Xenice sits on the floor in front of Mizi. The robot wears a smug expression on its screen, complete with drawn on glasses it must have copied from a book illustration. It gestures proudly at the open pages, lecturing her on everything it absorbed while they were out. Xenice listens cheerfully, smiling at every beep. They are finally home.
Xen stands behind them, lost. To him they are just noises. The only clues he has are Mizi's floating orbs pointing at various paragraphs.
"You can understand its beeps?"
She finally turns. "They are not beeps to me. Mizi talks to me."
"Mizi? Is that the robot's name?"
She nods. "Mizi. I can understand Mizi."
She takes the book Mizi was holding.
"Mizi talked about these trees. I am familiar with these trees. Earth's trees are more tame and stable."
"More tame and stable…? Are there alien trees? Woah… I mean, that makes sense."
"Plants are the most common creatures in the universe."
"Fascinating."
"Beep beep beep!"
Mizi continues the lecture, pulling her attention back.
"Really? They are rooted to the ground?"
"Beep!"
Xen gives up. "I am going to go wash up."
He glances back at them before heading to his room. Xenice kneels in front of Mizi, reading his college biology textbook. She notices his stare and glances back at him. She smiles, still holding onto Christina's scarf.
He smiles back and enters his room.
He takes out his keys, wallet, earphones, and phone from his pocket and plops them on his computer desk. He slouches down on his chair. He looks at Christina's message.
Good luck.
What does she mean by that? Is she mad? Xen could never understand or predict how Christina feels. She does a great job hiding her expressions. Should he text back? Would it be appropriate?
"Agh. Whatever."
He tosses his phone back on the desk. He looks around. Orange pill bottles, a box of cigarettes, and multiple empty alcohol bottles lying around. What a mess. Something he does not want to show Xenice at all.
✮⋆ ̇
"Hey, I am back."
Xen, freshly out of the shower, walks back to Mizi's makeshift classroom. He looks at what book they are looking at this time.
Oh, a manga. Hm. Hope they will not get disappointed to know that vampires and magic are not real.
"Hey, Xenice. Do you need to wash up as well? And you should switch your outfit to the pajamas we bought earlier. Remember the light blue, thin fabric one?"
"Oh. My suit already washed me up. But yes, I will switch to the pajamas. It is the type of clothing to wear when at home, correct?"
"Correct… wait, you said that your suit can clean you up?"
"Mm... mhm."
"Cool… It is like Iron Man, sort of."
"My suit is not made out of iron."
"Oh, um… It is a reference to something on Earth. I will show you it later."
Xenice, confused, just nods. She gets up while holding onto Mizi, who lets her carry it around with a smiling expression on its screen. Xenice pulls out the pajamas from one of the bags.
"Should I take my current outfit off first?"
"Oh. Yes please. And you can change in your room. It is not appropriate to undress in front of… me…"
Xenice nods again.
She takes it with her to her room. Xen is left alone, cleaning the mess of books Mizi made.
After a short moment, Xenice comes out. The light blue pajamas fit her cozily. Sleek, but loose enough to be comfortable.
"Xen. How did I do?"
"Mm."
Xen looks away quickly. The pajamas reveal the shape of her shoulders, the line of her neck, the fact that she is preparing to sleep here, in his home, trusting him. His throat tightens. Words feel dangerous. He manages only a neutral sound, afraid that if he speaks, his voice will betray the chaos in his chest.
He sees her fiddling with the fabric of her pajamas in the edge of his vision. She rubs the material between her fingers, curious about the texture. He does his best to fight the urge to just lean toward her. Honestly, he is proud of himself for staying resilient.
She notices the neat stack of books on the floor.
"Mizi, put the books back where you got them."
"Beep beep!~"
She sits down next to him on the sofa, just close enough to feel each other's presence. To Xen, it feels too close. Mizi hovers back and forth, holding one book at a time.
He asks a question he has been wondering.
"Mizi… is it a he or a she?"
"Hm?"
"Does Mizi have a gender?"
"No, Mizi is a robot."
"Yeah, but does it have any feminine or masculine aspects?"
"Mm… Mizi is just Mizi."
"I see."
He finally makes eye contact with her.
"It is getting late. Would you like to sleep?"
"Sleep?"
Ah. Right. She does not have a bed. He should offer his. But the mess in his room. The bottles. The pills. He gets up quickly.
"You can use my bed. I will sleep on the sofa. Let me just clean my room for a second and get my spare pillow and blanket."
"Okay. Sure."
He jogs away. Xenice watches him go. Sleep? Already? It has been less than five days since her last sleep cycle. She touches the sofa fabric. Is this his periodic time to rest? She waits, turning the word over in her mind. Sleep.
"Okay. I am done."
He returns holding three plastic bags of trash in one arm and a pillow and blankets in the other. The bags drop near the front door with a rustle. The bedding lands on the sofa beside her.
"Come. You can sleep here."
She follows him to his room. The bed is black and modern. Cool to the touch. A typical human resting platform. She looks for the incubation chamber. The nutrient feeds. The temperature controls.
"Do you just lay down?"
"Yeah."
"That is sleeping?"
"Yeah. Why?"
She looks back at him. Then at the bed. Primitive. Naked. Inefficient. She presses her palm against the mattress. It yields under her weight. No support fields. No climate regulation.
"Um. It is not time for me to sleep yet."
Xen pauses. "You sure? It has been a long day."
"A long day?"
"Mm. Do you not sleep?"
"I do. But I already slept less than a week ago."
He blinks. "... what?"
"How often do humans sleep?"
"Every night, we go to sleep."
"Really? Is that not a waste of time?"
"I guess, but that is just how it is."
"Okay. Sorry to judge. I will lay down."
She climbs onto the bed. The springs creak. She lies flat, staring at the ceiling. Xen scratches his head.
"Um. Sorry. Also, I promise to get you your own bed tomorrow. Good night."
She shakes her head. "Do not be sorry. I am here to learn."
"Mm. Okay. Good night."
"Good night, Xen."
He closes the door. In the living room, he arranges his own bedding on the sofa. Mizi has already turned off the lights, the robot's screen dimmed to a soft glow. Convenient. He lies down. The ceiling has a crack in it. He follows the line with his eyes until sleep takes him.
✮⋆ ̇
"Hey. Wake up."
"Hm?"
Xen opens his eyes but remains drowsy. He is sleeping on his bed.
"What the... Xenice..."
"Who is Xenice?"
A familiar voice. Christina's voice.
"Christina... What happened...? Why are you here?"
"Did you already forget about me?"
Xen does not respond. He gets up instead. He leaves Christina unattended in his room and heads out. He quickly checks the storage room that he gave to Xenice. She is not there. The bookshelves are still dusty and the cardboard boxes never left the room. What is going on? Where is Xenice?
Christina peeks out.
"What is the matter, Xen?"
"Xenice..."
"Xenice...? What is that? Why are you saying Xenice?"
Has everything just been a dream? Did Xenice never exist? Did he dream all of that? No way. Surely not. Everything felt so real but... everything felt too good to be true. An alien girl and a talking robot out of nowhere... it never made sense in the first place.
Xen crumbles to the floor.
Christina runs up to him, worried.
"Hey? What is the matter? Did you not eat yesterday?"
"No, I ate fried rice with chicken... and pork dumplings. Right?"
Christina shakes her head with confusion. "You were home all night."
She sighs. "Get up, Xen. Let us get you something to eat. I will bring your pills."
"No, I do not want them. Stop."
"I will go bring some IHOP. Do. Not. Do. Anything."
Christina leaves, right before giving Xen a stern look.
Xen panics. His breathing constricts. No. No. Xenice is real. She is real. He remembers her holding on to him on the way back home. He remembers her tug, her touch, her troubling eyes. And then, her smile.
Xen stumbles to the cabinet that stores Christina's clothes. The scarf and coat are still there, untouched. He leaves the closet in despair.
"Was I hallucinating everything?"
Xen has never felt so disappointed in himself before. He sits at his dining table and waits for Christina. He stares at the same spot on his floor where Mizi and Xenice were reading his biology textbook. And then he looks at the balcony and remembers the sight of her sunbathing in the sunset.
"I am such a fucking loser."
✮⋆ ̇
The front door beeps. A high electronic chirp cuts through the silence. The lock clicks. Christina walks in with a blast of humid air and the sweet heavy aroma of syrup and fried batter from IHOP. Her work heels click against the tile. She looks tired, makeup slightly smudged, but her movements are efficient as she kicks off her shoes and moves to the dining table.
She takes out each styrofoam box, grease stains blooming on the paper bags, and opens them with practiced snaps. The pancakes steam, slightly soggy from the transport. She arranges them like she is setting a hospital tray, indicating with her chin that Xen should eat.
Xen picks up his plastic fork. It feels cheap, too light, nothing like the weight of the chopsticks he dreamed about. He stabs a sausage link. The meat is salty, dense, utterly unlike the juicy dumplings he can still almost taste. He chews mechanically.
Christina pours lemonade into his cup, the liquid amber, ice cubes cracking, and sits down across him, maintaining a careful distance. She takes her share of the scramble, black coffee steaming beside her plate.
"Are you feeling okay now?"
Xen is unresponsive. He just pours his syrup packet in slow golden lines onto his waffles. The viscosity reminds him of the hydraulic fluid Xenice compared to tea. He watches it pool all over.
"Xen. Can you talk to me?"
"Yeah. Sorry. I am not okay."
Christina sips her black coffee, steam curling around her face. She does not look at him, giving him space. "Elaborate."
"I had a dream of some alien girl."
Christina pauses. Her fork stops halfway to her mouth. She sets it down, assessing him with clinical precision.
"Weirdo."
Xen exhales, a laugh that sounds more like relief than humor. His shoulders drop.
"Yeah. I was going on a date with an alien girl and I fell in love."
"I expected you to fall in love with an alien."
"Shut up."
The waffles are delicious. It is a bit soggy but hits the spot.
"How much do I owe you for this?"
"Forget it."
"Mm. Thanks. Dinner is on me."
"I want pho."
"Sure."
She pours hot sauce on her egg scramble and mixes it with her spoon. She scoops up the egg with the spoon instead of her fork, a habit that has always disturbed him.
"Tell me about this alien girl."
Xen drinks his lemonade, clearing his sweet but salty palette.
"She is really pretty. Blue hair and eyes. She had this talking TV looking robot that beeps all the time. She communicated with light but she learned to speak really quickly. Her technology was crazy advanced. We went shopping and ate dinner together."
"Mm. Fried rice with chicken?"
"And pork dumplings. She really loved the pork dumplings."
Christina nods, staring at her eggs. She knows. She always knows when he is telling the truth even in dreams. She stirs the syrup on her pancakes in slow circles, delaying.
"Pretty good dream?"
"Yeah. It was a good dream."
A silence settles between them, heavy and familiar. They continue eating, the only sounds are the scrape of plastic forks and the distant city hum.
"Is Xenice her name?"
"Yeah."
"Why is her name similar to yours?"
"I fucking named her after myself. Her name was something out of some kind of hologram. It could not be translated to English."
He looks at his hands, remembering holding hers, the warmth through the gloves.
"You got some interesting creativity."
"Thanks, I guess."
Christina stirs the syrup on her pancakes. The amber liquid swirls. She does not look up when she asks.
"Could she have replaced me?"
That question felt heavy in the dream, impossible, terrifying. But now that he knows that Xenice was only in his dreams, he could easily answer it now. The truth costs nothing here.
"Yeah. Definitely."
Christina chuckles, a soft accepting sound, almost sad. She sips on her coffee again.
"Tell me more."
Xen continues. His hands gesture in the air between them, sketching shapes. He describes everything. The encounter with Jenny and Chris. The alleyway. The walks. The restaurant. All of it. His voice grows faster as he speaks, as if afraid the memories will dissolve if he slows down.
He finishes his breakfast while talking. Christina is only half finished. He always finishes before her. Xen does not know whether she is taking her sweet time or simply has no appetite. He watches her gently slice her pancakes into eight neat pieces on her plate with the plastic knife.
"Mm. It sounds like you have more fun with this alien girl than me. I am just here to make sure you do not go insane."
"You being here is everything to me. That is all I have."
Christina jokes, but her eyes do not smile. "That is until you find an alien girl to fall in love with."
Xen still vividly remembers Xenice's face. The blue hair. The glow. He blinks and sees her instead of the IHOP breakfast.
"Why did the dream feel so real?"
"How am I supposed to know that?"
"I miss her already."
It is Christina's turn to not respond. She continues eating. The plastic fork scrapes against the styrofoam.
"Hey, Christina. You think I will ever find someone like that? Like Xenice?"
Christina waits. She sets down her fork. "Do you really want to replace me that badly?"
"You are the one who rejected me. You told me to find other people."
"I know. But do you?"
"I think I want something real."
"I thought I was just enough."
"I am not so sure anymore. I got spoiled in my own dreams. Can you believe it?"
"Good luck."
Good luck. The words echo. He remembers her text message in his dream. Good luck.
"Christina, what do you mean by 'good luck'?"
She looks up. Her eyes are unreadable. "Just… good luck? Good luck finding someone."
Xen exhales. Christina is still mysterious as ever. Xen will probably never truly understand her.
"Thanks."
Behind them, Xen's door creaks open. The sound is small but sharp in the quiet apartment.
"Xen. Maybe Xenice could be the one to heal you."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Christina points toward his room with her plastic knife. The white utensil shakes slightly in her hand.
Xen turns around.
✮⋆ ̇
Xen wakes with a jolt, eyes wide. He finds himself lying on the sofa. He startles Xenice, who stands in front of him.
"I… I am sorry, Xen. Did I scare you?"
"Xenice… you are real."
"Huh?"
Xen gets up and hugs her immediately. This surprises her. She hugs back with hesitation. She's warm. Definitely real.
"Xen…? What is wrong?"
He releases her.
"Sorry. Nothing is wrong. There is nothing wrong. Wh… what is up. You could not sleep?"
"Sorry, I tried. I am not sure how to sleep. I was wondering if you could teach me."
"It is fine. You do not need to sleep. Would you like to stay here with me?"
Xenice nods.
Xen may not know it, but Xenice actually felt lonely in his room. She could not forget about the plasma storm. She got too scared that he might abandon her in this unknown world. She wants to be with him all the time. She does not want to lose sight of him, afraid he might disappear. Asking him to teach her how to sleep is just an excuse. She does not want to be alone.
They sit down together on the sofa. Xen shares the blanket with Xenice.
"Hey Xenice, how often do you sleep?"
"Mm… once every few weeks? I usually sleep for around seven hours."
"Wow. That is cool. How do you sleep?"
"We have a device to sleep in."
"Like an… incubator."
"An incubator…"
Xenice's translation module searches for the meaning of the word.
"Hm. Yes, I suppose so."
He looks at her. He sees her sitting next to him like last time, but this time with a blanket together. He is still sleepy. He does not think properly and asks without giving much thought.
"Xenice, could you help me sleep? Can we sleep together?"
She observes him. He looks tired.
"Sure, come here."
Xen obeys. He lies down next to her. Perfect. This way, Xen could never disappear from her. She gets to keep him for tonight.
"Hey Xenice, could you pat my head?"
"Like… this?"
She places her hand and gently taps on his head.
"Mm. Thanks, Xenice."
"Of course."
"The drone camera. What did you see?"
"I saw Earth. As a whole. I was in awe. I looked at everything for hours. And then I saw you."
"What did you see me do?"
"Secret. You seemed important."
"Huh…"
Xen obviously has questions. What does she mean by "secret"? However, he is too sleepy to think. Her touch makes him more drowsy. He wants to keep talking but he does not want her to stop touching his head. He gives in.
Xenice sits there all night, watching him sleep. For once, sitting for hours didn't feel like a waste of time.
✮⋆ ̇
Sunlight blasts through the window. Xen forgot to close the curtains. Even with his eyes shut, the brightness burns red against his eyelids. He knows opening them will hurt. He covers his face with his hands and groans.
"Mmf…"
He wakes on the sofa. His back aches. The cushions are too thin, the frame too hard beneath them. He reaches out, patting the blanket for his phone.
His hand finds something else instead. Soft. Warm. Breathing.
He freezes.
Xenice. She stayed the whole night. She is lying next to him, still asleep, her chest rising and falling in slow rhythm. Her hair spills across the pillow they share. Her face is relaxed, eyes closed, vulnerable in a way he has never seen before.
"Xenice…"
Xen does not move. He does not know what to do. He has never woken up with someone still there. Christina always left before dawn. Always.
But Xenice remained.
He remembers her telling him that she does not know how to sleep. But look at her now, sleeping without a care in the world. As if she has never done this before. Xen does not want to wake her. He lies back down quietly, ignoring the sunlight, and patiently waits for her to wake up.
That is until a phone call interrupts them both. Xenice wakes to the sudden ringtone.
"Hello Xen."
Agh. Her morning voice. It is adorable.
"Good morning, Xenice. You stayed here?"
Xenice gets shy. She does not want to tell him that she felt comfortable watching him sleep. She observed his snores and the rhythm of his breathing. Then she copied him, lying down next to him, and somehow sleep found her too.
Still awkward using her voice after waking, she croaks, "Is that okay...? Was I allowed to do so?"
Xen stutters over her broken yet elegant voice. "Certainly! Of course!"
He finally spots his phone. Jenny. What does she want? He answers anyway.
"Hello?"
"Guess what, Xen."
"What..."
"I stayed up all night."
"Okay...? Why are you telling me this?"
"Aww~ did I interrupt your sexy time with Xenice?"
"N-no! What?! Why did you call me?"
"I am coming over. Put some clothes on, you horny monster."
"Again, I am not-"
Jenny interrupts him. "Chris is tagging along with me."
"Fine. Only because Chris is coming."
Xen ends the call with irritation.
He looks at Xenice. She is just lying quietly next to him, studying the phone in his hand. To her, the technology is primitive. Yet it is the most advanced communication device she has encountered on Earth. Somewhat convenient.
"Xenice, looks like we get to see Jenny and Chris again."
She nods.
"You hungry, Xenice?"
She gasps with happiness and gets up.
"No, but I am willing to eat!"
Xen giggles.
"Let us go get IHOP."