Dromie stopped. “Yes, we are! We’re going to the Atlanta Alliance Embassy.”

“Let us walk with you. I am Javier, Diplomat Of Elshar Zheiea, and this is Bettina Escoria, Lawyer Of Atlanta.”

“Elshar Zheiea? As in, Elshar Mashai Zheien Colony?”

The man frowned. “We should nae discuss here. Let us go to the embassy—”

“But, if you are Zheien, will you declare me a citizen? I need a place to go. This lady needs a place to go, and her daughter and her 4 year old granddaughter!”

“I declare you a citizen of Elshar Zheiea! But let us discuss this in the embassy.”

I wanted to tell him I didn’t agree to a nursing home on another planet! But maybe I’m not legally able—the way that social worker talked to my daughter yesterday. They kicked me off the list for Medicaid residential services. If she told her we were going to be homeless, maybe that explains why. I couldn’t talk to Gwen because Bubba was in one of his moods. Now I wish I’d called 911.

Javier frowned at my walker. “Such a hard seat! Shall I carry you, Lady?”

“I’m okay.” The seat was digging into my rear, but it’s just a little ways further. I am 250 pounds.

He leaned close. “I feel pain from you—”

Dromie cried. “I promised I wouldn’t hurt her! I already bit her finger!”

The man startled. Looked at my still-bleeding finger. The napkin was soaked. But he reached a hand over. Hummed. All the blood vanished from the napkin! My finger didn’t have a cut. My glove had teeth marks, but he waved and my clothes looked new!

“Ooh, he’s magic! I’m just a demon.”

I laughed. “Dromie, you’re not a demon—”

“Isn’t that what a goblin is?”

“Goblins aren’t real. They’re made up.”

Dromie put my hand on his arm. Cold! “I’m real.”

“But, you were pretending to be a goblin toy.”

Javier looked worried, and more people walked towards us. “Please, Friends, let us discuss in the embassy. May I carry you, Lady?”

“Uh, I’m heavy—”

“Her name’s Aine. It rhymes with bane, like ‘the bane of my existence’—maybe that’s not a good one.”

I laughed. “Next time, use train. I love trains!”

“Okay.”

I was shaking, just being on my feet this much. Javier picked me up and walked. I heard the walker clattering behind us. Unlike Dromie, Javier was very warm, which felt wonderful to my arthritic joints! He hummed pleasantly as we walked.

We passed historic Victorians. At least they’re all nice aliens. But leaving Earth! That’s scary. Gwen and I have problems, but I know the problems here. Dromie came from a mine? On his world? Why doesn’t he want to go back? But he said he was the last one. Maybe he just doesn’t want to be alone.

People stared at us as we passed. With this man carrying me, it didn’t take long to go up the long hill. I knew all these houses from Inman Park Tour Of Homes. When I was married to Harrison, I had to memorize details about each house and who first lived there, because we volunteered to answer questions about them at the end of the tour. But, we walked in a gate up a curved walk to a house I didn’t recognize. It matched the style of other houses, but was medium blue, a very bright color for a house. I would remember this one! They faked a house? I knew the map of every street in Inman Park, including Elizabeth Street.

This house was too perfect. Every rosebush and tree was exactly spaced, though bare in January. No defects in the front door jamb from settling of the wood. No evidence of old repairs. Not even a patch of flaking paint or wear on the steps or the porch floor.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The door opened without him slowing down. My reflection showed a very fat lady with a young face for 65. “O, bring her here! Lady, I am Pas, a healer.” This fella had red-gold eyes!

The front door closed. “Hey, can I wave this thing into her terminal?”

“Eae, you may. How shall I call you?”

He made that sound like scraping metal, a high-pitched sound that made people around us flinch! Javier was now yellow-skinned, and his blue eyes went black, like black marbles in the white!

This other man had orange skin and took me in a room. “Isn’t Dromie coming?”

He shivered as me made me comfy. “Javier brought Pirad. Let me see you first.” Then, he startled as he raised twin-fingered hands. “You see through my image? Does my appearance frighten?”

I laughed. “Dromie doesn’t scare me now, so I guess you aren’t as scary as he is! What are you and Javier?”

He smiled. “We are Zheien. But Javier is a diplomat and I am a healer. I wish to touch your forehead, and I can use my telepathy to heal you.”

I told him about my arthritis and having trouble remembering things. They usually want a list of my meds and Gwen has to carry a print-out of it, but he had a list that floated in the air with my latest test results.

“Who’s Pirad?”

“He knows greater healing than I! If you are ne frightened, I can bring him. He is Bisillip.” A picture came up of a bony man, half my width and green. But, Dromie has three fingers and three toes. This man had hands and feet like mine, but very bony and angular.

“Dromie said he was related to Bisillips.”

This man just appeared on my bed and clicked his jointed face into an expression of dismay. “He is not!”

Pirad touched my head and I thought a lot better! Arthritis didn’t hurt as bad, either! “Thanks! But, you’re cold like Dromie.”

“You think of him as a friend, but he is not! I will take him—”

“But, I want to take my family to MarKu. They have a Black city planned. They are Black and want to be part of a community like them.”

Pirad frowned at Dromie, who now looked like he did as that plastic doll, just taller like an 8 year old. “They may go but you cannot.”

“You can’t tell me what to do. I’ll tell Rentappenen!”

Everyone in the room gasped! Pirad clicked his face into an expression of horror! “You would help him destroy 13 more galaxies?”

I frowned at Dromie. “You don’t want to destroy galaxies, do you? Earth’s in a galaxy. Bubba’s mean, but there are a lot of nice people on this ol’ Earth, and I don’t want you to hurt any of ‘em!”

He lost the silly, wide-mouthed smile and blinked those huge, blue eyes at me. “But, that’s what we do. We’re good at destroying things that get in the way—”

“Get in the way? Galaxies have people, and people are important. Did you get to know anyone in ‘em before you went and destroyed ‘em?” I got upset.

Dromie looked at his huge feet. “Well, no. I was scared of Rentappenen, so I just did what he said, so he wouldn’t destroy my people. But, he got mad and did it anyway. I was a slave for a long time. I hid.”

“So, why would you want to talk to him or do anything for him again?”

“Because he’s strong, and he’s gonna win.” He got that silly smile.

“He’s a bully. If he wins, he’ll get all the good stuff, and he’ll probably kill you, too.” I shook my head.

“Would you miss me, if I die?”

“Luna sure will! Of all her toys and even her Princess Priscilla doll, she took you with her. She said you listened to all her problems.” I looked in his big blue eyes. “Yeah, I guess I’d miss ya, too.”

He hugged me. “Then, I’m sorry I bit Gwen. She was going to throw me away and I wanted to be with Luna, so I bit her. But, when I did that, she became part of me and I thought about things. Now you’re part of me and I think more.

“In the mine people were scared of me. I don’t look like anything nice, like Zheien or Thordes or even Elshars. Elshars aren’t nice. Well, some were. But they didn’t become part of me. Not until you. Now, it’s different. All of them are part of me. You did that, Aine.”

I hugged him, and my body changed. I’m not fat! “Thanks, Dromie! But, I guess I should try to pronounce your real name.”

“I don’t like it. Our people were all warriors. Maybe we shouldn’t have been. We conquered or we destroyed. Andromeda is pretty. Remember when you had Gwen get your telescope out to look at it when Bubba left? Luna held my eye so I could see it. She said it was pretty, and I looked, and it is pretty, and I saw worlds of people like this one. Luna doesn’t even know them, but she loves them anyway. Eriganh and Rentappenen like hate. So did Satauuver, but hate killed him. Rentappenen will kill me if I don’t help him.”

I hugged him harder. “Some things are worth dying for, Dromie. Sounds like he’ll kill you no matter what. But you can die fighting him.”

“Okay, Granny. I’ll fight him! Here’s what I can do, Pirad!” They stared at each other.

Pirad backed away with a scared expression frozen on him.