That morning, Hunter woke up at dawn. He got dressed, he quickly ate and then left, although he was tired because of how early it was. The alleys were dark although the Moon shined with all its splendor. Hunter walked through the maze-like alleys for about half an hour. When he reached his destination, he stopped and sat on the nearest bench, then waited. He waited for a long time, patiently, and felt proud of his endeavor because he finally caught sight of what he wanted to see in the dusky alleyway. 

Feline was slowly approaching, a small backpack in her hand, dreamy-eyed. Hunter stood up and the young woman's ear twitched slightly, a sign that she had heard him.

"Hey," Hunter let out before she was able to turn towards him.

"Hey," the young lady replied "How are you? You must have gotten up quite early! It's barely 5 am!"

"Don't worry about me. Everything's fine. And you?"

"Same as usual... But I'm happy to meet up with you before starting to work."

"Me too, cuz I wouldn't want to disturb you while you're working."

The young man stared at her and she let her gaze drop while laughing.

"Don't look at me like that!" She told him.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Hunter waited a while, then added. "I should present you to my friends."

"No! Anything but that!" The lady vendor cried out horrified.

"Why?" Hunter asked, intrigued.

"My name must remain a secret. If too many people take an interest in me, I'll have to leave. I trust you but please, don't tell anyone you know, don't tell anyone my name. It's a matter of life and death.

"Okay, but you'll have to explain everything."

"I'll explain soon but you're not ready yet to learn the truth about me."

"You're mysterious! It feels like an adventure, that's awesome!"

"No Hunter, there's nothing awesome about this situation!"

And she dashed off in a flash.

***

"Hey Hunter are you okay? You look tired. Did you get up at the crack of dawn or what?"

Alexander almost added a touch of humor to everything he said. His words were always far from poetic.

"Nah, just went to sleep late last night, that's all."

Hunter was not a fan of lying but he aced it nonetheless. He replied instantly as though he spoke the truth and nothing but the truth. He did not like doing it but he had to. He wondered how a name could cause someone harm but Feline trusted him, he could not betray her. He would protect her. Anyway, this small lie was not threatening his friendship with Alexander. In that sense, it was not that big of a deal. Feline would explain everything and he would finally understand the whole masquerade. He knew nothing except that he would help Feline and that the current situation appealed to him. He was intrigued, Feline's serious tone made the adventure he had always dreamed of seem much more important than he could have imagined.

Hunter spent the whole day with Alexander. Afterwards, he left for his house but once he was out of Alex' sight, he changed direction and went to meet Feline near her fish stand.

"Would you like to come to my house?" The young man proposed hoping for a positive answer.

"Yes sure, why not. Do you live far?"

"Nope."

And the two friends started off together towards Hunter's house.

"Oh so you live here?"

Feline seemed amazed at the size of her friend's house. Indeed Hunter's place was quite big, it was a two stories house squeezed between the other buildings.

"What is it? How big is your house?"

Feline walk towards the back kitchen that was about 5 square meters and explained "About that big."

"But that's really small. Don't you have any money?"

"No. I think my boss is using me to get rich quickly."

"But why don't you report him?"

"I can't. If I do, it'll draw attention to me."

"But why are you hiding?"

"Don't repeat this to anyone, but I'm not supposed to exist, I don't have papers or a birth certificate, nothing. I am a nobody. I'm a ghost."

"But you do have a father, don't you?"

"Yes, I do but I can't tell you who it is. You're not ready!"

"That's all you keep telling me, that I'm not ready! "

"I'll tell you... later... but I will tell you."

She paused a while before continuing. "I don't feel like going home. It's so big here and my place is so small!"

"Would you like to stay over for dinner? Do you want to sleep here? I have a big couch in the living room."

"You'd do that for me? Oh I love you so much! You're the best friend I've ever had!"

"I can sleep on the couch if you'd like."

"Oh no! Don't bother! Your couch is probably more comfortable than my floor, you know."

"You sleep on the floor?"

"I barely have enough money to buy food, so..."

"Why do you wear all this cloth? Aren't you feeling warm?"

"Yes but I have to otherwise I would be in danger."

"What color is your hair?"

"Black"

"Is it long?"

"No but I can't reveal any more than that. If someone sees my hair, I'll be dead meat. It's even worse than if they find out my name."

"Don't worry. I won't betray you. I won't even tell Alexander."

"Who's Alexander?"

"I won't even tell my mom. Alexander is my best friend. Well, you're also my best friend but I've known Alex for a long time."

"I understand. Either way, you're my best friend, you're my only friend to be honest. But you're an awesome friend, know what I mean?"

"Yep, I get it. I'm happy you accepted my invitation. I'm living on my own but it's not been that long so I'm not used to it yet. You're keeping my company. And not any old company but genuine quality! "

"Don't you think you're a bit much?"

"No, not at all"

"That being said, I'm really glad to have met you."

"Yeah, me too."

The two friends ate a nice meal, vegetables and fish, fresh of course, before going to bed.

"She's so nice," Hunter thought to himself.

"I've finally found a true friend," Feline reflected.

And both fell asleep peacefully.