There was something weird going on, and Josh intended to know what it was. His best friend Aero Nightfall and his family had merely up and moved in the middle of the night. Who does that?
The most unusual thing was—wasn't it somewhat similar to the way they had moved in? One moment no one lived next door, the next day, there was. Although, their explanation had seemed viable back then—because according to the Nightfalls, they had some emergency which prevented their arrival before midnight. That was eight years ago, what excuse did they have this time?
Their house has been deserted for more than a week, and what was veritably stranger was simply the fact that the house showed no sign of anyone living there for years. On top of that, no one seemed to notice that the family was missing. Even at school, no one inquired about Aero's whereabouts, as if no one cared enough to know if he was doing fine.
How could people be such callous, insensitive jerks?
But Josh knew there had to be some other explanation; He just could not fathom what it was yet, but he would find out. Friends looked out for each other even when you didn't request it—and Aero most definitely didn't ask for him to search for him and his family.
Inadvertently, he looked wistfully out his bedroom window where he could clearly see Aero's bedroom balcony. It was one place they invested countless days trying to beat each other at chess. Hadn't it been just last month they had sat there engaged in a chess tournament of their own, which ended in a tie? Before they could have a sudden death match, Josh's mom had called him over to complete his chores that had been left incomplete since earlier that morning. He'd rushed over, and that was the last time that he and Aero had hung out.
The distinctive sound of familiar footsteps padding towards his room quietly and softly urged him back to the present. Turning his head in the direction, he found his mom standing just inside his bedroom door.
"What are you doing lying in the dark?" she softly questioned at the very moment she flicked on the light by the door.
"Mom, can I—can I... "his voice trailed off for a moment, staring now at his ceiling. He felt confused but still tried formulating his concern in the best way he could—although, he guessed for an odd moment, that his question was going to sound bizarre—kinda unimportant.
"What is it, honey? You can ask me anything." his mother replied.
"Well, when was the last time that we asked the Nightfalls over for dinner?" he went back to staring out his window.
"W—who are the Nightfalls?" At that unexpected question, Josh's head whipped back to his mother, who wore a puzzling frowning.
What does she mean by that? She and Mrs Nightfall would frequently spend innumerable hours talking about gardening and stuff... Did they have an argument and weren't speaking to each other? Something most definitely wasn't right.
"You know—the Nightfalls—from next door...." He watched as a frown further creased his mother's forehead.
"No one has lived next door eight years now, not since the Jacksons moved away." His mother walked silently into his room and sat next to him on his bed. She wore a look of concern as she strokes his head. "Honey, are you sure you're feeling well?" he just nodded, not knowing how to respond.
"Never mind—I'm fine." She nodded finally after staring at him worriedly, for what felt like an eternity; then finally, she smiled and left his room.
Strange, how his mother seemed to be clueless about what he'd inquired. Once more, his eyes shifted back to his friend's room balcony; a moment late,r he witnessed something even more bizarre.
A fierce flare of light illuminated the room next door, and Josh wondered for a moment if he was imagining things. He rubbed his eyes just to be sure—except when he looked back, the light was gone.
He got up from his bed and flicked the switch, naturally causing the room to plunge back into darkness—then walking back to the window, he watched for the light, eagerly hoping to see it again; if he did, he would go over to investigate. On second thought, he'd still have gone there to investigate even if hadn't seen the light again.
At that moment a dull shadow appeared at the window, as though someone was staring outside, better yet it felt like someone was watching him attentively. A shiver slivered its way down Josh's spine. That was absurd; who could be in the empty house? Criminals? Maybe, but that would mean he needed to call the police. For a short time, he paused and he somehow got the feeling that the shadow was someone familiar and not the negative. Stupid, he knew, but that made the decision for him. He was going next door—right that minute.
Not bothering with the front door, which would alert his mother, Josh climbed down the trellis that ran up his window. His bare feet landed on the wet grass and for a moment he groaned softly at the gross feeling of the late evening dew and dirt. It would feel better shortly he knew. Without further hesitation, he sprinted towards the hedge that separated both yards, then limberly climbed up the big oak tree just outside Aero's balcony. He'd just made it on the landing when the flare came again, blinding him momentarily—with eyes closed, he crawled slowly to the door. Fortunate for him, that the balcony door was always left open so he would have easy access when cane over. With great care, he opened the door. Entering quietly into the room—he peeked one eye open, then the next.
For a while, he still had to shade his eyes but finally, his eyes adjusted and what he saw surprised him
There standing in the middle of the room was his best friend—Aero, though, something was different about him.
"Where've you been, man?" Josh shrieked angrily and relieved at the same time.
"I came to say goodbye," Aero said, one corner of his mouth tilting in a sad smile.
"What? Why? Where are you going?" shocked, the questions spilt from Josh's mouth before he could stop them.
So I got to see his friend and now this? The words tumbled through his mind.
He gazed at his friend, only just noticing what had seemed so different. His eyes were black where there should have been white eyeballs and green with gold specked irises. Was this real? What was he? Who was he?
"I'm what you may call a humanoid" Aero said as if reading his mind. Icy fear gripped Josh then, what happened to his best friend? This couldn't be him. His mind refused to believe that his friend had not been human. He somewhat felt betrayed.
"I didn't tell you for the very reason written all over your face—I don't belong here; plus my time here was limited and we need to get back to our own world," Aero responded quietly.
"You still could have said..."Josh tried holding on to his anger but soon realized it was no use. Aero still had to leave. Right then a portal, the source of the light opened wider and Aero stepped ever so slightly towards it.
"Before you leave...could we have on last chess game?" Josh asked.
"I thought you'd never ask because I'm definitely kicking your but this time." the natural banter between the two returned despite the sadness of the moment.
They played for hours and it wasn't until the first sign of dawn that Aero said, "I need to leave now."
Josh nodded as a lump the size of a boulder formed in his throat. He wasn't good with goodbyes but he watched as his best friend stepped into the portal, but before it closed he held out his fist and the two fist-bumped one last time.
It wasn't until after the portal closed and there was no sign of it opening up anytime soon, that Josh realized he still didn't know how he seemed to be the only one to know Aero. Weird? Indeed.
As possible reasons whipped across his mind, he climbed the trellis back into his room. It would seem weird now going to school without his friend but at least he knew he was OK. With that last thought, Josh fell asleep with a smile.
