The Red Tear

“ Can you keep a secret”, read the text just received on Tanya’s mobile. She dropped her phone out of shock which fell right next to Noah's dead body, lying in the middle of a forest. “ This body has been dead for months”, yelled a forensic doctor. “ The face is unrecognizable, his driver's license is intact. His face has been burnt by an incalescent heatwave. His skull has melted and is shapeless. This case is the first of its kind ”, he added. Tanya couldn't hear more, the darkness, the rotting smell and the hypnotizing sound of the ambulance got the better of her. She fainted and fell to the ground.

A few months ago...

 Tanya was sitting in a huge conference hall, eagerly waiting for the conference to start. She was an Indian woman, with a dark skin tone and curly hair. “ Where is Dr. Noah Evans”, shouted Dr. Mike Davis, the head of the search team. “ Here I am, sir”, echoed a deep male voice with a very charming British accent. “ Got held up as the police asked for a driver's license, and it wasn’t with me. It won't happen again”. He walked up to his chair which directly faced Tanya’s.

She couldn't help but notice his confident gait, his black thick hair, and of course, the smirk.

Dr. Mike yelled, “ This shouldn't happen again by anyone present here, you have to work here for twenty hours a day. We have chosen the best Detectives, scientists, and doctors from all over the world to help avert a global crisis ”. Saying so he played a video on the screen. It showed a huge cylindrical UFO, gradually taking shape in an isolated area, raising dust and heat. A neon ball of light flew out of the door which began moving towards the camera. The man shooting the video began running. The neon ball shot out heat waves and the camera fell. The ball of light took the shape of that man, however, only the legs were seen. He walked away.

Dr. Mike announced, “ We must find this shapeshifter before he kills more people.” The spaceship is still there at the place of the crash, after the detectives try to figure out stuff, it will be moved to our highly protected basement to which only I have the access.

The fifty members were divided into groups. Dr. Noah, Dr.Viktor Ivanov, Detective Tanya, and Detective Haro Nakamura were made a team. They visited the site of the crash. The UFO was still intact. They found the burnt body of the man who was taking the video. He was in his Seventies. “ Who would want an old body, he would have shapeshifted again”, said Tanya. All of a sudden, she felt some fingers run on her shoulder, “ There was an insect”, Noah replied with a smirk. Tanya was lovestruck, it was love at first sight, she just kept listening to Noah explain himself, and stared into his eyes, and then his hair that flew in the breeze. Haro interrupted and explained, “ So this Alien is a shapeshifter, and emits oppressive heat, see here, it has melted metal. The alien is originally neon in color.”

Dr. Viktor added, “ Yes Haro, I found some cells on the UFO, and it shows rapid mutation. This means the shapeshifter can adapt to its new body quickly and learn new skills. It already possesses superhuman skills.” It was noon, and all sat for lunch. Haro looked depressed, Tanya enquired. He said, “ My parents spent all their savings on my education. Now they lead humble lives, giving up all their dreams ”. Noah questioned, “ Why would they punish themselves for you?”. Haro replied, “ They love me, they did it happily”. Noah was shocked. Dr. Viktor continued, “ Yes, love makes us do things which may be against our wishes. I helped the girl whom I loved since childhood, to marry a man whom she loved. I planned their marriage, and helped them patch up a hundred times.” Noah surprisingly asked, “ Didn’t you want her?”. “ Yes, I did want her, but I loved her more than just wanting her”. Noah slid his fingers and touched Tanya’s. She had been looking at him the whole time. A chill went down her spine, and she smiled coyly. All of a sudden it began to rain, Noah began yelling, as if those raindrops were burning knives. Tanya rushed him to a shelter, his skin became red and began to crack. Tanya began blowing to cool his body down. He yelled, “ Leave me alone, go away”. She was shocked, she left. Days passed, they literally lived in their office, listening to Dr. Mike’s yells every other moment. All of them were frustrated by his anger. The only person who could lighten up their mood was Noah. He had a list of jokes, ever-ready. In no time he became everyone’s favorite and Tanya’s love.

Finally, it was a holiday. Tanya held Noah’s hand and pulled him to her room. She said, “ You have to see me dance Bharatanatyam, you will be awestruck”. He laughed. She played Carnatic music and arched her knees. She stretched her finger in the shape of a flower and curved her waist out. She began rhythmically tapping her foot. She winked at him and giggled while he was amazed by her grace. Her expressions were vivid. Her movements were swift and ethereal. Noah peeped into her mobile and saw the video for a few seconds. He stood behind her and held her waist with one hand and stretched his fingers on his other hand in the shape of a deer. He danced along with her like a professional. She asked, “ When did you learn”. “ Now”, he replied with a smirk.

The next day she said to Haro, “ Noah, has some special abilities. Do you remember when I whispered to you that I liked his voice, he shouted, ‘ I know you do!’ from the other corner of the room? He mastered Bharatanatyam in a few seconds, for which I took seven years. Haru added, “ Yes, he was so shocked by the concept of love and he also asked us if we belonged to different countries, which is quite obvious”. Tanya wondered, “ Is he the one? Oh, what am I thinking”. She laughed her hunch away.

All of a sudden, she got a call,“ Come to my house now, I have to show you something ”, said Noah said with a serious tone. Tanya was hesitant that her suspicion was true. She reached his house and it was pitch dark inside. He was sitting in darkness. The corner of his ears began to glow, then his nails. She was frightened. He said, “ Come in Tanya..”. She mustered courage and entered. She looked around and she screeched with excitement. The whole room began glowing with fireflies. He said, “ You wanted to know how it might feel to be among stars right?”. She hugged him. She saw Noah hide something. “What is it Noah”, she asked. It sparkled in the dim light. She realized it was a diamond ring. She was ecstatic. She leaned towards him for a kiss, all of a sudden she jerked back. She was already engaged!. She showed Noah her ring. Noah was shocked and asked, “ How could you not tell me?”. She blurted, “ I forgot about it, I am engaged to a man I don't love, for my parent’s happiness”. “ So you are ready to live your whole life with a man you don’t like, just for your parent’s happiness?”, he asked. “ Yes, I love them and I seek their happiness,” She replied.

The next day, Tanya saw Dr. Mike being drugged and dragged in chains. She asked Noah about what had happened. He replied, “ Haven't you noticed the sudden change in him. He was being all sweet. How would a Shapeshifter know the nature of the man he took over? So the alien is just trying to be nice and safe”. Tanya was taken aback. Noah added, “There was neon glow emitting out of his room the whole night and was captured by the security camera. He shapeshifted to Dr.Mike and was trying to misguide us”. She was relieved, her suspicions on Noah were false.

Present-day:

Tanya got up with a click. She had just regained consciousness and recognized the room she was in. She saw a man walking towards her, darted behind, and yelled. “ Tell me the truth, who actually are you?”. “ I guess that you have figured it out by now, why don't you rest” replied the man comfortingly. “ So y.. y..you are the one. Get away from me!!”, yelled Tanya. Noah smirked and moved back. “ Tanya, I know I lied to you about this, everything else I told about myself is the truth” Noah explained. Noah gently moved forward and tried to hold her wrist. She pulled back her hand in horror and said, “ So you are ‘the shapeshifter’, you can transform yourself to whoever the hell you want.” “Yes, I come from a land where this art can be mastered just as you mastered Bharatanatyam. I come from a planet called Oreon, and we Oreonese don't have a heart. We don't experience love, pain, fear, guilt, or any feeling no matter what. With you Tanya, I feel love, the fear of losing you, gives me pain. The fact that I lied to you, is weighing me down with guilt. I tell you this from the bottom of my heart, “ I have completely fallen in love with you Tanya.” said Noah with tears in his eyes and a trembling voice. “ I really love you.”

“How do you expect me to love you? I don't know who the hell are you” shrieked Tanya. “ You have to believe me, I am not a monster. I'll even put Dr. Mike out of his misery to prove it to you. I accidentally landed on Earth. If you rat me out to your Department, they will capture, poke, and test me like a lab rat. Do you want me to face such a fate?” He asked with a grimace. “ I want to see the real you”, demanded Tanya. “ Are you sure?” confirmed Noah. “ Yes, Now!”, she replied sternly.

What happened next, was nightmarish. He smiled, his lips extended till the corner of his eyes like a stretched rubber band, a blinding neon light emitted from his mouth, the whites of his eyes turned to a glowing neon, his pupil transformed from black to red like a blood-filled well. The corner of the ears turned neon, then the corner of nails. The neon light began spreading to his face and hands like streams. The neon skin grew over his hair gradually engulfing it, making him bald. Within a few seconds, his body became too bright and the darkroom glowed with neon light. He said with a deep monstrous-growl, “ Can you love me like this?”

She was stupefied, her head was spinning, She ran out of his house like a blind woman, hitting every chair and every door. She had seen something which her brain couldn't take. She ran till her home and didn't look back.

 It had been a whole day, she hadn't moved out of her bed. Weapons of thought collided on the battlefield of her mind. She had never been happier, full of life before meeting him and the thought of Noah being tortured for information made her restless.

At the same time, neither did he belong to her world, nor did he belong to another dimension. He belonged to a totally new planet, which didn't even belong to her Galaxy.

 She began recalling all the beautiful memories they shared. Finally, she had made her choice and drove to his house. The door was locked. She could hear music playing from inside. She said smilingly from outside the door, “ Open up Noah. You risked everything to show yourself to me, and I will admire you for the way you are. ” She added, “ I am not scared of you, Noah. My eyes deceived me, I should have looked into your heart, which is constantly trying to improve and instill humanity. I accept you, and all the things that come with you, even if we have to hide for the rest of our lives, Noah.” She ran her fingers on the door and said with damp eyes, “ Noah, I love you. Now please open the door, let’s talk. I am sorry for running away and hurting you”. There was no response, she got suspicious and kicked the door open. He wasn't there. She grew skeptical, ran to her car, and began driving to her office. She thought, “ What the hell was I even doing? Falling in love with an Outworldly life? Believing a shapeshifter who burns people by the heat emitted from his mouth? Am I so desperate for love that I lose sanity?”

 She wavered again and wondered “ I am sure he will be there, trying to make amends. Everyone deserves a second chance, he is trying to improve, and I love him. I don’t doubt his love, I have seen it in his eyes”. She smiled sheepishly. She reached her office which was chaos, there were tense screams everywhere, people were running around, everything was haywire. She asked Haru about what had happened. He replied with frustration, “ The spaceship is missing!”.Tanya was shocked, did he just leave her?. She blurted, “ But the only one to have access to the secret basement was Dr. Mike, who is in the cell.” Viktor yelled, “ Let’s go to the cell now”. The team ran down and saw the guards who were shivering with fright. They had seen something their brain couldn't process. One of the guards said, “ Noah… he.. Glowed”. Tanya knew exactly what had happened. They ran inside the cell and saw Mike’s body lying lifeless on the slab, with no drop of blood spilled, but his face.. his face was burnt beyond recognition, it had melted into black liquid. She shouted in horror. She thought, “I was a fool to think he is changing. I committed such a blunder. Had I informed the team yesterday itself, Mike’s life could have been saved, he was innocent.". All of a sudden her mind wavered, she thought, "He did say that he would put Dr. Mike out of misery, which he actually did. So maybe he didn't lie when he said he loved me. He could have killed me the day I learned about him, but he didn't. He does love me.” Saying so she convinced her baffled mind which had fallen in love with a ruthless creature.

 Haru was still in shock. “ So, It was Noah, all this time ”. Viktor added, “ So he is the Alien who emits heat waves from his mouth, and he was practically living in this office with us, holy crap!”. Tanya switched on the news, the reporter was showing a day old clip of the dead body of Noah found in the forest, with his face melted. Viktor concluded, “ Now, I get it. The alien shapeshifted from that old man into Dr.Noah who was on his way here and killed him to avoid any conflicts in the future. He came to the same team formed to track him, misguided us into believing that Dr. Mike was the alien. He then went to the cell, convinced the guards to let him in using his alien mumbo-jumbo, shapeshifted into Dr. Mike and killed him so that he couldn't alert us. The guards had however lost their mental balance, so they were no threat to him. He used Dr. Mike’s iris to get into the secret basement and escape ”. Everyone agreed. Tanya was heartbroken and consoled herself by saying, “ He did love me, he could have killed me too to avoid any conflict like he did to others, but he didn't ”.

All of a sudden the Screen in the conference room switched on. It was a video of Noah, just before the UFO vanished. He said, “ Hey mates, I shapeshifted back to Noah as Dr. Mike was a fatass”. He laughed maniacally and continued, " I came from the planet of Oreon, on a special mission, to find the weak point of the Eartheans. Unlike our planet, you are divided into countries, each with different kinds of Eartheans. But I found out one common thing, which makes all of you weak, vulnerable, gullible, and incompetent. That is Love''. Everyone gasped in horror. He continued, “ It was me who shapeshifted into Mike's sister, went to his house, and convinced him to control his anger. When he slept, I glowed standing near the window. I knew that if he was caught he would never mention his dear sister, again because of love.” He smiled like a lunatic and his lips extended till the corner of his eyes. His skin started cracking and neon light began shooting out. He continued with a monstrous growl, "Tanya darling, when I reached the office in the morning, everyone greeted me as usual. I realized that you hadn’t ratted me out. The time you took to think, gave me time to escape. If you are wondering why I didn't kill you when I had a chance, it was because you were my guinea pig. Who kills a guinea pig before an experiment, love. I heard your lovey-dovey talk outside my door through a bug, making my last and final experiment successful. You Eartheans are hungry for love and will sacrifice anything for it. Get ready to be infested by a million Shapeshifters, you hopeless Eartheans." By this time, he was fully neon and his eyes were deep red. Tanya shut her eyes in anguish, turned around, and began walking away. Suddenly a red tear flooded out of his red eye and ran down his cheek, which he wiped swiftly. The next moment she turned behind for one last look. The video had already ended.

----- To Be Continued -----