"So what is your name?", the leader asked me. His body language was consistently friendly and non-threatening. He did not seem to be uncomfortable about being naked at all and neither were the other men.

"Lié. What do you call each other?", I asked carefully.

"My name is Arto. This is my friend, Pekkä.", he pointed at the mildly obese man with blond hair to his left," And this is my friend Lasse.", he pointed at the skinny man with black hair to his right.

His careless and happy attitude was affecting even me.

"She's an elf.", Lasse said. His eyes were glassy. The other men laughed.

"You have to excuse Lasse here. He is a bit crazy about elfs.", Arto talked over the laughter of his friends.

"I have a degree in elf spotting.", Lasse protested as his friends continued laughing.

"Have you seen her ears?", he lifted his index finger and pointed it at my right ear.

Arto had to calm himself before he replied: "That is probably just some kind of cosplay-thing."

His smile was big and warm.

I nodded. I did not know what cosplay was, but it seemed like a convenient-enough lie.

"Do you want to join us in the sauna?", Arto pointed at the small cabin behind me.

"Why?", the question sounded very normal to me when I thought of it. It did not seem as normal to the men standing in front of me.

Without answering my question, Arto's friends went back into the sauna. "I thought you might enjoy it, is all.", Arto said shyly, looking down.

"I am waiting for someone.", I replied. "He should be here very soon."

Arto nodded. I sat down on a wooden bench in front of the building they called sauna.

"Do you want something to drink?", he asked. His eyes were fixed longingly to the door behind me.

"Alcohol. Thank you.", I said. He laughed sympathetically and went to another cabin nearby. He returned with an ice-cold tin can and handed it to me. "Thank you.", I said. He nodded awkwardly. Then he joined his friends in the sauna.

Whatever drink Arto had given me, I loved it. I drank 3 tin cans full of it. The sun was almost setting in the distance.

The men had put on clothes. They invited me to sit in front of a fire with them.

I saw no reason not to join them. I found that I did not hate them.

Their conversations were beyond otherworldly to me. I doubt that they had ever heard of the Lex. They seemed to be completely unaware of the rest of the Universe.

All they knew was the strange ways of their own place. Sitting with these strange but friendly humans made for a good time-pass. We were frying what they called sausages on wooden sticks over the fire. They tasted delicious.

Pekkä and Lasse went to the bigger cabin to sleep and Arto stayed up with me when they left.

"I'm sorry your friend did not come.", he said. He seemed tired, happy and relaxed. The wind was playing in the leaves of the surrounding trees, rustling softly.

"He will come.", I replied with an unhinged stubbornness. The thought of being left alone on earth was worse than death to me.

"So what are these ears made off? They look too real.", he tried touching my ear but I evaded his hands. "Holograms."

"What?", he asked. His reaction revealed to me that my answer was not as normal as I thought.

"Uhm. They are technical devices.", I said. After a seemingly natural, friendly pause, he said: "Ok. You can keep your secret."