It's ten o'clock on a Friday night, and Takahiro was alone, sitting inside a stalled dark ride. It's been unable to move for the past fifteen minutes, a nervous voice over the intercom informing the passengers of the stall. At this point, Takahiro was amusing himself by drumming his fingers on the side of the car, made of some sort of lightweight metal.
Kensuke had taken them to Tokyo Dreamland as a sort of vacation from work. The company was between movies, and the last one had been so grueling that all of them unanimously agreed on the break. Takahiro had been excited, most of the time after he left work for the day, he felt alone. He had books and the newest box-like television set, but after a while, it felt empty. Words on the page stopped bringing him any feeling, and the shows on TV seemed more like white noise.
However, Takahiro felt more isolated than ever at the amusement park, which he spent mostly surrounded by his coworkers' girlfriends. Forced to sit in a car alone for what felt like forever. He could hear the giggling and laughter of Kensuke and his girl, a tall wispy woman with a crooked smile. His coworker adored her and seemed to hang off of her arm as they walked around the park.
He had found himself behind them, staring intently at them. They had just left the Ferris wheel, where Takahiro had sat alone, trying not to be sick, and he felt an odd longing settle itself in his chest. Almost like a small bird.
He felt a large hand clap his shoulder, and Takahiro looked up into his coworker, Ren's face. His square face was framed by his large, thick glasses, which he peered from. He grinned down at Takahiro, who felt himself almost shrivel.
"You could not look more lonely if you tried, my friend!" He crowed, and Takahiro vaguely recognized the people starting to crowd around him.
He remembered laughed weakly, rubbing at his head, but didnt respond. He knew if he responded to any teasing, it would only escalate and Takahiro did not feel like explaining himself..
The truth was, he wasn't particularly… driven to date. He'd attended a few mixers, gone on a few dates, but mostly he found himself consumed by the gaping void of his work as a production assistant. He never felt himself get too hung up on the idea of being single. But, being faced with it made it linger and seize his mind in a way that made him feel incredibly alone.
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to rid his mind of the memory. There's no point, dwelling on his feelings. All of this only hurts because he's being reminded of the absence of these things, once he gets home the feelings will flit away and he'll enjoy solitude.
His eyes opened and caught on something glowing behind him, with an odd melodic humming noise. He turned to look at it and saw an open door leading to a dimly lit room. Takahiro stared at the opening with wide eyes. He swore he didn't see any doors there before. Perhaps someone had opened it, maybe a staff member…
Before he could think further, he looked down to see himself stepping out of the car, carefully avoiding the rail. It felt as if he were a magnet, unable to stop moving his feet forward.
In a few paces, he found himself in the doorframe, staring at the room ahead of him. What Takahiro could make out of it, it seemed like nothing of this world. The brick and stone walls seemed to be shifting, surging, and dripping as if it was water. He rested his hand against one of the walls, only to pull it back when he felt something sharp prick it. Blood oozed from a small puncture in his palm, and Takahiro barely repressed the urge to lick the blood away.
There was a small gilded object at the center of the room, shaped like an oval. The light in the room illuminated it from above, almost like a spotlight in a circus. Slowly, Takahiro approached it and grabbed it. It rested perfectly in his palm, big enough for his hand to wrap around it snugly. With it this close, Takahiro could make out odd patterns etched into the metal, things that he thought could be vines of some winding plant, circling a large slit-like opening. Like the opening of a bell, almost.
All of a sudden, the object glowed a bright white, and Takahiro felt a searing pain, flinging the bell to the floor with a thunk. He cradled his hand, whimpering to himself as he stared at his throbbing palm before he heard the humming noise start again.
The object was floating in the air, about a head or so above Takahiro, enough so that he had to crane his neck to look up at it. The bright light began to expand outwards in tendrils, and slowly Takahiro watched as the tendrils began to shift into human-like limbs. As quickly as it had lit up, suddenly there was this strange figure, who quickly fell to their knees.
Takahiro rushed to the person, whose glow had quickly faded, helping them onto their knees. They had a very angular face, with wide eyes and thick glasses perched upon their nose. It was odd, he thought, they looked both normal and abnormal at the same time. They weren't white, yet their black hair had been dyed a white-blonde, only the roots remained black. Their clothes were bizarre too, a white tank-top and jeans, covered up by a purple jacket with an odd design on the back that he could not make heads or tails of. Around their neck was a golden chain-like necklace, and two gilded rings rested on their wrists.
They blinked quickly as if to clear something from their eyes, and a hand went up towards their face to rub at them. When they opened their eyes again, they stared wide-eyed at Takahiro, their mouth falling open.
Before either of them could speak up, the speaker crackled to life, startling Takahiro. The young attendant's voice cut through the static:
"Sorry for the delay, the ride will resume operations shortly."
Takahiro stumbled to his feet, running towards the door. He turned to face the person, who was still sitting stunned on the floor.
"S-Sorry," he stammered, before running back to his car.
Slipping into it, Takahiro felt his mind reel. How on earth did any of that just happen? People just don't magically appear out of thin air, that sort of thing is reserved for the movies! And how the room was constantly moving… No way. It was all a hallucination.
He turned back to look at the door, but instead of seeing anything, he's met with the person from the room sitting on the empty side of the car. Takahiro jumped back in shock, and the person recoiled, shrinking down in the cart.
"How did you…?" he asked, and the person curled further in on themselves.
They spoke an odd language, something Takahiro did not understand. Their voice was rough and cracked, probably from disuse, and their eyes darted back and forth.
"I-I don't understand," he stammered, and the person looked at him, tilting their head to the side. They start speaking slower, more deliberately.
The person was mid-sentence before the ride lurched forward, and the witch figure suddenly screeched back to life. They screamed loudly and practically flung themselves into Takahiro's arms, shaking all over. He felt his face burn hot but gingerly ran his hand down their back as they hooked their arms around his body tightly. It wasn't uncomfortable or hurting him, but Takahiro still felt sweat pool in his arms and legs where the person touched him, hackles raised at the feeling of touching another person.
The person did not move for the remainder of the ride. All Takahiro could think about besides "oh my god they're so close I can feel their bare skin oh my god oh my god" was how glad he was that no one from the other cars could see him very well, because he would not know how to explain this.
And thankfully, it seemed he wouldn't need to explain to the ride operator either. She had been distracted by someone towards the entrance, and Takahiro quickly rushed out of the cursed ride. The person followed behind him, then stopped abruptly and looked at him. They waved quickly and began walking in the opposite direction. He waved back weakly, before turning and walking a few paces before he bumped into the person again.
"Wuh…?!" he exclaimed, head whipping around the square full of people, before turning to the person. Their face was a stark white, and their eyes were as wide as saucers.
"Weren't you over there?" he started, before deciding just to point off to the right.
The person shrugged their shoulders, before walking off to the right again. However, right as they reached the fountain in the center of the square, they suddenly disappeared. Takahiro blinked, then turned to his left and was face to face with the same person, looking even more panicked.
Takahiro was about to reach a hand out to comfort them before he heard loud footsteps and a voice shouting:
"Hey, Takahiro!" Kensuke shouted, jogging over to them with the rest of his colleagues following close behind. As soon as he spotted the person from the ride, a sly smirk grew on his face.
"Ohoho! I didn't take you like that kind of guy!" He grinned, nudging a bright red Takahiro in the ribs. "Who's the lucky girl? Seems like you two got pre-t-ty busy, huh?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Takahiro managed to exclaim as he desperately tried to smooth out his appearance, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the person staring at him. "I would never! She's… I think she's lost."
"You think she is?" Reiko asked, approaching them.
"She doesn't speak any Japanese. We've mostly been talking through gestures."
Reiko walked closer, enough that she was face to face with the stranger. They stare at each other, the stranger was taken aback enough that they step away from Reiko. Their hand wrapped around Takahiro's shoulder, as if to brace themselves.
"Poor girl," she said, frowning and crossing her arms. "She looks terrified! Did she tell you why she was on the ride? Or if she was looking for anyone?"
"No," Takahiro said, looking over at the stranger, who stared back at them. "Nothing like that. Well, it didn't help that she was scared of everything all the way around."
The group burst into laughter, which caused the stranger to shrink and push closer to Takahiro. He would've told them off, but he doubted that they would've understood him at all. So, he endured the uncomfortable feeling of their body flush against his.
"Do you at least know her name?" Ren shouted from the back.
"No."
"No!?" Kensuke exclaimed incredulously and laughed hysterically before continuing. "You hooked up with her without asking for her name?"
"I told you, we didn't hook up! And I honestly didn't think to ask!" Takahiro shouted, and the stranger flinched away. "I don't even know how I would ask!"
"Real simple," Genya said, marching up to the stranger. He points a finger to his chest, watching for their reaction before he said:
"Genya."
The stranger nodded and repeated the name softly. Genya nodded with a smile on his face, before pointing to Takahiro, and repeating the same exercise.
Finally, Genya pointed to the stranger.
"Isidore," they respond.
"Isidore?" Genya repeated, and Isidore nodded. "What an odd name…"
"It sounds European," Reiko mused, rubbing her chin. "Hmmph, looking over her, her clothes do kind of look European, don't they?"
Takahiro didn't see anything like that, even as he looked over Isidore's figure now. Perhaps he was just blind to those sort of signifiers, or he was too hung up on the fact that Isidore had emerged from a bell barely the size of his fist. Maybe it's because of the shirt, he mused to himself. Europeans were more provocative and willing to show more skin, right?
"Well, we're gonna go grab curry from that stand near the front," Kensuke said, gesturing back with his thumb. "You lovebirds are welcome to join us."
"Curry," Isidore said, turning to face Takahiro.
"Hmm?" he asked, before gesturing back. "Curry?"
Isidore nodded, putting their hands on their hips. They stepped forward, before pausing and looking back at Takahiro with an indignant expression. What were they so annoyed about?
"She's trying to tell you yes, dummy!" Reiko laughed, and Takahiro flushed a bright pink, and rushed forward.
Isidore fit in well with the group as they spent the rest of the evening at the park. They demolished the plate of beef curry set out for them, and tried to act like they were a part of the conversation that sprung up between rides. However, Takahiro noticed an odd look they always seemed to have, their eyes always staring far off at the crowds or at buildings. It always lingered on whatever they were looking at, before he or one of his colleagues would get their attention again.
I wonder, he thought to himself, if they're an alien. It would make sense, they seem to be curious about everything around them, they didn't know any Japanese beyond loan words, and most importantly they emerged from a small gilded object upon contact with his hand. Their arrival could be an omen, he mused, a test for humankind. If he mistreated Isidore, the aliens they came with could take it to mean the human race isn't worth saving.
Isidore suddenly turned around to meet his gaze. They look at each other for a few moments, before Isidore smiled softly. It didn't seem forced or awkward, but something genuine and warm. He must be doing something right.
Shortly after, the outing came to a close, and the two found themselves alone again at the subway station. Isidore sat on one of the benches, legs drawn up to their waist and peering at Takahiro from just above their knees. Almost as if they were a clam or a turtle, hiding away from the world. Takahiro sat down next to them, ruffling the back of his head.
"Some day we're having, hm?" he said with a weak smile, and Isidore smiled back.
The smile disappeared quickly from their face, and they stared forward, eyes dull. Slowly, they point a finger down and turn to look at Takahiro.
"Uh," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Isidore, what do you mean?"
Their face screwed up in frustration, annoyance at their inability to communicate, then they point to the sign towards the entrance.
"Oh, uh, 'Ginza Line'."
"Ginza Line," Isidore repeated softly, before pointing down at the floor again. "Ginza Line?"
Takahiro nodded before Isidore suddenly laughed bitterly and shook their head.
"What's funny about that?" he asked.
Before Isidore could respond, they're interrupted by the screech of the subway pulling in. The two of them were corralled into a nearly empty train, and quickly found their seats towards the end. Halfway through the ride to his apartment, Isidore fell dead asleep, slumped over onto his shoulder. Their blonde hair was pushed up against his shoulder, their mouth hanging open slightly, but Takahiro couldn't not smile at them.
If they've really gotten stuck with an extraterrestrial, it's a good thing that they're so even-tempered.
