“Here here,” a group of men called in the distance. They raised their glasses in the air and hit them against each other’s. They all made a circle around some thing and started to laugh.

Vennessa Valgro watched them tensely. She had never seen anyone act like this before. Grown men laughing and not caring for the world around them, this was not like the men where she was from. Vennessa sat with her martini, drinking it slowly.

Vennessa looked around the bar and saw many people looking at her. She didn’t blame them; she did look out of place. Her hair was bleach blond with darker blond stripes in it. Her face was dark with blue eyes that looked intelligent. Her noise was small but lovely.

A man from the group looked at Vennessa. She didn’t see him until he started to walk over to her. Vennessa turned quickly and looked at her martini, scared to look up.

The bar tender, a big man with gray hair and a beard, smiled at Vennessa. He was washing a glass when he leaned near her. Vennessa leaned back, not knowing what he was going to do.

“That man you were looking at,” the man said in a low and deep voice. Vennessa could smell the alcohol on his breath. “That man is coming this way.”

Vennessa turned around to see if it was true to find that it was. The man had messy brown hair that went past his forehead but not to his eyebrows. Vennessa turned back around and saw that the bar tender was still smiling.

“Hi,” a soft but semi-deep voice said. Vennessa turned to see the man standing there, beside her. Vennessa saw his muscular arms and connected to his broad shoulders. His eyes were green and small. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

Vennessa didn’t say anything but shook her head. He took a seat by her and just looked over at her. Feeling his gaze, Vennessa looked at him. Their eyes meet for a moment. The man looked away and called something to his friends.

“Just give me a minute,” he called to them again. He turned back to Vennessa who was taking a large gulp from her martini. “I don’t think I gave you my name.” He held out his left hand. “My name is Carmen Anderson but you can call me Cam.”

Vennessa shook his hand with her right hand looking into his eyes. “Vennessa Valgor.” When they released their hands Vennessa looked at the men in the corner waiting for Cam. “They’re waiting for you,” She said quietly.

Cam looked over his shoulder to see his friends waiting for him. He shook his head as he turned to Vennessa. “They want me to get drunk. It’s my twenty-first birthday.”

“Congratulations,” Vennessa said. “Are you drunk?”

“If I was,” Cam said, “I would be saying some pretty messed up stuff. Plus, I would have gone for someone not a pretty as you.”

“CAM!” someone called from the other end of the bar. “Come on already.”

“Do you want to get out of this stuffy place?” Cam asked quietly.

“What about your friends?” Vennessa asked.

“They are drunk,” Cam said. “As soon as I walk out the door they will find something to do with out me.”

Vennessa smiled. She paid for her drink and walked out with Cam.

The nights air in New York was cool compared to the stuffy bar’s air. Vennessa walked beside Cam as he led the way. He seemed to know where he was going. Vennessa just followed him with out a word. The silence was acquired but she had no clue what to say to his man who she had just meet.

Cam stopped in a place called Central Park. He led Vennessa on to a bridge and just looked out at the view. His arms where folded on the railing as he leaned to look at the water below. Vennessa just put both hands on the railing and looked down at the water too.

“Such a lovely night,” Vennessa said to start a conversation. Cam looked at her with a smile.

“I used to come here when I was a kid,” he started to say. “My father would just put me in the car and drive me out here. I would pretend that I was a spy.”

“That must have been nice,” Vennessa said. “My father would allow me to run around our house with his old jackets playing dress-up.”
“Remember those days,” Cam said. He turned his back so it was leaning agents the rail. “You would sleep in late and not care about money unless you wanted to buy something. Everyone in my town would always say that I didn’t have a childhood.”
“Why would they say that?” asked Vennessa. She leaned agents the rail with him, looking at his wonderful face. “My town would say that you would only not have a childhood unless you were the le, I mean, mayors doughtier.”
“That’s weird,” said Cam. “My mother had breast cancer. They found it when I was only ten. She would come up to New York for keymo and help. My father wouldn’t want me to see her when she was at the doctors, so he would drop me off at a friend’s house and I would come here. It was hard on me. There was a parent’s day at school once but my mother had keymo that day. I was left to stand up and tell the class about my parents alone.
“When I was twelve, they thought they had it all. They searched and searched for more pieces of it but they couldn’t find any. We had a huge party for her and she looked so healthy. For five years she was strong, healthy, and helping others with a fight for life only to find more of it in her again. She died on her birthday. I was seventeen years old and hated it.
“My father took it to personally. He thought he could never walk into his room ever again so we ended up moving to another part of town. After the battle, he never missed anything in my life. I didn’t come celebrate with my buds until I was dune with my dad’s party for me.”
Vennessa just looked at him. She never had anybody tell her so much about them-selves to her, the first day they had meet. She wanted to tell him about her but was scared. She came from a place that was completely different from his. She was scared she would tell to much about her self and would scare him off. Even though they had only meet, she had felt like they had known each other forever.
“Sorry,” Cam said looking into her eyes. “I never told anything like to someone who I have just meet before. I hope it doesn’t scare you.”
“Not at all,” Vennessa said with a smile. “I actually find it nice when a man can open so much and show that he really cares. My house had never been so hectic like what you had just said.”

“Tell me about yourself,” Cam said. He was still looking into her eyes. She looked at him and became scared. He saw and smiled, placing a hand on hers. “Please.”
“My father would kill me if he knew,” Vennessa said quietly. “Well, my mother and father had three children with me being the oldest. He worked with the government and still does. What else do you want to know?”
“Anything,” Cam said. He stood up and placed a hand behind her hair and by her ear. “You look so beautiful in the moon light.”
“I have to go,” Vennessa said. She was scared and she turned away. She had told enough about her self to this man.
As she started to walk away, she turned around to look at Cam. She wanted to remember his face, his eyes. As she walked to a bench she sat down and placed her head in her hands. She knew she never should have came here. This place was so alien to her and she did not know all of the customs. She had never heard the word mayor or cancer before. She didn’t even know what cancer was.
Vennessa thought about her parent’s back in Flamlighta, her home world. She thought about what she had to do just to get here. She had to walk through a tunnel and came out of a hole in the ground, in the middle of the street. She wondered around, found some money and walked into a bookstore where she read about this world that was so different. She walked around all day until wondered into the bar where she meet Cam. He was the only person who showed her some kindness sense she had arrived.
Vennessa knew nothing about this place besides it was big. She missed the quiet, small towns of Flamlighta. The technology there was so much more advanced then it was here and she missed that. She missed the small light show that her town put on every weekend and she knew that she was missing that know. The only thing that she did not miss is all of the security back home.
Vennessa heard running footsteps and looked up. Cam had run then stopped. He looked around as if searching for something. He turned around to see Vennessa siting on the bench. He smiled at her then frowned when she did not smile back. She turned her head away from him not wanting to see him.
“If you didn’t want to tell me about your self,” Cam said sitting by her. “all you had to do was just tell me.”
“It’s not just that,” Vennessa said in a small voice. She looked at him. Her eyes were getting watery from the pain of his lovely eyes. She liked to look in them but knew that after tonight it will be like a dream. She took a deep breath. “I’m not from here.”
“Half the people in New York are not from here,” said Cam with another smile.
“No,” Vennessa said. “I mean here, as in Earth. I don’t think you will understand and will probably think that I’m crazy.” She took another deep breath. “But it’s true.”
“Are you telling me that you’re an alien?” Cam asked. Vennessa nodded then shook here head. “What?”

“Not the kind of aliens that you are thinking of,” said Vennessa with a smile. “We do everything like you do here. Our technology is way more advanced and we have a completely different government. Its called Flamlighta. I know it sounds weird, but I’m telling you the truth.”
Cam just looked at her. He had never heard a girl tell him that. He thought for a moment in disbelief. He looked into her eyes and saw the sadness in them. He had never seen that in the eyes of a person who had just told him something he would never believe in. He just smiled and shook his head.
“Is this a joke?” he asked. “Did my friends put you up to this? That’s just like them to do something like this.”
“Cam,” Vennessa said. She started to cry because he did not believe her. “I’m not making this up. Your friends did not put me up to this. What will it take to make you believe me? I want you to believe me!”
“Okay,” Cam said. He turned his body to face her. She did the same. “What kind of language do you speak?”
“Flamlightan,” said Vennessa. “We would call your language langua de Earth. Next.”
“Do you have cancer there?” Cam asked. He looked straight into her eyes and she looked straight into his.
“What’s cancer?” Vennessa asked.
“You’re not making this up,” Cam said. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened wide. So wide it almost hit the floor. “Cancer is an illness. Do you know what that is?”
“Yes,” Vennessa said with a smile. “Cam, I need you to promises me that you will never tell anyone this. My father would kill me if he knew that I told you.”
Cam took her hand and put his hands around it. She could feel the warmth of them and looked once again into his eyes. It was the only part of him that she had seen the hole night. He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“I would never tell a soul unless it was a matter of your life,” Cam said.
Vennessa had a feeling that he meant it.