His name was Noa.
He didn't go to school.
He didn't have a phone.
He didn't seem to understand vending machines.
Suspicious.
Lina began bringing him snacks every evening. He studied chocolate bars like rare artifacts.
"Why do you live up here?" she asked.
"I'm not living," he said. "I'm waiting."
"For what?"
He hesitated.
"For the moon to call me back."
Lina narrowed her eyes. "You're not… a vampire, right?"
"No."
"An alien?"
"…Not exactly."
That was not a comforting answer.
The truth slipped out three nights later when Lina tripped on the rooftop step and would have fallen, if gravity hadn't simply… stopped.
She hung in the air.
Noa stood beneath her, eyes glowing softly.
"Sorry," he said. "I'm not very good at pretending to be human."