Serial: An October Hike #2
"Oh, is this your first time? Don't worry, I'm sure you can manage!" a soft voice beckons me. A middle-aged couple is standing behind me. The woman looks at me with such kind eyes, but I can feel the panic rising even so.
"Uh, yeah, I thought I'd give it a go." Keep it together, Alea. They won't discover I'm an aberration if I can just act natural.
"Oh, good. It's nice to meet a new face - Otto and I go on a lot of hikes," she explains. "So where are you from?"
"Uh, I-I'm from Sri Lanka," I blurt out anxiously. A lie, but an often used one. My skin changed when my heritage was revealed, but lucky for me, my tanned skin is still within human range.
"Oh, you sound so natural. I meant 'are you here from town'?" Her presence is calming.
"Uh, yeah, I thought I'd give it a go." Keep it together, Alea. They won't discover I'm an aberration if I can just act natural.
"Oh, good. It's nice to meet a new face - Otto and I go on a lot of hikes," she explains. "So where are you from?"
"Uh, I-I'm from Sri Lanka," I blurt out anxiously. A lie, but an often used one. My skin changed when my heritage was revealed, but lucky for me, my tanned skin is still within human range.
"Oh, you sound so natural. I meant 'are you here from town'?" Her presence is calming.
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