Dark brown hair that stuck out in all directions was the first thing I noticed. An angelic face then came into view. And I had no idea how wrong I was. Then.

The man ascended a flight of stairs, a pure smile on his face. All I could see was that damned smile.
And I would have been caught up in the trance if Tim's bark didn't reach the depths of my mind. And that was when I noticed where he was.

A graveyard.

But even in the grim surroundings, he seems to be radiating energy, some kind of... happiness?

For a fleeting moment, I think I see a trace of the devil in him. Short, curved horns and fangs appeared, you see?

But it just can't be.

Before I can make anything out of it, he sets his foot on the surface of the planet. And the whole planet visibly dulls.

He walks with an excruciatingly slow gait and opens the yard's gates. I literally just watched death walk towards the earth.

Should I consider myself unlucky? Or... lucky?

He steps out of the graveyard and instantly disappears into thin air. The smoking red pit he rose out of was closing rapidly and within seconds, there was absolutely no trace of it.

~

Clouds don't move the way humans think they do, you know? Only the people who live on it can control their movements.

And right now, our royal cloud hovers right above the place I am supposed to go to.

"I'll get you back when it's all sorted out, honey. Until then, just bear with me, ok?"

"Yes mom." I hug her.

Tim circles around me, barking as soft as he can. Mom gets down on a knee and ruffles his head.

"Do you wanna go with her, bud?"

Tim rapidly barks and wags his tail, a sudden shift from panic to excitement. But I don't blame him. This 'news' has me excited too!

Mom has never let me take Tim along, ever before.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"Nothing at all, Evelyn, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering..."

"Mmhmm..." She's still playing with Tim, who licks her other hand.

"I'll miss you too, bud. Take care of the princess, Ok?" she tells Tim.

My entire body freezes upon hearing 'princess'. Something I was almost never addressed as at home.

Something's definitely wrong. And mom's not telling me.

But she'll have a good reason to justify that. So I don't push the subject.

I just stand by and watch as mom and Tim seem to have some kind of a private conversation. I hear only one phrase out of it all, though.

"The king has returned, they say..."

And that is enough to keep my mind occupied for a long while.

Mom finally gets up and goes back to ignoring Tim. She hugs me one last time and speaks again. I should probably listen. But I don't.

I just can't. And honestly, I couldn't care less about 'making friends'.

Humans are lame anyway.