worse than dead replayed in my head. Had I become a victim?. I took another look at the man, a middle-aged man, probably in his early forties. He had half a head of fine white hair the other half as black as the night, neatly combed back. A gentle lustre roamed in his emerald eyes, and he most certainly didn't look like any of the serial killers the news tended to depict. "It looks real", an attempt by me to break the ice. He nodded. "Might even be", he added. I didn't respond, there was nothing to respond to. "You ever believe that somewhere out there, there is a world so vastly different from ours it sounds like somthing out of a fanatsy novel?". I shook my head…that was absurd. I was a geek for all things space, sci-fi and supernatural but my tough life had taught me to draw the boundary between fiction, facts and reality. And alternative worlds were certainly a thing of fiction. Stranger was about to speak again when a loud ring cut him short. I took out my cell and sure enough, my 'caring' father was calling. Stranger gestured for me to answer, and resignedly, I did so. His first words were not very pleasant, almost unspeakable, and not to ever be reiterated. His next words though, however yet unpleasant, could be said. "Boy, if you knew what was good for you, you'd be home in the next thirty minutes or so help me God". He hang up the phone and for a moment I forgot everything, it was just me, alone with my thoughts. "You know Elliot, the smallest people often make the biggest impacts". I stood, eyes misty,as I nodded. He held my shoulders, seemeing almost fatherly. I sniffed, then nodded. "Uuuum, I'm sorry, but I've really got to go or else….", he gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze then nodded. "I really see potential in you Elliot, real good potential. And believe it or not, sometimes fiction exists as an overlooked reality of facts, and I can't wait for the day you realize that, kid". I didn't speak, only stared through the window of the store. The downpour had seized and faint traces of the evening started trickling in, a perfect blend of light and darkness. "You know if you're free tomorrow, you could pass by here", Stranger pointed at E.T, "I can see you're a geek for all things out of Earth, won't be bad to teach you a thing or two". He read me incredibly well, something I realized at that moment, almost as if he had known me my entire life. "Okay", I replied. Stranger walked me through the door but stood, obviously not wanting to go outside the door. I placed my hands in my pocket, not knowing what to say to this stranger. Perhaps I ought to be grateful to him for not being like any of those serial killers I had heard so much of. No. He had been a whole other exprience. Strange and meaningless, yet it was almost like a puzzle with some missing pieces, and if I connected the dots, everything might just begin to make sense. Yes, it might, or else I might have just wasted thirty minutes of my time on a demented man who spent his time chasing after teens, telling them of the existence of extraterrestrials while refusing to get the medical attention he needs. The possibility scared me. I however still made a mental map of the place in my head while mountung my bike. But before leaving I took a good look at stranger and asked him a question that had bothered me since our first interaction, "How did you know my name?".
Somewhere, in the blurred line between fiction and reality, a cousel of things gathered. They had big eyes and a big head on small bodies with ginger-coloured skin. They sat on high end and sophisticated thrones made of an unknown metal, one higher above the others. The Queen of things looked disdainfully at the human below her. The man shivered, snot running down his nose and tears from his eyes. "Who are you people?", he asked in fear. One of the thing guards behind him kicked him hard and the man growled, deep in pain. "We're an evolution", the Queen announced. "The remnants of a forgotten civilization that was and should be. Ask the ancient Egyptians, the Romans,and the pathetic Greek. We made them, we helped them, yet they kicked us to the curb, destroyed our kind, and now, we're coming for them…one reality, after another". The Queen said something in a different language the man knew as being not of Earth, and her counsel began to chant and howl and moan. The man looked around him, shook his head and screamed as loud as he could.