After such a peculiar encounter, Tae and Camila went about their day as normal. They greeted customers, some genuinely curious about Camila’s knowledge while others seemed to snicker and sneer. Camila did not mind those who poked fun at her; she was too distracted by this morning's interaction. She wanted to know more about them, and this frustrated her. Tae, picking up on her internal panic, walked closer toward her.

Tae: “Hey…you okay? You seem rather…distracted. Did those two men get to you that badly? Surprised you didn’t spring into action.”

Camila: “I’m fine, just in deep thought is all.”

Tae: “Okay, but you know you can talk to me about what’s on your mind right?”

Camila: “Of course, I know that it's just...I would rather discuss it when we don’t have people in the store.”

With this, Tae walked away to attend to other customers zooming in and poking around at their items. As the day dragged on, morning soon became a bitter chilling night. As they assisted their last customer for the evening, Tae led them out and locked the door for the night. Another successful yet mundane day at their cheesy little shop. Tae noticed that Lucky was rather quiet and seemed to remain close to the door today when he is usually very friendly with the customers they get. With the click of the lock, Tae turned his attention to both the cat and Camila.

Tae: “Something is up with you two and I need to know what it is.” Tae then walked over to Lucky and picked him up gently.

Tae: “You are the first that I am going to interrogate, mister! Why are you acting so weird today huh?” Tae said, pressing his face gently against Lucky’s forehead. With this, Lucky responded with a tiny meow and a slight nibble on Tae’s nose. Cradling Lucky, Tae then moved toward Camila who had a tightened inquisitive face, and nervously tapped on the glass counter where their register was placed.

Tae: “Camila, what’s wrong? I know you didn’t seem to care for those guys this morning, but they’re gone now. Who knows if we will see them again.”

Camila: “That’s the thing, I have a feeling we will see those two again and again. It was as if they were looking for us…or rather me in particular. Something about that tough-lookin’ one just had this…vibe of familiarity. Like I had seen him before…”

Tae: “I mean maybe you saw a similar face to his, we do get quite a few customers and they are bound to all look the same at one point. Although, I am rather shocked by how Lucky reacted to their presence…that surprised me a bit.”

Lucky jumped out of Tae’s arms and his paws softly walked across the counter toward Camila. He nudged her slightly and she began to run her fingers through his lengthy fur as she continued to be lost in her thoughts.

Tae: “You two are on the same wavelength today. What is going on in there Camila? What’s bugging you? Please let me into your brain for a bit…like in that movie…Revenge of the Alien Succubi.”

Tae made a slurping sound that soon made Camila chuckle a bit at his corny movie reference.

Camila: “As long as you don’t judge me, then I will soon tell you.”

Tae: “Me? Judge you? The nerdy-lookin’ Asian kid who loves anything horror and creature feature-related? Need I remind you of the many movie shirts I wear every single day!?” Tae said pointing at his faded Loch Ness Monster shirt that was written in kanji. Camila chuckled once more and rolled her eyes.

Camila: “Okay fine nerd, you’ve convinced me. Well, I am just thinking about how I genuinely haven’t accused anyone of being otherworldly beings in quite some time. I have a feeling those two are somehow related to something beyond human.”

Tae fiddled with his hair for a bit and with a few moments of passing silence, he had a barrage of queries.

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Tae: “What makes you think they are not of this world? Also if they are not of this world, what are they? Do you think they have come from space to research what we humans are like? If so, what and why are they studying us….OH! Maybe to blend with our society and report back to their alien fellows…OR…maybe they…!!!”

Camila: “Nothing like that…they seemed to be drawn to this area don’t you think? It’s like they purposely sought after our shop, what is the reason for that?” Camila said, interrupting Tae’s enthusiastic ramblings.

Tae: “Well, if they specifically sought after our shop then that leads me to believe that they are probably not aliens studying us. Could they be spirits trapped here and are just drawn to our ominous town?”

Camila rubs her chin and paces around the shop, thinking intensely. Lucky’s ears pricked up as he rolled over to Camila, remaining on the counter.

Camila: “If they are spirits then, we have to begin to wonder, how were we able to see them and we have to confirm with others around us if they’ve seen these two…”

With this, Camila stopped mid-pace and shot up their stairs, fumbling about in her room. All Tae could hear was the tossing of clothes hangers onto the floor and the sprinting of loud footsteps. Before he could even ask, his face was met with a peacoat, blinding and confusing him briefly.

Camila: “I’m sure you’re already muffling down there, hold on, I’ll be down in a minute.”

Tae removed the coat from his face and slowly slipped it on, burying his hands in his pockets. A cool breeze seems to hit Tae from somewhere, but he is unsure of what. Tae ignores this, for after all, the shop sometimes blows in a draft from the outside whether it be from loose floorboards or sometimes the slight crack underneath the shop door would have wind slip in on occasion. Tae also acknowledged with it being mid-October, the weather sometimes shifts between being a bitter cold or a warm spring day. Not even realizing, he saw Camila was already on the last step of their stairs.

Camila: “We should go around and ask our neighbors to see if they have met those two, just to confirm our suspicions! You imagine if after all these years I was right and these creatures were real!? I would soon be the queen of this town, having everyone gravel before me-”

Tae soon drowned out Camila’s ramblings by being mystified by her appearance; he thought she looked cute in what she was wearing. She also had a peacoat, hers was beige though, her fuzzy earmuffs with her own thickly made wool gloves she attempted to make back in college. He only watched her lips move, as she was passionately discussing her theories on the new neighbors. He just had her tuned out completely, knowing that to most she just looked like any other woman dressed in warm clothing, but to him, she looked gorgeous in everything she wore. Tae snapped out of his trance in a few short moments though due to Lucky nudging his legs, almost as if signaling he should make a move.

Camila: “So are you ready to move?”

Tae: “Uhh…yeah sure! Let’s go prove to our neighbors that ghosts and ghouls are real like we’ve been saying for years. When we get home we can write up some theories and then after that…maybe even Were-Rabbit?”

Camila rolling her eyes and sighing at the mere thought, decided due to his cooperation, she would allow a bit of fun.

Camila: “Fine, but only after we get some thoughts down on paper and theorize on what we have discovered! Now c’mon let's go!”

Tae: “Oooh, maybe we could get some pizza while we're out too! Maybe a drink or two? Pizza and drinks! I am quite the genius when I want to be.”

Camila: “Augh, fine! Only after we question our neighbors though!”

Tae: “I knew you would listen to reason!”

As the two left slammed the door behind them and locked the shop with their key, Lucky soon found himself stretching out his back. He leaped off the counter and went towards the back of the shop. This area that Lucky was poking around in, was beyond Camila and Tae’s knowledge. Dust seemed to have a life of its own with piles tumbling about as Lucky began to pick at a particular floorboard that was loose and cracked. His efforts were not in vain though, for his massive paws were able to lift the piece of withered floorboard. His body, slinking through the crack effortlessly, lands on a pile of broken pieces of the home and a dirt mound that seemed to be recently formed. Lucky soon finds himself covered in a cloud of dirt, his once sleek black fur now engulfed in soot. Uncovering what he was digging up, was a tethered journal that seemed to have its fair share of use. Using his paw, he unlatched the clip to the journal, and inside was a small pen with a rather fancy tip. Placing the pen in his mouth, he did the best he could to write about today’s events with that unusual encounter. Lucky recalled detailed events such as their appearance, their article of clothing, and even their scent.

Once finished, Lucky buried the journal by flinging dirt every which way until it was covered again. Slimming his way through the floorboard and dragging the floorboard to cover his hidden secret.

Lucky: “They will learn about me soon enough, maybe sooner than later, but for now I need to remain a typical house cat until necessary.”