Among the litter of bottles and cans, flipped coffee table and scattered chunks of ceiling, Nev is crashed out on the sofa, covered in a thin layer of dust from the broken plaster-board.

As the morning traffic is slowly ramping up, humming through the open windows, morning sunlight creeping through and poking Nev in his face, agitated senses and sinuses eventually give in and he wakes with a sneeze or two.

Taken back by the state of his living room, where a mess usually goes unnoticed, Nev remembers the beast, like a hungover hookup he'd rather forget and pretend never happened. He scans every side of the room without any evidence of its existence but the memory of it makes his skin crawl no less. Perhaps he didn't see the green and blue eyes of a creature from beyond.

Good morning, a voice booms from no apparent direction with a cavernous echo.

Nev jumps up and falls, tripping over one of the many scattered bottles and cuts his foot in the process.

I'm in the corner of the ceiling, the booming voice beckons yet again with a thunderous growl that vibrates through Nev's whole body, rattling his jaw and poorly maintained teeth.

Nev looks up and sees the creature from last night, a misshapen human of different odds and bits, lengths and widths, pieced together like a monster of Frankenstein, a tangram of jet black skin, so dark it absorbs and warps the light and objects around it. Nev, not wanting to take his eyes off it, claws at a bottle beside him and throws towards the darkness. The creature falls from the ceiling like a startled spider, landing on the sofa beneath without as much as a crease like it weighs nothing at all.

No need to be afraid young one, the voice echos, but its mouth didn't move.

How are you doing that?

The creature settles into the sofa, leaning back and resting the hands on its knees as if it's a grandparent preparing to tell a story to a child.

We share a mind as we have done for years, since you were a boy.

Nev shuffles backwards through the rubbish and away from the creature.

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What the fuck does that mean!

You are a physical vessel and I am a spirit. Think of it like a Djinn in a bottle.

You're a genie?!

The creature chuckles to himself silently

Not quite. I just wanted to explain myself in the simplest way possible.

With a sigh of resignation, Nev replies, If you're gonna kill me then just get on with it. You'll be doing me a favour.

A shark like smile stretches across the creature's face, the contents of its mouth on full display, various sized teeth in an unnatural order, peculiar sized gaps between them and a collection of white and yellow shades.

Is that what you wish me to do, truly, you wish to die?

Nev, bewitched by the beasts facial features, its two tone eyes, sharp smile and morph like muscle structure, oddly un-decided wether it's real and can't help but focus on the physical possibility of its existence.

How do you do that, speak without speaking, without moving your mouth I mean?

As I said before, we share a mind. You're hearing what I think.

So can you hear mine, my thoughts?

Sometimes, but I try not to intrude. This is your home and I am a guest.

Nev, continually puzzled by the creature, its looks, posture, the way it talks, or doesn't, everything is completely unnatural, like it's trying to be human, forced smile and all, like the TV personalities he's always watching. Perhaps to put me at ease? For what purpose?

How did you get here?

The creature gently hunches forward as if anticipating such a question and has a answer already prepared.

Would you like to see?

See?

It is better to show you than to speak, so to speak.

Nev shrugs his shoulders, and with this, the creature reaches inside its chest, creating a swirling void with great strain as if two negative forces fighting against each other. After a moment of struggle, it pulls out a black stone, about the size of a fist, mirrored or polished to the point of absurdity. The creature cups the stone in both hands and reaches out to Nev.

For me? Nev said, pointing to his chest.

The creature gently nods, yes.

Nev, accepting the stone, runs his thumb over the smooth surface, weighing it in his hands. It's solid but feels so light and precious.

What is it?

Whatever you want it to be. A world of opportunities and possibilities. A thank you from a guest to a host, but to truly experience what lies within, a token must be offered.

Nev is equally stunned and curious.

Is this how you got here?

In a manner of speaking, yes, but do you remember the genie analogy?

This is your bottle?!

Cast away amongst the stars....

The creatures mind trails off, easing back into the sofa, looking at its clumpy hands with disappointment. The hands of years, decades and centuries of hard work. They are not his but a necessary substitute. Something to work with until the day comes, all he has been working for, freedom and separation from the various prisons he lived within. So close but now's not the time to question the past.