Alien Holiday by Tracy Lauren

Chapter 9

Lo

“Oh yeah, I know your kind. It doesn’t even matter what planet you’re from—you’re like half the men in my family. Stubborn. Luckily for you, the women in my family are twice as stubborn.

“I’ve had years of practice, Mister Resa. You don’t stand a chance.” I enjoy a glance over my shoulder at the brooding alien. “And luckily for me…you aren’t too bad to look at.”

He doesn’t understand a word of this. Doesn’t matter. I talk to Resa because it feels good. It’s actually kind of nice that we don’t understand each other. It lets me say whatever I want without worrying what he thinks of me.

Back on Earth I was teased a lot as a kid. Being bilingual is great, but when you’re young and different from the rest of your class it makes you…a target for bullies. And while I know the girls in the village would never make fun of me, that feeling still lingers sometimes. And yeah, I feel like an outsider. Especially now, at this time of year, when I’m missing mi familia y mi tradiciones.

That’s probably why now, as an adult, I’m drawn to outsiders. Like Gabby and my new Grinchy friend Resa.

“What’s up here?” I ask. Not that he’ll answer. And, even if he did, I wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of what he’s saying. I can tell my presence is bugging him though, not just because he poked me with a stick earlier, but he grumbles angrily the farther we trek up the mountain. And he’s constantly trying to get me to change directions.

“You think you’re hiding something, but I’m going to find out what it is,” I tell him smugly, trying to tease a bit and perhaps earn a smile. Judging by his expression, however, I think I’m only making him more frustrated. Why does he have to be such a Grinch? “I’m going to get to the bottom of this mountain mystery.”

Eventually, the trees start to thin out—exposing more of the rocky mountain terrain. It’s when this happens that Resa rushes ahead, blocking my path.

“Et, mefela. Toso mey coere.”His tone is stern.

“Coere yourself and cut out the machismo, I go where I go and no man can stop me… Or alien.” I push past and finally set eyes on the thing he’s been so uptight about.

“It’s a cave.” I smile at Resa and hurry over, stepping inside the wide opening. Resa ducks in behind me, tucking his wings in as he does. He’s big—like the other alien men. But those wings make him so much more impressive. He’s easy to appreciate when he isn’t grumbling at me.

“Lat puya ipon sowa?” he complains as he starts in on reviving his fire.

His effort makes me smile. Resa’s nice enough to build me a fire, but too stubborn to do it without complaining. Still, it’s actions that matter to me—far more so than words, and I give him a pat on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

He purses his lips at me, yet softens ever so slightly when I beam a grateful smile at him. Then, I take in our surroundings. The first thing I notice is there’s a bed set up in a nook along one wall. It’s on the ground and made up of animal pelts. Across the cave, there are spears leaning in a corner, tools too, baskets and bowls stacked are stacked, filled with supplies, and herbs hang, drying on the stone wall.

I’m confused. “This is your home?” I ask, but by the looks of things, it obviously is. “Are you living off-grid or something?” Why is he out here alone? But Resa doesn’t know what I’m asking.

Clearly annoyed, he urges me to sit, pointing at a very specific rock. I ignore the request, feeling more curious than ever.

Not wanting Gabby’s gift to wilt, I find a flow of water by the front of the cave. It pools in a small basin before spilling back out through the entrance. I set the flowers so the stems touch the water and start a more in-depth search of Resa’s place—opening baskets and looking inside carved, wooden bowls. He’s got a stockpile of dried foods, like he plans on being here a while. As if…he’s already been here a while.

“What are you doing out here?” I ask, more to myself this time. Still, I want answers. So, I turn to Resa. He’s utterly statuesque in the firelight—his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

Wait a second. Statuesque?

I gasp, slapping a hand over my mouth. Suddenly, an image of the fountain in the center of the temple courtyard floods my mind. It’s hundreds of years old, damaged badly by time. Shaped in the form of a woman, but a woman with feathered wings. Is Resa one of the original inhabitants of Elysia?

Needing to test my theory, I rush over to him. “Not to be weird, but you have to do me a favor.” I grasp his hands and reach them up toward the sky, but Resa drops them immediately. “No, no, no.” I shake my head.

“No, no, no,” the alien repeats, his tone mocking.

“Very funny,” I tell him drily, sticking his arms up in the air again. This time he keeps them in place. Then, I walk around Resa and take a closer look at his wings. Thinking hard, I tap my lips.

“Okay, the statue in Beacon is like…” I try to pull his wings a little closer together, but he jolts them, shaking me off and glaring at me over his shoulder.

“Alright, alright. I don’t need you to model for me anyway. I think I get what’s going on. You’re not a Vendari at all. You’re…” I look around Resa’s home once more and consider the long-since abandoned temple. The wheels in my mind spin. I saw no other caves. There’s no other bed in here, and just enough space and supplies for one person.

“Resa?” I look at the alien with fresh eyes. “Where is your family? All your people?”

He crosses his arms over his chest and looks impatiently at me. Okay, I really need to communicate this… I spot a stick near his firewood and snatch it up.

“Here we go.” I wave him over, and when he sees what I’m doing he squats down beside me. It appears stick figures are going to be our preferred means of communication. I draw a little person. “That’s me, Lo.” I smile at him and he nods. Then I draw Resa—with wings, which makes my stick figure in the sand look a little wonky, but he gets the picture, tapping on his chest. Okay, we’re on the same page. Then, next to my stick figure I draw another. “That’s Gabby.” I add another and another, and I name them all. Then, I draw a square around it to represent the temple.

Then I move back to the picture of Resa. I draw four more like him and then add his mountain. “Resa,” I point at his figure, then I move to the next one and wait, desperate for him to name another, but his lips curve into a frown and he wipes the others away with a shake of his head.

“Nol Resa. Et theorns.”

My eyes go wide. “No way. It’s not just you out here. It can’t be.” Shoot, I mean where are his parents? He didn’t just appear out of nowhere. So, I draw two figures over his and a line connecting them. “Mom and dad.” Then I draw a line connecting him to them. Resa’s jaw goes tight and he won’t look at me, not even to scowl.

I drop back onto my ass on the packed dirt floor of the cave. Fuck me. Is this guy the last of his kind? Has he been alone here on the mountain for years? Quietly, Resa wipes away the two figures, breaking my heart. Tears fill my eyes and I grab his hand.

“I am so sorry, mijo. I know what it’s like to lose your family. Down in Beacon, we all know what it’s like.” I look around the cave. “Oh, you can’t stay here. No more of this. You need to come to the village with me and live with us. We’ll get you a room there, a translator, you’ll be part of our family now.”

Shit, tears spill from my eyes just talking about it. I don’t know what it’s been like for Resa being alone for so long, but I know what my loss feels like and that bubbles up in my chest. “No, you can’t be alone. Not at the holidays.” I mean, not that he knows it’s the holidays. But it is winter. It’s cold and there are dangers. This is the perfect time for him to join our community. Hell, I’ll be his Secret Santa too, so he feels included right off the bat.

I hurriedly pick up the stick and draw one last figure inside the temple square. I add wings and point, offering a bright smile. “Resa.”

He yanks his hand out of mine and shakes his head as if the idea is offensive.

“You’ve got to be kidding me? Resa, you can’t live up here all alone! There’s no point, we have a community of misfits down in Beacon, you’ll fit in perfectly!” I wince. Glad he didn’t understand me that time. “Not that you’re a misfit, of course. But you have to come with us. No one should be alone like this.”

He shakes his head.

“Yes,” I counter, pointing hard at his figure. “Resa is going to live in the temple.”

He gives a heavy sigh and looks out the cave opening. There isn’t more than a drizzle out today. He rises and waves for me to follow.

“Oh, are we going now? Did you want to pack first? I can help carry a few things…” I start eyeing his stuff, but Resa beckons for me to follow, so I do.

He leads me along a narrow and rocky path. The stones are loose in some places and Resa offers me his hand so I don’t fall. It’s sweet, but when I smile at him he looks at me like something stinks.

I roll my eyes. Jeeze, I can’t win with this guy—and his stubbornness definitely shouldn’t make me smile…and yet it does. “You’re terrible, you know that, right? A Grinch through and through. Up here on your mountain—pouting. But we all know how that story ends, hermano.”

We round a curve in the mountain, and tucked beneath an overhanging rock is a dark tunnel. Another cave. Resa dips inside first and he seems confident about it, so I follow. I don’t really know what to expect, but Resa has yet to give me a reason not to trust him. Inside, it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust, but when they do I immediately see what this place is.

A tomb.

Side by side, there are two piles of stones. Each the size of a person.

These must be his parents. I slip closer to Resa and lace our fingers together. He might not be able to understand my words, but I hope he understands that I’m here for him. I’ll be his friend, even if he has been a bit of a Grinch. I mean, it all makes sense now. I’d be a real sour puss too if I’d been alone for years.

Resa is stiff and I can see his eyes are on me and not the resting place of his parents. I’m grateful that he’s sharing this, but it hits me hard—making me think of my own family. One day, my abuelita will pass and I won’t be there to put flowers on her grave or to cry for her with all the other grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The years will keep going and my parents’ time will come. I’ll never be able to visit their resting places either…and they’ll die never knowing what happened to me. I won’t know when it happens or how and, in a sense, it’s like they’re already gone. I let out a heavy sob and then I’m ugly crying while Resa looks at me like I’m nuts.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, sniffling and wiping at my tears. “It’s just, I get it.” I motion toward the two graves. “I’ve lost people too and I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you being all alone. But no more of that.” I lean in and hug Resa, mostly because I need a hug right now. And if I thought he was stiff before—this guy is ridged as a board. Poor thing. It’s probably been years since he’s had a hug.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Resa and I head back to his cave and I’m already mentally packing all his things. “Do you have a bag or something? Maybe we can put most of your stuff in a blanket and tie the ends together. Or what if we only take the necessary items now and we come back with the others tomorrow so they can help? That might be the better idea.”

Resa hands me my flowers and I smile. “Oh, is this the important stuff?” He can be kind of cute sometimes.

But Resa doesn’t smile back. He turns me around by the shoulders and gives me a little shove, the same stupid little shove he gives me when he wants me to go home. I swat him away. “Yeah, I’m going, but so are you. Resa and Lo.” I make a walking motion with my fingers.

Resa shakes his head like there’s a sour taste in his mouth and goes back to the stick and sand art on the floor. Right in between the temple and the mountain he draws an X, then he points firmly at the temple—“Lo.” Then, the mountain. “Resa.”

My eyes go wide. “Hell no! You can’t stay up here alone! It’s Christmas, for goodness sake!”

Resa holds up his hand like he has something important to say and I go quiet, focusing on him. It’s hard to get past this language barrier, and after what I saw in the other cave, it’s all the more important that I understand him.

Satisfied that he has my attention, Resa points to the figures I drew in the temple and names them off, like I did earlier. “Gabby, Holly, April, Mel…” I nod, letting him know that I follow. Then, he points at himself on the mountain. Shaking his head firmly, he says his name. “Resa.” His reaches across the space between us and puts his hand gently over my mouth. “Resa,” he says again. I furrow my brow.

“Are you saying you don’t want me to tell them about you? But…” I look around at his sad, lonely little cave. It’s Christmas. Only, Resa doesn’t seem to care. Instead, he carefully holds out his stick and gives me a poke, urging me toward the exit.

“UGH!” I swat it out of his hand and it flies across the room. “You are a stubborn old Grinch!”