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He found her shivering and huddled by the hot water pipes.  Her eyes were wide from fear and surprise. Her face was streaked with grime and dirt, and was that blood too?  Her short, blond hair was matted in places with mud and grass. Crud caked around her jawline, like she had been crying and tried to wipe the tears away.

How she managed to show up in the boiler room of a nuclear plant baffled him.  The security was tight in this area.  Entrances were controlled by key pad and card simultaneously.

She looked confused .  Even though he was fully concerned of the security breach, he tried to soften his voice. “What are you doing here? I don’t think you’re secured to be in this area. How did you get down here?”

Isil tried to stand up. Her shoulder caught on one of the pipes and she cried out in pain.  Tears welled up in her tightly shut eyes and she fell down on her hands and knees, gasping.  That’s when he really saw her.

She had on a tattered sundress, which could have been white at one point but is now gray and dingy, like she had been rolling around in a garbage dump. She had no shoes and her small feet were dirty and bloody.  He saw the tattoos on her bruised arms and legs, tribal patterns that were symmetrical and beautiful. But what made his heart wrench in his chest were the bloody, broken stumps of what seemed to be bones sticking from her shoulder blades.

“Edraith…nin…. ach wanwa…ta nahta.” (Save…me…I am lost… and injured.)

Was that French or German? She could pass for a French lady.  He should have paid more attention to French class.

“I have no idea what you just said.  I know you’re hurt. Please put this on.”

He took off his utility jacket and gently placed it around her shoulders.  She settled back on her heels and tried to stand up again.  She pulled herself up using his arm to steady herself. She is small, he thought. He didn’t consider himself tall, but he still was a head taller than her.

“Hanta-dhir…odog.” (Thank you…very much.) She whispered, weariness revealing itself in her voice.

“Ok, let’s get you out of here. I hope you’re okay to walk. My name’s Harry .”

She apparently found amusement in what he said. She let out a tired giggle and smiled up at him.  He gasped, captivated by the color of her eyes. They were a deep blue-purple with flecks of gold, like looking at the quiet sky at twilight, though hers hid pain and sadness behind them. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he felt his chest ache. Those eyes are definitely not from this world.

******

Harry managed to get her out of the facility without being caught. He knew the grounds very well.  He’s worked there almost half of his life, starting out as an apprentice running around for other people.  He eventually settled into a job he was good at and enjoyed at the same time - fixing and maintaining the machinery that powered the facility. He bought an old barn out in the country which he turned into his residential and working space.  A self-taught mechanical engineer, he keeps himself busy by visiting local junkyards and picking up broken things, bringing them back to his place to fix.

Is that what compelled him to help her? Was it his intrinsic desire to fix broken things? She’s not a thing, but she looks utterly broken, he thought as he supported her through the door.

He flipped a switch and the sound of electricity fizzed in the room.  A chandelier fabricated from an old wagon wheel with hanging bottles provided a soft muted light, making the room feel less harsh than it looked.  He walked her to the table in the middle of the room and gently helped her settle in one of the chairs.  Copper, his 5-year old sheltie immediately knew something was different tonight. She silently watched from her corner as he helped the visitor to a chair. Only then did she carefully approach her master and sniffed his hand. Copper let out a worried whine.

Isil watched him climbed some steps to a platform midway up the room.  She knew she was not in her world anymore. The moving container that took them to this place was ingeniously complex and fascinating. She didn’t sense any magic in the thing. But what made it move? The light sources in this place weren’t candles. Everything is unfamiliar and confusing.

All over, her body was screaming in pain. She couldn’t stop the shaking.  It surprised her that she managed to stay conscious all this time. All she wanted was to lay down.

He came back with clean blankets and a couple of pillows.  She watched him spread the blanket on a padded bench and place the other blanket and pillows on top.  He hurried to her side and pointed to the makeshift bed.

“The couch is small, but you’ll fit right in there. Get some rest and we’ll figure this out when you wake up.”

She understood what he meant though not his words, and let him help her to the bed.  He was ever so gentle and patient as she slowly made her way.  Bless this man, the bed was soft and smelled clean. She laid down and he pulled the blanket around her, careful not to drag it across her bruises.  He was built like a blacksmith, but has the gentle touch of healer.

“Hanta-dhir.” (Thank you.)

“Take it easy, purple eyes.”

She was asleep in minutes.

******

He made sure the doors and windows were locked. He tried to put away his tools that were scattered around the place.  He found a pair of warm socks and a shirt that was long enough to cover her decently and laid them on the floor by the couch.  She had such small feet that he might have to go to the kids section to get her a pair of tennis shoes.  Wait, why is he thinking about buying her shoes?  He doesn’t even know what’s going to happen in the next few days.  He justified it by telling himself she will need them when she leaves his place.   That thought unexpectedly made him sad, seeing her gone too soon.  He was confused at his reaction.

Before he retired for the night, he checked in on her again. Her brows were furrowed and she was shivering, curled up into a fetal position.  He lived in an area where the climate is generally in the mid-60s year round, and tonight it was slightly chilly but nothing an extra blanket can’t regulate. He covered her with another blanket and that seemed to control her shivers, but not the frown caused by whatever was troubling her dreams.

He left one lamp lit in the far end of the room.  He headed for the loft and noticed a faint illumination coming from the other direction of the lamp.  He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized she was glowing!  Her skin was luminescent, soft blue light was emanating from her face, her hair, her hands. She was absolutely shimmering with some ethereal light from within. This is crazy! Was he hallucinating?  He rubbed his eyes and shook his head several times to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him. He cautiously pulled a chair and sat close by her and kept vigil the rest of the night, watching her glow in her sleep.

******

She woke up to the aroma of a delicious, sweet, earthy scent. Her stomach rumbled, it has been two days since she has had food.  Sleep had restored her energy and healed most of her cuts and bruises.

“Suilannad milui dhir.” (Greetings, kind one.)

“Ah, good morning purple eyes. There’s food on the table.  Have as much as you want.”

His words sounded kind but she could sense wariness there too.  She recognized the eggs, bread, cheese, and thin slices of meat that were cooked crispy.  He offered her a mug with hot, brown liquid.  This was the source of the wonderful smell that woke her up. She closed her eyes and breathed it all in.

“I added a little sugar in your coffee.”

She took a sip. The hot liquid was soothing and the slightly bitter sweet taste was refreshing. She smiled and looked up at him.

“Hanta.”

He smiled back and sat down at the table. She followed and sat across from him.  They ate in silence.  She would occasionally look up and find him staring at her. She would most likely do the same had the situation been reversed. How can she explain things to him when she does not understand it herself, let alone the obvious language difference.  She remembers running for her life, the Balthir’s hounds chasing after her in the forest, her jumping off a cliff into the deep abyss and hitting water.   The next thing she knows, she wakes up in a foreign place.  Maybe she drowned and this was the afterlife?

“You alright?”

His look of concern touched her.  Her hands were clenched and shaking from the memories. She wanted to cry but not here, not in front of him.  She finished the rest of her meal quickly.  She stood up and bowed her head towards him before walking back to the couch.  She noticed the shirts and socks on the floor and picked them up.  She looked back at him, pointed to the clothes and then at her chest.  He nodded.

“The shower is over here. I figured you would want to clean up.”

He was standing by a door to a small confined room. He turned a knob and water, like rain, fell from a spout attached to the wall.

“Here’s a towel and there’s soap in there. I don’t know why I keep talking, you probably don’t understand me … whoa!”

She had undressed and was walking naked towards the bathroom.  He averted his eyes and awkwardly handed her the towel, trying not to accidentally touch her.

The pressure of the water felt good on her aching muscles.  The fragrant soap smelled of trees and fresh flowers. It did an amazing job of sloughing off the dirt and blood off her skin, feeling clean again, feeling whole once more.  And finally, she let herself cry.

******

“This is insane. What did I get myself into? I just wanted to help, she was hurt and looked so lost.  How could I just leave her there? What if someone else found her? Well, then she would be their problem instead of mine now, right?”  He was arguing loudly with himself outside the barn.  “She’s an alien. No human glows like that. Oh my God, I have an alien in my house!” He abruptly stopped pacing, mortified of the possibility of her being an alien.  He heard the door to the bathroom open and cautiously went back inside to check on her, Copper by his heels.

She came out of the shower and dried herself off with the towel he provided. She was still naked and didn’t seem to mind that a man was in the same room as she was. She didn’t understand what he was saying, but he looked like he was pleading with his hands and pointing to the clothes he gave her.  She held out her hand, palm facing him and focused her energies.

“…clothes should fit you, or at least cover yourself with the towel.  I mean, I don’t mind looking at you, you’re absolutely gorgeous.  But it’s just not right for a beautiful woman like you to be naked in front of a man.  What am I saying, you probably don’t understand what I’m saying.”

“I apologize, my nakedness distresses you.”  She wrapped the towel around her and walked to gather the clothes from the floor.

“Shit! You can speak English??!!” He jumped back three feet like he had touched an electric fence.

“No, I have enchanted your hearing and your words so that we may understand each other.”  She tugged the shirt over her head, and suddenly her world turned upside down. The floor came rushing up to her face and her cheek hit the wooden floor with a loud thud.  The room wouldn’t stop spinning and she passed out.