My therapist asked me to write a narrative about human connection so I can visualize it or something, I don't know, so here. It's not personal, so I'm fine sharing it.

Amos slowly hopped out of her little three-room house onto the muddy path outside. A soft rain pattered down on Amos' tangled hair. She sighed, stepping over the slim river that snaked through her little neighborhood. One foot in front of the other, making sure not to hit anything, and she was back in the summery sun of a large marketplace within only a few minutes.

She only needed a quick snack before heading off for another day of boring work. Most all of the darker population of Maroesol needed to learn basic math and literacy, but Amos had what she thought was enough of a grasp from working with the owner's family so much.

At least, it was for now. Now, within the first few days of school, they were going through the alphabet and numbers. When the children had mentioned school, it was because they had needed help. This did not seem like anything Amos would ever need help with.

She stepped up to a little stall filled with berries and fruits. Bananas and grapes hung from the metal bits stuck back at the person behind the counter. She picked up a shiny red apple from a large cup, twisting around and smiling, satisfied, after finding only a few darker spots contaminating the surface.

"How much for this?" She asked, voice soft and grumbly from its first use of the day.

"5 years," he said gruffly, barely glancing up from his little setup.

She was about to remove the sunflower from the black wrap around her head when a bubbly voice spoke behind her. "Hey, no! That is totally unreasonable!" A man with floaty purple hair said, coming up behind her. Wait, floaty what?- "I got an apple for 3 over there! C'mon, let's not waste our time." He seemed so casual about the whole affair; as if this obviously white man had not just come up to a random brown stranger, giving help.

He was about to spin around, indicating for Amos to do the same, when the man behind the stall exclaimed, "Wait! I could possibly do... two and a half?"

"One." The strange man said, cocking his hip. Amos had gotten over the initial shock of his strange hair, which, she supposed, was more common here than it was on Earth. At least she'd seen something like it here, which was more than she could say for California.

"I will go no lower than two!" The vendor exclaimed.

The man thought for a moment, staring hard at the man framed in fruits. He wore a dark blue petticoat over a white button-up and had a white blazer hanging from his shoulders. A short, black tophat sat upon the back of his head, the vibrant hair seeming to climb up it. He had pale skin and were those... bruises in the middle of forming around his hairline and his eye? "Hmmm. What do you think?" He asked, turning harsh brown eyes onto her.

"What? Uh... yes?" Amos stumbled. She waited a moment, then gasped and hurriedly began again to take the purple-tipped sunflower. He let her make the exchange, then walked with her a few feet.

"I'm Alexander by the way. Most just call me Xan." He said, stopping and extending a hand.

She took it after a moment. "I'm Amos." She didn't know why but this felt... okay, for once.

"And excuse me miss, but your... hm." He looked away for a moment, then back at her. With a newfound light in his eyes. "Would you like to go shopping with me? I can teach you more about this place and... well, fashion, and we can get to know each other. I was already gonna go with a few people, so if you want to join us...?" He trailed off into a question.

"I have to get to class. But maybe another time?" Amos offered, surprised, but not badly, by his extroversion and willingness to get to know her.

"Okay! Where do you go to school?"

"RǝɥSnop." She replied, slightly mangling the word.

"Oh, cool! I have that in a couple of hours! Can we walk together?"

"Sure."

For the rest of the ten-minute walk to the campus, and eventually, into one of the buildings, the two spoke about... a lot. At least, Amos thought it was. She had never covered so many different subjects with one person in such a short amount of time... ever. Well, she had had that strange conversation with her guide, Rosa, a month or two ago, but that was forced and awkward, just trying to get to know each other. She learned a few useless tidbits, but that was it.

This was different, somehow. Yes, there were still plenty of pleasantries, but it felt so much better than it had before. The tension was removed, and every twist of the conversation seemed to be covered in smooth, gold silver lacquer. He teased her a bit, though she didn't catch it most of the time. And even when she did she knew it was in a good-hearted, kind way.

She had no idea why it felt like that, it just... did with him. Though it wasn't something she dwelled on at the time. And by the time they parted, it was no doubt that she had made a friend, which seemed to differ from every other guessing game she had played for this before, which, to be fair, were few in numbers. It was strange to think that she had gotten with him in ten minutes where she had only come close to with her best friend in California after a few years.

They arranged to meet at a small park with their lunches once both finished school, and this time was even better. They talked until sunny dots lining the horizon all dipped below the surface, though every passing hour felt like barely a few minutes. They had to get up and go home eventually, but both parties were excited for the promised shopping trip the next day.

Amos had made friends today. Yes, she had made a friend.And it was the best feeling in the world.