A Past with an Alien

CHAPTER 19

IRIS

Hector narrated his story, and I listened to him. At first, it was hard to digest, but it left me no choice. He told me he came here with six companions, and they had a mission. He never explained further about this mission, so I'm suspicious about it. He just said that the situation had changed because of those alien races who chased us last night—those alien monsters with the likeness of reptiles. He told me I was also involved in this, but he had no idea why I, too, was their target.

He dragged me into this, and my life has turned upside down. Until now, I have been trying to accept all the facts about what I experienced last night. Added to that, there is this alien guy in front of me. I remembered Melvin, my student, and what he had told me about them. He was right; now, I had to deal with this alone. This wasn't a segment of my nightmare anymore. Does Melvin know something about Hector, too?

"What shall I do now?" I asked Hector. My body kept trembling from fear whenever I recalled what had happened last night. This won't go away anytime soon.

"Don't worry, Iris," he answered. I couldn't imagine how my life would turn out now. "I will protect you. If your life is in danger, I'm here to save you."

"How can you do that? You're not with me every day. Will I be able to get out of my house after this? What about my family?"

"Family? Are those who live with you in your home?"

"Yeah, my parents and siblings...wait, don't tell me you don't have a family?"

"Yes, you're right." My forehead creased so that I couldn't talk back. "In our world, we live as individuals. Having a place or a sense of belonging depends on the group you have chosen to be with—groups with different professions. I live in a community of teachers."

Then, I wanted to listen more as our conversation got more interesting. "When you were born, who cared for you if you had no parents?"

"A group of experts on that kind of profession will take us to a nursery." I felt intrigued. Imagine if Hector's world had a career like that. It was like a high-tech nanny with a license.

"Don't you think that to have a baby, something must happen to men and women first?" Hector cackled, interrupting me before I could finish speaking. He already understood what I was saying—that he was no different from these men here on Earth, a bunch of dirty-minded jerks. "And, of course, you must fall in love first before it happens," I emphasized.

"In love?"

"Yes, the boy and the girl should fall in love first. Wait again, do you have love in your world?" I could tell from his face that he, too, was curious about my explanations.

"There is no such thing as love in our world," which surprised me. It made sense to me that they had no family. "The intercourse you discussed was voluntary, and you must register first."

"W-what...does this mean you will have sex with a total stranger? That is awkward and disgusting." Hector nodded and beamed at me, and I felt uneasy with how he agreed. "I can't do that. It's weird... I mean, that is against my will as a woman. I will only let myself have sex with the man I love. I would almost look like a porn star or a prostitute if I did it."

"Can you please explain to me what this love is all about? Besides, they oriented our mindset toward this kind of concept, so for us, it is not against our will. It was an honor instead," he said, making my jaw drop and my eyes pop out.

I would never accept it. But all the while, our conversation got more profound, and we never changed the subject. I wanted to know more about Hector and his world. How did they interact with each other? Love covered those aspects as well as caring and helping. I could compare them to animals. But even animals, too, knew what love was. And why was he kind to me? He had the good intention of protecting me. Only robots do not know the meaning of love, not even those monsters we encountered last night.