Chapter 5: Strange News and the Shadow of Doubt
The news about the "unidentified object" that crashed on the commercial avenue dominated local newspapers and social media the next day. Photos of the crumpled metal capsule and the confused "pilot," Zylar, now in authorities' custody for "investigation," were everywhere.
Theories ranged from an experimental military drone gone wrong to the wildest alien hypotheses.
In Joey's house, the subject came up during Saturday lunch.
"Did you guys see this?" Léo commented, showing a news story on his phone, his eyes shining with excitement. "Some people are saying it's a real ET!"
Roberto snorted, adjusting his glasses to read over his son's shoulder. "Nonsense. Must be some government maneuver to divert attention from real problems. Or some lunatic internet attention seeker."
He glanced at Joey, who ate in silence, his usual response to avoid confrontation. The veiled criticism, however, landed, reinforcing his own internal critic.
"But Dad, the witnesses, the photos... it looks pretty real," Léo argued, always more open to possibilities.
Clara, meanwhile, seemed worried. "Whatever it is, I hope no one was seriously hurt. And that poor man, he looked so lost in the photos."
Joey listened in silence, but inside, a storm was brewing. First the flash in the garden, then the hooded figure, Lyra the elf in the park, and now a man in a space capsule.
His analytical mind, which liked to collect data and figure out what makes things work, was piecing together too many anomalies to dismiss.
The feeling that the world was "off-kilter," as he had told Dr. Helena, intensified.
He remembered his online searches, the way the "visitors" seemed as confused as the people around them.
"The world is getting weirder and weirder," Roberto grumbled, returning to his plate. "Next thing you know, it'll be raining pocket knives."
Joey felt a shiver. His father's disbelief, somehow, made things even more real for him. If even the most bizarre events were met with such skepticism, perhaps it was easier for the unexplainable to infiltrate everyday life.
He often doubted his own opinions, but the sheer accumulation of these events was becoming hard to ignore, even for him.
Later, while Léo went out to meet friends – "I'm gonna see if I can find out more about this ET!" he joked, winking at Joey – and his parents busied themselves with their own affairs, Joey returned to the safety of his room.
He opened the news about Zylar and Lyra. There was something in their expressions, a universal helplessness, that echoed deeply in his own soul.
He believed it was important to understand his own feelings and those of other people, and he saw a reflection of his own frequent sense of being lost and misunderstood in their faces.
They were alone, displaced. Just like he so often felt, an outsider looking in.
He began to wonder if his dream of a world without evil or wars was just an escape from his own painful reality, or if, somehow, these strange events could be a prelude to something that would challenge the very nature of reality as he knew it. This search for meaning was a constant undercurrent in his life.
That afternoon, Joey decided he needed air.
Normally, the idea of going out alone would paralyze him with anxiety, but a strange mixture of curiosity and an uncharacteristic sense of urgency pushed him.
He put on a hoodie, a thin layer of fabric that felt like a shield, a small comfort to his need for security, and went out, walking aimlessly through the neighborhood streets.
He wasn't looking for anything specific, but his eyes, usually downcast, were more alert than usual. Every person who passed, every different sound, seemed to carry a potential for strangeness.
He was actively trying to prepare for contingencies, a habit of his.
It was then, as he passed a narrow, seldom-used alley, that he saw something that made his heart pound.
Leaning against a graffitied wall, trying to stay in the shadows, was the hooded man he had seen at the bus stop days before.
This time, the hood had fallen back a bit, revealing a pale face with fine features and eyes that seemed to gleam faintly in the dark, filled with deep exhaustion and an almost feral caution.
The man held something small and metallic in his hand, observing it intently.
Joey stopped, his body tense. He often hesitated when unsure, but now he was frozen by a different kind of uncertainty.
The man stared at him, and for an instant, the world seemed to stop.
There were no words, just the mutual recognition of the strangeness of the situation.
The man looked as scared and lost as Joey felt inside.
He was another of those beings from other universes, confused and alone on Earth.
And, for a brief moment, their paths had crossed.
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