Wish Upon a Star

I pushed open the door to my rundown apartment. The half-rotten door creaked from its rusty hinges before it reluctantly opened for me.

The sight of my small room wasn't much but it was a welcome one to my tired and weary body. I stifled a yawn as I untie the knot of my apron and just dropped it on the floor.

It was yet another back-breaking day at the restaurant. Not only did my fellow waitress, Samantha, come into work today(making me work double by also waiting on her area of tables) but the night shift team didn't come on time so I had to linger and cover for their shifts.

What's worse was I had no overtime pay thanks to my stingy, close-fisted boss, who also worked the kitchen.

As if I didn't give him any favors by manning the kitchen if he wanted to skip work early to meet his mistress.

Ugh.

Life just wasn't fair.

"Why do I have to kill myself working in a place where no one appreciates all the work I've done?" I muttered under my breath.

However, even though I wanted to just quit my only job, the sad truth was that was my ONLY job. Other than the restaurant, there wasn't much business going on in this little backwater town.

Which was why I just had to suck it up, save for fare, and get the hell out of dodge.

Despite the pain and the agony I was feeling, the sight of my untidy bed which was also half-rotten from the water dripping when it rains courtesy of the hole on my ceiling, was too depressing.

I sighed yet again and decided to wind down and relax and hope that sleep would come soon. With that in mind, I shuffled towards the only window in my room and plopped down on the stool I placed there.

I propped an elbow on the wooden, also half-rotten, windowsill and looked up at the night sky.

Despite the dilapidated state of my small cramped room, I know I wouldn't trade it for a better one since the view of the sky from this section of the equally dilapidated building was the best.

Watching the stars was my favorite past time. It was the only thing that can make me relax and help me find sleep to survive yet another day in my life.

And who could blame me for seeking companionship from the stars?

It's just that...the stars seemed to speak to me.

They'd tell me that everything was going to be okay. That I'd just need to endure one more day because soon, everything was going to change for the better.

"Soon..."

I could almost hear the faint word as cold wind breezed inside the room, ruffling my hair and playing with the strands. I let it while looking up at the sky again. And wondered.

I wonder if I belonged somewhere. Because I may have lived on this planet for the past 24 years but I still felt like an outsider. If only my life was a novel where I could cheat and flip to the last pages and see where I stand.

Unfortunately, life wasn't a book that has a definite end. It was a story with blank pages in the future, waiting to be written by the hands of fate.

I sighed again and hoped the hands of fate get over their writer's block. They should stop keeping me in this loop and finally think of something good to write in my little book of life.

Shaking my head at my musings, I stood from my chair and leaned forward to close my window. I glanced up to get one last look at the sky before I sleep when something caught my eye.

I squinted and struggled to see--there! Something blinked!

It wasn't a mere twinkling star, though. I didn't know what it really was but it was something different. New, even.

Something blinked again, only this time, it was brighter than the first time. Then after a moment, it kept on blinking but I realized it was also growing bigger and bigger.

I gasped in fear and excitement. Fear because it might be a meteor heading my way and I'd be crushed to death. Excitement because this was my first meteor sighting and to witness it so close to me was beyond cool.

Before I could pull my windows close, the winds began to pick up again. And the curious thing happened was that the wind blasted behind me instead of in front of me. Curiouser still was that the wind was so strong, it practically pushed me out of my window.

I flailed my arms in hopes I could recover my balance but to no avail.

I fell.

The last thing I remembered was that I was screaming for my life. The huge, bright light that I thought was a meteor was heading straight for my room only to make a last minute turn and head for me instead.

I screamed harder before light engulfed me and then...

Darkness.

Waking Up on Not-Vegas

I groaned, feeling like my whole body was aching. Whatever shift I just pulled at the restaurant has got to stop. Apparently, doing a lot of shifts for three consecutive days wasn't doing my body and my sanity any favors.

With my eyes still closed(as if I could open my eyes, I was so exhausted), I felt my way through my surroundings and current situation instead.

I felt like lying down on a bed. My bed? It felt a little softer and comfier, though.

But maybe my body was so tired, lying down on cardboard could be considered comfy. That or maybe I was still dreaming.

Surely that weird thing blinking in the sky, the meteor, and me falling out of my window was just a dream, right?

I could have gone to sleep after a couple of minutes of stargazing and fell asleep on my windowsill. My dream was probably a warning for me that I might plunge to my death if I didn't seek my bed and sleep there.

But I couldn't seem to move. My whole body was aching so bad cause Samantha didn't show up and I hate it cause her customers were always the grabby-touchy-feely ones.

Samantha didn't care if she was groped or pinched in places that weren't meant to be pinched unless both parties in a relationship together. If Samantha didn't care for that, doesn't mean I do! Because I care a lot and I didn't appreciate all those pinches and gropes.

But if I go to work later and Samantha wouldn't show up again...

Ugh.

"I hate this," I muttered, my voice came out hoarse and rough, which was surprising.

I sounded like someone just screamed their head off.

Which was also a surprise because I never sleep talk, sleepwalk, or whatever. Not only that but the building manager didn't take well to those who were noisy. Of course, unless it's him howling the night away while banging one of his daily girlfriends.

So...anyway, it was quite surprising that he didn't bust my door down to shut me up.

"You hate...what?" a deep voice asked.

Oh shit, I frantically thought, is the building manager here?

I thought about feinting sleep but then the words began to register in my sluggish brain.

It sounded like a male but this one was deep and a little scratchy--but in a good way. The manager's voice was more like a whine or something akin to a little girl despite his good looks(that solved the daily girlfriend mystery since no one wanted to stay with him after listening to him nag like the little girl he sounded like).

"W-who's there?" I asked, even though it mostly sounded like a demand.

Which wasn't wrong because it seemed someone was inside my room! It wouldn't have been scary but it was, especially since I couldn't open my eyes. Whoever was in the room with me must have done something while I was asleep.

I began to panic and screamed when hands fell on my shoulder.

"Shh, shhh," the voice crooned softly.

I braced myself waiting for the person to hurt me since I just alerted the whole building of his presence with my scream. If the building manager somehow didn't hear me, I was sure my cranky next door neighbor would come up to my door and bang it, probably busting it open in the process, and attack the intruder for me.

But the pain didn't come. Instead, the hands on my shoulders began to slide up and down my arm in a soothing motion that immediately sent my raging emotions to a calm state.

How...?

"Calm down. I meant no harm. I was just checking over your condition and heard you talking. I take it your awake now?"

Uhm. How do I respond to that?

"I... I guess. But I can't open my eyes." Then I gasped, sucking in a noisy breath. "Or my eyes ARE open but I can't still see anything cause I'm blind?!"

I panicked again and tried to blink my eyes but I couldn't do it. It feels closed. And if it's closed, it meant I wasn't blind...but why can't I open my eyes?

The big, strong, yet gentle hands resumed their path up and down my arm again and I immediately calmed down. That was weird.

If I'd known my body was capable of calming down from my hyperventilating that way, then I should have done that to myself whenever I was breaking down from my sucky life.

I tilted my head curiously.

"How'd you do that? What are you doing to me, rubbing my arms like that, exactly? I want you to teach me so I can apply it to myself."

The voice chuckled and it was cute.

"It's an ability my kind possesses. Which is why we'd make great nurses, caregivers, and spouses," the voice answers.

Now I was more confused than ever. Ability? Kind? What did all of those mean?

"Riiiight."

I just considered humoring them. And that reminded me to ask the real questions.

"Who are you, by the way? Are you a man? You sound like one but I didn't want to assume. The world can be pretty sensitive about that right now."

Yep. Real questions. Because apparently, asking the stranger what they're doing in my room wasn't a real question.

I wanted to facepalm myself so hard sometimes.

"I am Tausin. A male Samorian. I understand your concern but don't worry since we aren't fussy about labels like humans do."

Samorian...? Humans...? What do those even mean???

"Here, let me help you with your sleep aid."

I heard a snap. I would have feared that it was from my bones but it sounded like a snap of a finger.

And just like that, both my eyes opened, and I was staring straight into beautiful amethyst eyes with...moving gold flecks in it. Holy moly, his eye color was moving!

Before I could flip out on his oddly moving pupils, my gaze flickered to the rest of his face. My eyes widened with every discovery.

He's...blue! His face was blue so were both his arms sticking out of white clothing which I assumed was like a nurse's outfit. He has thick black eyebrows, thick black hair tied in a hot man bun, a slim nose, smiling pouty, blue lips, and...deer ears?

I blinked a couple of times. I even blinked my eyes for good measure while looking at...Tausin but he's still the same handsome, blue-looking dude with deer ears I've ever seen. Was I still dreaming by any chance?

"Sektrina, are you okay?"

Tausin's face was etched with concern as he tilted his head in question. The movement only made some parts of him visible and that was...his horns. Deer horns.

Apparently, it's already Halloween and I probably messed up my calendar. Again. Admittedly, working almost non-stop at the restaurant makes me forget the time and date sometimes.

But wait...

Did I just hear him right?

I looked at him with narrowed eyes before asking him, my voice full of suspicion.

"Wait a minute. How...did you know my real name?"

No one, I repeat, NO ONE knew about my real name. I've always gone as Trina in all my documents. I had pleaded with the orphanage to change my name in all of my papers once I was old enough to be let go, especially when no one adopted me for the past 18 years of my stay.

I didn't know why that was the case. I've always been treated as weird by my fellow orphans. I never fit in and whenever I was called in to conduct an interview with potential foster parents, all of them seemed to have a great big meeting and made a wager or a pact about not adopting me.

Tausin gave me a soft smile, ignoring my question, and lifted his arm. He reached over to tap my arm and I yelped when my whole body glowed a soft, neon blue.

"Holy crap, please tell me this isn't permanent," I worried.

He ignored me still and checked me over. I saw him frown at a spot on my elbow which was tinged with a neon red instead.

Curious, I lifted my other hand and touched it. A sharp sting registered in my brain, making me hiss in pain.

Tausin hummed thoughtfully and snapped his finger. The neon blue color over my body was gone, along with the red tinge, and with a wave of his hand over my elbow, a cast suddenly formed around it.

My eyes widened with surprise. But I wondered why it didn't surprise me that much. To me...that looked and felt...normal.

Was I even normal to think that the deer guy, the magic cast, and hearing my real name from him were normal?

I blinked and looked up and away from cute deer guy Tausin. It was then I discovered that...I wasn't in my room.

Everything around me was stark white, smooth walls. No windows. The room was five times the size of my small, cramped room.

And it was just Tausin and me inside.

How could a spacious room like this make me feel suffocated, though?

It seemed he might have picked up on my discomfort when Tausin gave me a soft, sympathetic look and snapped his fingers again. All of a sudden, the white walls made way to big square windows that overlooked outside.

If I thought my eyes were wide with surprise before, I was wrong because my eyes widened even more at the sight.

It was already morning outside. The sun was shining, splashing a cheery and bright hue over the lush pink grass, huge colorful flowers I didn't recognize, and small pure white creatures that definitely didn't look like rabbits.

I didn't have to be a genius to put two and two together. Because one thing was for sure.

I wasn't on Earth anymore.

Home Sweet New Home

"Here we go," Tausin cheerfully opened the door for me.

I gave him a small smile which he responded with a happy perk of his deer ears, his equally adorable deer tail wagged enthusiastically.

Back in my white room, it took a moment for me to come to terms that Tausin, my assigned nurse, was a Samorian. An alien species that were blue half-human, half-deer.

His kind was more than compatible to assist with 'my kind' so he was chosen to be my personal nurse. Not that there were any other options for him. He was the only Samorian nurse on this planet, Keeta--which was in a new solar system, light-years away from the Milky Way, for now.

Some of his species were still in the middle of processing, which I assumed was school--if I was reading his context clues correctly. According to him, it would take time before his home planet gets to send more of his kind to Keeta.

But when I told him I didn't want to trouble him, he quickly dismissed it. He insisted it was an honor for him to be able to care for me.

And I just let him.

How could someone say no to his eager, smiling face like that? I was never heartless, in fact, I was too selfless and caring for my own good. I already wasted my selflessness to the stupid people who didn't deserve it on Earth so why wouldn't I give it to someone who's a caregiver?

(Caregivers were known as caring and as selfless, right?)

Besides, he genuinely looked like he really wanted to care for me even though I only had a broken arm from my fall.

And...yeah, the meteor and the falling thing wasn't a dream after all.

My arm in a cast was proof.

Apparently, the acquisitions team, who was sent to 'fetch' me, made a mistake and got their pilots mixed. Instead of sending two professionals, the schedule was switched and one professional and one student pilot were sent instead.

Both got the memo a little too late before the professor took the helm and finished the fetch mission.

Anyways, I got over it and forgave the alien pilots when they were sent to my room. One was a very, very, very tall green alien with a round head and long fingers while the other one was a smaller version of it.

Tausin explained after they left that the...aliens(he told me the names but it was impossible to pronounce using my pathetic human throat) of that species were the best in ship flights, hence most of the sightings on Earth found green men.

I wondered about the title 'the best' since they mostly crash-landed on Earth but I didn't want to burst Tausin's bubble. He seemed to be fascinated and awestruck with them.

My falling aside...

It didn't take long for me to accept everything in stride. Heck, it actually just took me A MOMENT to come to terms about me not being dead, me not being on Earth, and apparently, this was my new life now. I shouldn't be surprised at that since today was just full of surprises.

Like how...normal everything finally feels for me.

Call me crazy but somewhere deep inside of me, I felt like...I was almost close to finally feel like I belong. Crazy but hell, I'd definitely take a cute, blue deer-guy as my nurse in this utopia of a planet as long as I wouldn't wait any tables and be groped.

The watch on Tausin's wrist chirped, startling me from my thoughts. He glanced at me and gave a sheepish smile before checking it.

"Your people informed me if you have adjusted accordingly, I can escort you to your house," Tausin said, helpfully.

He waved a hand over our heads and a dark cloud formed above us, shielding us from the sun as we walked away from the...uh...hospital. At least that's what I thought it was.

"House, that's cool," I replied, eyeing the cloud formation above our heads.

He reached for my hand and placed it on his arm, giving it an affectionate pat before gently leading me forward.

"Yes. I'd like to tell you more about them but I am not cleared to do so. However, you can talk to your people's representative. They are telepathic types and they can give you everything you need to with a touch."

"Hmm, just like how you can mend my aches and hurts with a touch?"

"Yes," he chuckled, softly patting my hand again. I found that I like those little, soothing touches he makes.

I frowned a little. "Do you, by any chance, know what my abilities are? Like, if you have some medical powers, my...people's," I made air quotes at that using my free hand, "representative has telepathy, what is mine?"

A glance told me that he's mulling over my question. He was silent for a moment and I wondered if he was going to answer or not. I was about to tell him to forget my silly question but he beat me to it.

"I honestly don't know, Sektrina. No offense meant but your people are quite...unique. Each every one of you adapts to your environment to be able to blend in."

He glanced at me and rubbed a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we can find out if you want."

Now I felt a little bit excited at the prospect. With a beaming smile, I gave him an enthusiastic nod. When he just stood there and gawked at me, stopping in his tracks, I stopped also but I kept on talking.

"Yes, please! I hope I'm not a burden because you still have to take care of me. If it helps, it's just a broken arm. I have worse injuries while on Earth and working in the restaurant. I think I'll be okay in no time so we can totally work on my powers."

He kept staring at me, though. When it lasted for a couple more minutes, my smile faltered and I got worried.

I reached out and patted his hand over mine, which was still curled inside his elbow.

"Tausin? You okay?" I asked.

If I didn't know, I think Tausin's blue face turned into a deeper shade of blue. Was he...blushing? His ears were drooping down and he's got that deer in the headlights nailed--especially since he was a deer person.

"I-I...I uh, uhm, uh..." he stammered, turning into a deeper shade of blue.

Now I got more worried. I immediately reached up, standing on my tiptoes because he was a tall and massive Samorian, to touch his forehead.

To my utter horror, Tausin's eyes widened. His eyes rolled back on his head and he fell.

"Tausin! Oh my goodness, Tausin!"

I screamed for help and was torn between staying by his side and rushing back to the hospital to have him checked out. I was just a waitress and I didn't know anything about first aid and stuff. It was supposed to be Tausin's job but he was out cold for some odd reason.

In the end, Tausin's fine once the other aliens in the hospital heard my screams. He wouldn't tell me why he went unconscious like that but I was just glad he was okay.

So I guess this is it. I was pleased to inform that this was officially the start of my new life.

And it all started by wishing upon stars.