'Air…'
As my eyes lie shut, I felt the gentlest breeze flow across my face.
'I'm alive.'
I took deep and bellowing breaths as I lie against some soft structure, but as soon as I'd begun, the breeze halted abruptly, as if taken away.
Finally, my eyes inched open, my eyelids nearly sealed shut. It was a strain even opening them, but with some effort, they flew open.
My vision, however, remained clouded, unable to focus on anything, but what I could see was the outline of some sort of pink object hovering above my form, small yet close to my face.
As I lie there in my daze, the object moved frequently, always inching away before coming closer to my face, and as my eyes adjusted and I wiped the water from my eyes, the figure finally came into form.
"Ahhhh!!!!"
"Aaahhhh!!!"
As I screamed, the creature echoed it, filling the room with both of our voices. Scared shitless, I leaped backward until striking a wall, shaking the entire room we sat in.
It was a small room, decorated with abstract markings along the walls that formed a strange yet beautiful picture. Eventually, I was able to control my breathing and assess the situation.
Before me was a pink humanoid with long, straight hair, and a single curled, antler-like growth on its forehead. Purple streaks outlined the creature's small body reaching into its soft clothing and nearly covering the entirety of it's form.
It's was clearly female, or at least, liken to the females of humanity in terms of appearance, but it was a lot smaller than any human. It'd only reach to my chest in height, but it definitely looked adult.
'I-I could win in a fight against this thing… I think.'
The creature remained motionless, exuding nearly no emotion even after having screamed her lungs out, but one thing I noticed was her eyes definitely glued to me, particularly my face.
As I moved about, her narrow eyes followed, focusing completely on my face. I touched my face; there was nothing.
"H-Hello."
"H-Hello."
It repeated my words like before, but by her expression, it didn't look like she was mocking me, at least by human standards.
Finally, my eyes angled to her side. There, lie all of my gear, clothing and all. It was then that I realized that I was stark naked with this creature.
My face quickly turned red, but the creature only continued to look at me, curiously tilting its head to the left.
"I-I-I… ummm…"
It didn't mimic me this time, only continued to observe.
"I-I need that."
As I slowly and steadily lifted myself off of the wall, she gripped the entirety of my gear with both hands, and when I'd raised my head, they lie in front of my face.
"Th-Thank you."
I grabbed my clothes, turned my back toward her, and began donning them, and from the corner of my eye, I could see her inching her head to the side, trying to look at my face again.
Her hair was long, reaching down to her abdomen and only a shade lighter than her pink skin.
'I want to wake up from this awkward nightmare, already!'
Finally clothed, I turned around, puffed my federation jacket, and looked down toward her again. Still staring at me, she stood directly underneath my chin, her purple eyes matching the markings lining her pink skin.
I knelt down, and my eyes became level with hers.
'Where am I? Last thing I remember is floating through space. I must've dozed off.'
Within seconds, her arms reached for my face. Startled by the true sensation, my head jerked back, escaping her touch.
'What the fuck?!'
Her hands were warm, but the fact that I could feel the warmth was horrifying. This creature in front of me was real rather than a product of a dream.
"Pretty…"
Her broken pronunciation of English also startled me. I hadn't said anything like that since waking up, and she's no longer copying me; she's speaking English on her own now.
"Do… you understand me?"
"Me no un-der-stan. Just say. Come na-tur-al."
It made no sense. Nothing could understand a language after me saying a few words to them. It was all surreal; I was in the presence of a real, live alien creature.
As she continued to look upon me, her facial expression changed, and her face came closer to mine.
"You… sad?"
"No… I'm happy."
Her fingers ran across my face, relieving the fluid that pored through my eyes, but it wouldn't stop. I could've lived through that moment a thousand times.
"Ha-ppy… why?"
"I've found salvation."
Her faced turned to pouting, her cheeks puffy as she spoke.
"Big word. Use easier."
All I could do was laugh; at the moment I'd sought for my entire life, all I could do was laugh.
'What have we been doing? To think, intelligent life was only a few light years away from home.'
As she continued to poke at my eyes, I interrupted her, wiping my tears myself. My hands clenched before grabbing at her and hoisting her into the air.
At first, she was startled, but after seeing my smiling face from above, she began to laugh, too.
Again, her eyes remained focused onto mine, and eventually I placed her down to ask her.
"You've been looking at my face. Is there something wrong?"
"You different…"
She pointed toward my eyes, nearly touching them and forcing me to flinch a bit.
"Those pretty."
She'd been staring at my own green eyes. I'd heard that that coloration was not typically seen within my ethnicity on Earth, thousands of years ago, but nobody at home thought anything of it.
"My eyes?"
"Eyes… yes."
"Thank you. Your eyes are also pretty."
"No. You eyes pretty."
I laughed it off, but I ultimately came to the conclusion that I can't stay in her home.
'I need to fuel my pod and send word to the Federation about this find. This is sure to reverse humanity's fate!'
As I rose, her arms followed me, but I ignored it, walking toward the door to the room. As I was nearing the door, a gust of wind blew from behind me, and she stood before me in an instant.
Her face was frightened, and any attempt I made toward the door was deflected by her small hands.
"No. You no leave. Stay."