I sat on the bed in the dorm room, with the
telephone in my hand. I couldn’t stop my hands
from shaking. My first day with the earth people
had been a disaster.
I typed a number into the phone’s keypad. The
only thing I learned about so far in this crazy
world was how to use a phone.
“Hello. Daily Planet.”
“Is Clark there?”
“Now listen, Miss Lee, you can’t keep calling
like this. I told you I’d tell Mr. Kent that you
called. Now, Bye.” Click.
I felt a wave of desperation overwhelm me.
I crushed the receiver in my hand and just
wept. I didn’t understand anything here. I could
barely even speak the language. Fellow students
asked about my accent, and I couldn’t tell them
where I came from. A young man wanted to walk me
back to the dorm, and I accidentally knocked him to
the ground; I didn’t even understand my own body
or my strength.
I didn’t even know how to kill myself.
About four weeks ago, the last society of
Krypton perished. A thousand Kryptonian refugees,
who had lived for twenty-five years on an
inhospitable asteroid under a red sun, finally
succumbed. I was one of many desperate people in
Argo City, all struggling against our fate. I was
poor, hungry, and terrorized.
But I also knew love.
I had many friends whose love became stronger
as the end neared. We sang often and danced until
we could barely stand, when we finally collapsed
and cried in each other’s arms. That was how we
stayed sane.
And I had my father, Zor’el, who always tried
his best to protect me from harm. My father
promised me that I would live, and he worked day
and night during those final days and hours to keep
that promise. That was how he stayed sane, making
my life his purpose. When my father said that he
would save me by building a ship and sending me on
the path that Jor’el sent his son on many years
ago, I kissed him and gratefully accepted the
chance to live.
Four weeks ago, our asteroid collided with a
meteor shower. We had seen it coming weeks in
advance, yet could only watch.
I saw my people die. I sat in the spaceship
and wondered why I was alive. I should have been
with them. I should have been with my father. Why
did I ever want to live through this?
I was in shock for about a week as the
spacecraft rushed towards a small blue planet.
Nothing could’ve prepared me for that trip. My
life, my culture, my people, my universe–erased.
And I was spinning in space in a tiny, black box
towards a place that existed only in legend. I was
drowning in emptiness, and disintegrating into the
void.
When my spaceship crashed on earth, a man in
red and blue was already there at the site. It was
Kal’el, the son of Jor’el. He called himself Clark
and Superman. The legend took my shell of a person,
brought me to his home, and helped me learn how to
live again.
He taught me simple things about Earth and
tried to teach me English, but I couldn’t pay much
attention. My life was in shambles. He tried to
lighten my spirits by showing me what we
Kryptonians could do on Earth; I was amazed, but I
knew my new powers couldn’t reverse the holocaust
that claimed my spirit if not my body.
Two days ago, Kal’el enrolled me in a school
called “Metropolis University” and told me that I
would live there, now. Just like that!
“I don’t understand these people”, I told him.
“You need to learn,” he replied, as though my
life had undergone a minor change.. “Just remember,
your name is Linda Lee, and always wear the wig.
Try to do what you see others doing. I’m sorry, but
I am going to have to leave you alone for now.”
Kal’el had helped me overcome my culture
shock. He understood my problems and my beliefs
and some of my language. But Kal’el wasn’t here,
and I wasn’t ready to step into this alien world.
Maybe I would never be ready.
Mary turned the dimmer switch and flooded the
dorm room with light. The intense sensation of
light overwhelmed my weary eyes.
“Damn, Linda, what did you do to the phone?”
Mary was my roommate. Mary and I did not hit
it off very well.
For one thing, Mary was black, and I had never
seen a black person before. Kryptonians all had
pale skin and blue eyes. I was shocked at the
variety of people who lived at this college.
When I didn’t reply to Mary’s question about
the phone, Mary shook her head. “All right, I’ll
tell the office that it was broke already. Really,
girl, you’ve gotta get a grip.”
Mary grabbed a few things off her dresser and
hurried to leave. She stopped with the door half-
open and glanced at me. Then she shook her head
and left.
I wanted to say good-bye, but I was afraid to
say anything. I was afraid of making any more
mistakes.
I turned down the lights, again, and wanted to
just hide, but I couldn’t stop the chaos all around
me. A million voices were speaking all at once,
and I couldn’t stop them, even by covering my ears.
When I closed my eyes, I could see through my
eyelids and into the next room. I couldn’t tell
Mary about that. Would she understand? She would
think I was insane. I was begining to believe that
I was.
Someone was hitting the apartment door.. I
covered my ears. I wanted to shrink. I wanted to
disappear. The banging started again. I looked
through my tears, and I looked through the door,
but all I saw was a skeleton.
Kal’el stepped in from behind the door, and I
think I flew over to him. I held on to him like I
held to my father when my mother died. “Kal’el, I
can’t bear it here another minute!” I said in our
native language.
“Shh. Call me Clark and speak in English.”
My heart winced hatred towards him. He was
the only person who could help me, and yet he
forced me to be an impostor, even with him. But I
could see his concern, so my heart opened up again.
“I can’t talk this English well.” I said,
trying to voice just one of my frustrations.
He hugged me with one arm and sat me beside
him on the bed.
“It’s OK, really. Earth has many languages you
can hide behind. Tell people you come from a small
village in Hungary. I’ve checked it out–very few
Hungarians go to school here, and your accent
sounds vaguely hungarian. Say ‘Linda Lee’ is a name
you adopted for America. If you want, you can tell
them your real name; I don’t think most people will
know the difference between an Hungarian and a
Kryptonian name. But you should use the name ‘Linda
Lee’. People will know you are trying to fit in.”
I shook my head. “People don’t know me a
bit… And I don’t control myself. I could hurt
people.” I grabbed my wig and threw it on the floor
in disgust.
He picked the wig up, carefully put it back on
my head and began stroking the long brown hair.
“You may not believe this, but some other students
are having similar problems. This school has many
foreign students, and many are having as much
trouble with this culture and language as you are.
You need some stability in your life right now, and
so do many of the other students here.
I shook my head in doubt.
“Of course,” he continued, “you have special
problems, but you have special advantages, too.
Be careful about your new powers. Try to limit
physical contact until you understand your
strength. You might practice holding animals
before holding a friend’s hand.”
I felt more relaxed with him here and with his
advice. He had obviously thought a lot about my
situation, even when he wasn’t with me.
I asked him to stay longer.
“I’m sorry, but I have to be someplace.
Several places, really.”
But he stayed for about an hour longer, and
although I dreaded his departure, I felt more
confident that I could handle my new life at least
another day.
For a second night, I couldn’t sleep in the
dorm. I could hear voices from the party on the
second floor merging with the moans of love making
down the hall. This time I didn’t just lie there
and bear it. I left the dorm with a blanket and
decided to sleep in the lounge of the library. The
library was open all night, but a librarian told me
I couldn’t sleep there. All the other buildings
were locked. I was so tired and frustrated, I just
walked out into the woods beside the campus. I
slept at the foot of a tree on a mattress of
leaves.
While relaxing and preparing for sleep, I
looked at the sliver of the earth’s moon through
the tops of the trees. Back home, we had a patch
of woods; the smell of life and the sounds of
animals and the gentle breezes all felt so
familiar. But we didn’t have a moon. I felt like
I belonged here, in the woods, and the moon was the
outsider.
With this thought, sleep claimed my tired
soul, and pleasant dreams filled my night.
I awoke to the songs of birds. Bird songs
were one of the few things about Earth that I
really liked. The bright yellow sun illuminated the
sky from an unseen horizon, and dew covered my bed
of leaves.
I stood up, stretched and yawned, and,
amazingly, I felt really good.
I brushed off my pajamas and headed for my
dorm.
A few dozen of the fifteen thousand students
were trudging quietly about campus. I guessed that
the rest were asleep.
Several people stared at me. I must have
stood out in by wearing pajamas and carrying a
blanket. I didn’t care.
I took the stairs instead of the elevator.
One glance through the stairs above showed me that
I was the lone occupant. I felt a little playful,
and I slowly hovered up the stairwell. Kal’el had
made it seem easy, but I was bumping against the
walls and banisters as I rose. It was my first
time, and I couldn’t help giggling like a little
child doing something naughty but wonderful.
But when I landed, I felt a wave of guilt
shake my body, as though a thousand deaths paid for
each smile on my face. I paused for a moment and
remembered a few of my father’s last words to me,
“You’ve always lived in fear of death, Kara, and
just once I’d like to see you smile a truly happy
smile.” I felt dizzy as my father’s sacred words
battled a thousand cries of blame.
I walked down the hall and met Mary getting
dressed in our dorm room.
“Where were you, girl?” She said, looking at
my dirty pajamas and ruffled hair.
I didn’t know what to tell her, so I just
said, “Hi, Mary.”
She shook her head. “You gonna get yourself
raped, running around dressed like that.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to
say. I felt the peace I awoke with evaporating.
Mary sighed. “Nothing to be sorry about.
Hey, Linda I’m just your roommate, not your mom.”
I smiled and thought about what to say, then
decided on: “I like you, Mary.”
She seemed amused. “You are OK, too.”
“I want a shower,” I said, as I opened my
bureau and thought about what I needed. A towel,
some soap and some fresh clothes. One of Kal’el’s
friends picked out my clothes, but I barely
understood how to wear them, much less match them
fashionably. I also had a makeup kit that I was
afraid to even open. I liked the perfume, though.
Mary had said I used too much.
“You and everyone else,” Mary said. I shook
my head, not grasping, so she continued, “You’ve
got four girls ahead of you for the shower.”
I dropped the towel on my bed and sat down
across from a mirror on the wall. I looked at my
hair in the mirror, and saw a few blonde hairs
mixing in with the brown hair from the wig. I
fixed the wig and wondered how I was going to keep
it a secret from Mary. (Why was I even keeping my
hair color a secret, Kal’el, when many Earth girls
have blonde hair?)
“Linda, would you like to eat breakfast with
me and my friends?”
I must have looked nervous. Eating Earth food
was really weird for me. The food was shocking:
For dinner yesterday, I ate “spaghetti and
meatballs” and had to use a “fork” and “spoon” and
“knife”. I couldn’t figure out how to eat the
spaghetti, and just the idea of eating meat
disgusted me. I only drank some juice and ate some
bread.. If I had to eat with other people, I’d be
very embarrassed.
When I didn’t respond immediately, Mary
pressed on, “I don’t think there’s a Hungarian
crowd that you can eat with, but you got to eat
with someone. Really, I’d like you to come.”
I nodded and smiled despite myself.
Mary’s friends were all black, and I was the
only white person at the table. But I guess I
would’ve attracted attention no matter where I sat.
Mary pointed out that the combination of my
crucifix necklace, my “Black Sabbath” T-shirt with
a big “666” between my breasts, and my long
checkered skirt, was a “little weird”. I thought
the clothes were comfortable but decided to change
them after breakfast, anyway.
Hotcakes weren’t bad. At least I didn’t drop
them on my lap like I had with the spaghetti,
yesterday.
Mary’s friends were funny and they smiled a
lot. They made me feel comfortable. They said they
were “juniors” and that I was a “freshman”, and
that was why I was so nervous. I felt better
knowing there were thousands of nervous freshmen on
campus.
Back in the dorm, I changed into a yellow
blouse that hugged my skin and a short black skirt.
A very short skirt. I saw another girl wearing
something similar yesterday, so maybe I was OK.
I’ve learned already to not wear those thick white
socks with my shoes.
While showering earlier, I watched a girl
putting on lipstick, so now I decided to try it
myself. Most students were at their first class
already, so I had the bathroom to myself, and I
spent a long time getting the lipstick just right.
The girl had put on other makeup as well, but I
knew my artistic limits.
I headed off to class with a pack full of
books. I took all of my books, since I didn’t know
which ones I would need. They felt so light on my
back, it never occurred to me that other girls
would have collapsed under the weight.
My first class was in an auditorium with 300
students. “Anthropology 105: Society and the
Individual.” I was fascinated, since the professor
was teaching us about how America works in a way I
could understand. He even explained the words he
used that I didn’t understand. This was the first
time I felt engrossed with one of my classes.
But I was also aware that many people were
looking at me out of the corners of their eyes. At
first I thought that I had broken another rule of
etiquette, until it struck me that only men were
looking at me. One of them was trying to look up
my skirt. I shifted my position, but the tiny
skirt provided little cover when I was sitting
down. Why did girls wear them, anyway?
I felt better when I saw that men were looking
at some other women, too. I didn’t want any
attention, really, but, I thought, at least the
attention was normal. I guessed that while we
seemed to be in class to learn about Anthropology,
the men were in the class to learn about the girls.
Just when that thought occurred to me, the
professor said jokingly, “Anthropology is the
‘Study of Man,’ but don’t worry, we’ll be studying
women, too.” I started to giggle at the
coincidence, and I felt several men’s eyes riveted
to me.
My 5:30 class was “English 101.” This class
scared me because the professor had us read several
pages immediately, in class–and all I saw on those
pages were wiggly lines. Only about thirty people
attended this class, and we were sitting in a large
circle around the classroom, so everybody could see
each other. I was terrified that people would find
out about me. I was so nervous that I wasn’t
learning a thing.
Only one man was watching me in this class,
since the class was mostly female. He had dark
hair and thin eyes, and he couldn’t have been any
taller than me. I caught him looking up my skirt,
and watching me almost constantly during the class.
When class was over, he came up to me. He
seemed as nervous as I was. He said, “Your face is
very familiar. Do I know you?”
I was surprised, and I said, “I don’t know.”
He seemed pleased by my reply, so he
introduced himself. His name was Ge Hun Si. He
came from Thailand, but his father was Chinese.
I told him the story Kal’el gave me. “I’m
Linda Lee. I came here from Hungarian.”
“Hungary.” He corrected.
“No, I ate dinner before.”
He thought I was joking, so he laughed and I
laughed with him.
“This English is tough,” he offered.
I nodded enthusiastically, delighted to find
someone who agreed with me. I said, “This class is
. hard for me.”
“Me, too.” He smiled, then hesitated. “Maybe
we should help each other with our homework.”
I was extremely relieved by the offer. I
nodded and said “Yes, very much… I would like
that.”
He smiled and looked almost shocked, as though
people never studied together. He offered to carry
my books. I hesitated, but let him anyway. He
could barely lift the pack but seemed determined to
carry the pack regardless.
As we walked towards my dorm, the sun was
setting, and the sky was turning a beautiful color
of red–just like the sky under Krypton’s sun.
“You are very pretty.” He said, as I was
reminiscing.
“Thank you,” I said, surprised by the
compliment. I knew that Kryptonian men had found
me attractive, but I didn’t know for sure about
Earth men, or Oriental men, for that matter. I
said, “You are pretty, too.”
He shook his head. “Pretty?”
“I’m sorry. You are handsome.”
He smiled.
Ge Hun Si told me about his journey to America
while we walked to my dorm. He lived in Bangkok
his entire life, but his family was Chinese. He
learned some English at school, but he didn’t learn
it very well. His mother and sister were helping
him pay for school, and he was very embarrassed
about it. He said he didn’t mind coming to the
strange world of America, because he felt like a
stranger in his own country. He always wanted to
live in Taiwan and practice psychology, but his
debt to his mother and sister would force him to
return to Thailand, where he would probably live
the rest of his life as a civil engineer.
I didn’t understand much of what he was
saying. I sympathized with his story, but I felt
voiceless to express my own. I wanted to tell him
about my life and my losses, but I couldn’t. (Why,
Clark? Why do I have to live a secret life?) Yet
I believed in Clark’s wisdom, so I held back. I
thought about telling Ge Hun Si that I was an
orphan, but then he would want to know more. I had
to keep the pain to myself, at least for now.
Mary was in the dorm when we arrived. She was
reading from a large text book and was startled to
see me.
“Hi Mary,” I said, not knowing enough yet to
introduce my new friend.
She nodded, as she stared at my clothes for a
moment, then she looked strait at Ge Hun Si.
He put down the book-bag, introduced himself,
and they shook hands. He told her of our plans to
study together.
Then Mary left with book in hand, saying,
“I’ll go study in the lounge.”
Ge Hun Si and I were alone, now, and I didn’t
know what to say. Back home I would ask him to pet
our dog–a person didn’t feel welcome in someone’s
home unless the dog welcomed him. But, of course,
we didn’t have a dog in the dorm. I would also ask
him to take off his shoes, but I didn’t know if
Earth people had the same custom. All I could
think of was, “Do you want to study, now?”
He shook his head, “Sure.”
It took me a moment to figure out that he
meant “yes”.
I grabbed the book bag (I should have
pretended that it felt heavy), and I opened it
while sitting down on my bed. I had to guess which
book was my English book.
Ge Hun Si looked at me with a strange
expression, and then he sat beside me and fetched
his own book.
He was holding the same book, so I knew that I
guessed right. But what next? I couldn’t pretend
that I could read for very long, but I didn’t want
to tell him the truth. Several times today, I
fantasized hopefully that many students couldn’t
read English. Maybe even he couldn’t read English,
and we were both foolishly feeling the same fear.
I noticed the sweat on his forehead, and the
way he clenched his hands. This gave me the
courage to tell him.
“Ge Hun Si?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t read.”
He laughed a short laugh, and then said, “I’m
sorry. I had no idea.. I also couldn’t read English
until three years, ago. This class is going to be
much harder for you than for me.”
That wasn’t very reassuring, and I think he
saw my frown. I had a sudden nightmare that lasted
for about a second: Ge Hun Si told some college
authority about my illiteracy, and they threw me
out of the dorm and into the unknown again. I
dismissed the fear, but I never could be sure if I
was being paranoid or not.
Ge Hun Si put down his book and asked, “You
can’t read at all?”
I shook my head.
“Then you shouldn’t be taking this English
course,” he said with some regret in his voice.
“The university has courses for English as a second
language. One of my neighbors is taking such a
course. You don’t have to know English at all.”
“You are sure?” I asked, my confidence
returning.
“Yeah, I’ll help you add one tomorrow, if you
want.”
I nodded and smiled. “Thank you.”
“We can take a trip to the book store after,
and exchange your book.”
“OK,” I said, but I didn’t really understand
what he was saying. The light in the room was
bothering me. I turned the dimmer, until the bulbs
changed from white down to a shade of orange, and
the corners of the room were almost black.
Ge Hun Si face was blank with surprise, and I
guessed that I broke another rule of etiquette by
turning the light so low. “I’m sorry. The light
was hurting my eyes. Is it OK?”
He nodded and started to take the books off
the bed.
I just watched him and thought about how
differently everything must have seemed to him. He
couldn’t hear the background sounds of people
chatting in other rooms, or see the moon through
the ceiling. I thought of how very strange I had
become.
He looked shyly away and said, “I’ll need
another reason to visit you, now that we won’t be
going to the same class.”
Stupidly, I thought he was saying that he
wouldn’t be visiting me anymore. I had expected
this, yet I was stunned all the same. “I
understand,” I said, while clenching my hands
together. “I should have said the truth before. I
wanted to … to …”
I started shaking, and I couldn’t control my
vision; I felt some of the same helplessness that
had possessed me yesterday. My first new friend was
already rejecting me.
Ge Hun Si took my hand in his and said, “You
don’t need to say anything at all.”
He held my hand like an egg–as if it was a
fragile thing. I felt a calm sweep over me, but I
didn’t know why.
Later, I would understand what this situation
meant. I’d understand why he wanted to help me
with my homework in my dorm room, and why Mary had
left us alone. I could hardly believe it. In my
native world, when men wanted to make love to me,
they just asked. Now, they try to have it happen by
“accident”. I guess I was the perfect girl for
this ritual, because I was not expecting a thing.
Then again, he was not getting what he
expected either.
After caressing my hands like holy objects, I
felt all my stress melt away. He looked into my
eyes, and I felt my legs go weak. I had been trying
so hard to just fit in and understand the people
around me, I hadn’t thought about being intimate.
But from somewhere down deep, desire rose like a
whale surfacing from the ocean. The chaos of my
emotions rapidly became a focused hope of passion.
When he finally kissed me, I felt paralyzed by
desire and fear of expressing it.
His intoxicating scent and minty breath put me
under a spell. Much later, I learned that earth
men didn’t smell that good in nature, but for now I
was awed by their attractive powers. As he
explored my mouth with his lips and tongue, I was
careful not to kiss back.
He urged me back onto the bed and slid on top
of me. He kissed my lips and then my cheeks, then
my eyelids, my ears and then my neck. When his lips
settled on one spot, his hands continued to
explore. His body rubbed against mine, and I could
feel his erection through both of our clothes.
I didn’t do a thing. I didn’t know what to
do. I wanted to hug him and kiss him back, but I
was afraid of what I might do under the influence
of passion.
He was stroking my hair as he kissed me, when
my wig loosened.
His eyes brightened at the discovery, as my
blonde hair spread out of the wig onto the sheets.
“What a beautiful secret.” He kissed my hair, and
then began to unbutton my blouse. “What other
secrets do you have in here?”
He struggled with my shirt for a moment, but
then just tore it open..
I didn’t wear a bra, so there was little
suspense as my breasts were instantly and fully
revealed. He began sucking on my nipples hungrily,
as I pinned my arms to my side.. It took all my
energy not to touch him, but the restraint actually
felt exciting and a little kinky. I was the object
of his lovemaking, and I found this passive role
thrilling. His hands slid my skirt down from my
waist, while he worked on my nipples with his
tongue.
He didn’t look surprised that I wasn’t wearing
panties (actually, I didn’t even know what bras or
panties were, yet). I kept my legs open as he
dived between them. He kissed my thighs for a
moment, but then, losing patience, he buried his
face down deep. This was a new kind of lovemaking
for me–a wonderful shock–and I couldn’t keep my
legs from shaking. But I managed to keep them from
crushing him within. His tongue explored both deep
and all around, then he focused on my clitoris and
sent small explosions of pleasure throughout my
body, before he began climbing up my body again.
I hadn’t noticed that he had lowered his jeans
while he was working on my passion. Once again, his
mouth explored mine. I could taste some of myself
on his lips. Then I felt his penis enter me.
Something should have alerted me, but I guess I was
consumed by desire. He stroked my hair, fondled my
breasts and kissed me, while his penis massaged my
insides. What a sensation!
Then his body shook, and he let out a groan. I
was instantly alert and alarmed. I had felt my
muscles compress on his penis. My legs and my arms
and my lips obeyed my will of submission, but my
muscles inside had a will of their own.
I was terrified by what I saw. His penis
looked misshapen and wrinkled. I felt like a
monster, and I turned away.
“What happened?” I said, pretending ignorance,
not knowing what to say. I fidgeted with the torn
remains of my blouse.
He winced in pain, then smiled at me with an
embarrassed smile. “I don’t know. I think I
twisted it or something. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t sound like I imagined a mutilated
man would sound, so I looked again at his penis. I
felt a great weight lift from my conscience when I
saw that he was wearing a flesh-colored rubber
cover over his penis, and the organ underneath
looked normal.
But I knew I had hurt him, even if he wasn’t
hurt bad. And I could have injured him much more
seriously. What if I had kissed him back? or
embraced him? I covered my face with my hands, and
lamented in Kryptonian, “I am a monster!”
Ge Hun Si sat beside me and hugged me. He
tried to comfort me, yet he couldn’t understand my
anxiety.
“What’s wrong, Linda?” he whispered while
kissing my hair. “I’m sorry I messed up. I’m not
very experienced at sex. I guess I was eager. I
promise I’ll do better next time.”
I saw his embarrassment. He didn’t
understand. “We can’t do this, again.”
He shut his eyes, and sighed. “That’s OK.
But I hope you will change your mind, because … I
like you very much.”
I smiled and saw the honesty in his eyes. We
spent a silent minute, just looking into each
other’s eyes. Obviously, he didn’t think I was a
monster.
“You don’t know me at all.” I said.
“I know you are a nice person. I know you are
very attractive, and I know we feel good with each
other.”
I nodded, and I decided. “I want to tell you
the truth.”
“The truth?”
“You can’t tell anyone!” I turned cautious,
afraid of making another mistake–yet determined to
tell him, nevertheless.
“Sure. Of course. What’s the big secret?”
“I’m not Hungarian,” I said, hesitating, “and
my name is really Kara.”
He nodded. “OK, then Kara. Where ARE you
from?”
“A place called Argo City. People here would
say I’m a Kryptonian.”
He nodded unconsciously, and then just stared
at me for a moment. “You mean where Superman came
from?”
“Yes,” I said, and I felt relief that now
someone knew.
He shook his head in silence, then said, “oh,
poor Linda. I had no idea. You are going to need
some help.”
I nodded, “Yes, it’s hard.” Did he really
understand?
He was quiet for a long time. “I think we
should go see someone,” he finally said while
rising from the bed. “Do you feel up to meeting
someone, now?”
I stood up, myself. “You said it was secret.”
“He will keep it a secret. Helping people
with secrets is his job.”
“Can he help me control what I see and hear?”
I asked while finding a new shirt and dressing
myself again. “I am always hearing things and
seeing things that aren’t even in the room.”
He looked concerned. “I hope he can, Linda. I
really do,” he said as he dialed a number on the
new telephone.
“Thank you,” I said, while fixing my wig.
“What for?”
I shrugged, “Just thank you.”
Ge Hun Si was awfully quiet, as we left the
dorm. I thought he would have a lot of questions,
but just asked me how I felt. I said I felt fine,
but he acted like I was in pain. He held me in
half an embrace while we walked.
He treated me with such care that I actually
felt physically vulnerable. As we walked along the
moonlit street, I felt comforted by his sheltering
arm. His arm protected me from the stares of
strangers, and ghosts that had followed me to
earth.
“Where are we going,” I asked, noticing that
we were leaving campus grounds.
“His office is off-campus,” he replied.
The scenery was changing. Now, many cars were
parked along the side of the road, and all the
buildings had lit signs. Alot of noise was coming
out of a large, rusty blue vehicle.
A few men got out of the vehicle.. They
smelled funny, and they looked a bit dizzy. Ge Hun
Si did not look at them, but he urged me to move
faster.
“Where’s the fire, slant eyes,” one said.
Another said nothing, but spouted out words
and obscenities rapid fire, as though he lived in
accelerated time.
A third ran out in our way, forcing us to
pause. Obviously, they meant us no good, but I
didn’t know what they wanted.
Ge Hun Si was sweating, as he whispered in my
ear, “Run, Linda.” And he stood in an odd stance.
“Oh, the china man thinks he’s a karate
expert,” the largest one said, and he took a
similar stance, but he appeared much more confident
than Ge Hun Si.
Ge Hun Si muttered a curse I couldn’t
understand. He was panicky. “Run Linda, now!”
One of the men grabbed my arm, and I had an
impulse to hit him. But I would probably have
killed him. Maybe he deserved it, but I couldn’t
understand why they were attacking us, and I was
afraid he was just a victim himself. Maybe he was
like we were on Argo City during those last few
days, driven mad by our terrifying destiny.
I ignored his hand, and I put my arms around
Ge Hun Si.
“I’m sorry, I wish I could …” Ge Hun Si
began, then stopped as we levitated off the ground.
I struggled to keep our flight steady. I bumped
his head off a tree limb (“Sorry”), and then
settled us on a nest of intertwined branches.
Our attackers stood as still as statues, and
then one said to the others, “Damn, did she just do
that, or am I just too stoned.”
No one answered him, and the stunned druggies
got back in their van.
Ge Hun Si touched the bump on his head. He
looked at me in disbelief himself. Then he said,
“You were telling the truth.”
“Of course,” I said, wondering why he thought
I lied.
He touched my cheek, as awe filled his face.
“I thought you were a special girl, but I couldn’t
believe you were a supergirl.”
“Supergirl?” I asked, smiling at the idea..
“Yeah, MY Supergirl.” He removed my wig and
ran his hands through my hair, “with her super hair
of gold.”
I felt a burst of confidence, and I leaned
forward to kiss him. He didn’t scream in pain, as
I curled my lips around his.. Then when I embraced
him, I didn’t hear him struggle for breath.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “Nothing could make me
tell your secret.”
“You don’t want to tell anyone?” I asked,
suddenly tempted by the idea of telling all of
earth.
He shook his head. “Supergirl will belong to
the world some day, but I want you for myself.”
I smiled, and we had a special few minutes up
in that tree.