“Peter Choi.” I say as I approach the man in the dirty and torn recycled hospital gown. He has a blanket over his shoulders and people around him who seem very interested in making sure he feels safe. He looks confused, as if he doesn’t know where he is or how he got to be here. When he sees me he looks startled, the way you would if you saw a ghost or say if a Naga materialized and offered you a job. I haven’t seen any ghosts lately.
I hold up my hands, “Listen, I was hired to make sure those goons up top didn’t put you in a situation you didn’t want to be in.”
He blinks really slowly, the way I imagine a fish might blink. I blink back, though mine feels more like a form of confusion seeping into my consciousness. He is in fact blue. Not blue tinged from lack of oxygen or some form of chameleonware. His skin is blue-hued. His fingers are a lot longer than they ought to be and, I notice with some revulsion, he has more of them than he should.
“You’re clearly not from around here.” I say.
“Who are you?” He says.
“Right. I should’ve led with that. My name is Tojiro Mako. I believe someone very close to you sent me to keep you out of trouble.”
Some Thoughts:
- Yes, I changed the tense. It feels like its more natural this way, but I actually did it to show the shift to this otherworldly place. I wanted it to feel different in every possible way. Not sure the shift is a thing people ought to do.