There is a man in my father's office. I have seen him many times before, but never have I spoken to him. I have seen many nonhumans before, this is the planet Frontier after all. Many different kinds of beings live together with humans here. There is something unusual about him, beyond the ordinary nonhuman differences. Whatever it is about this man in particular transcends my juvenile understanding - he is like a god that has come from the supernatural realm and doesn't belong in this world. I know what this man is - my father has told me - but I still don't understand what he is, but I am keen to find out. I step out from behind my corner. The man notices me and offers me a very mild smile. If he hadn't moved one could easily have mistaken him for a statue or a doll. There are metal protrusions from the side of his head - like the hands of a clock. His eyes glow with orange radiance like the setting sun. Otherwise, he looks like an ordinary young man. Dressed and groomed well. I can feel his gaze piercing my very being. "You must be Sakti. It is nice to meet you." he says. "Your father has told me a lot about you."

  "Has he?" I snap back. "Well, he has told me a lot about you too."

  "Is that so?" The man adjusts his posture in his chair, but his gaze never deviates. "Just what sort of things has Mister Roger Vells spoken of me to his young impressionable daughter?"

  "He said your name is Iskir and you two are like working together on something. He says you're a very important person. I'm not dumb, I've seen you on T.V. Even I know you're like even more important than the president. Why is someone like you working with my dad?"

  The man, Iskir, his smile grows a bit. "I'm hardly that important, Little Miss Vells. Your father and I share a similar vision to make this planet even greater and more prosperous for humanity. One day we will build a great nation and be strong enough to stand on our own in galactic politics. To rival the might of the Sovereign People's Republic of Dultara and maybe even restore order to the Republic of Amastos." Iskir chuckles a little, it is the most expressive I've seen him. "Although, I suppose such concepts are too difficult for such a young lady to understand." I get the feeling he is looking down on me.

  "It is not!" True, I don't really follow what he is saying, but I press on anyway. "Why do you care about humans? You're not a human."

  "You're right. I'm not a human. I care about humans because it's my duty as an ageless being."

  His words remind me of what little my father told me about this man, Iskir. "My dad said you are a being called an arenka - you're a magical being that never ages or dies. Is that true?"

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  "Indeed, it is as you say, Little Miss Vells."

  I cross my arms. "I don't believe you. Everyone dies eventually. There is no such thing as a being that never dies. Prove it. If you can't die, then go jump off the roof."

  Iskir laughs. "I don't think your father would appreciate me putting on graphic displays of self-destruction for his young daughter." Iskir finally breaks his gaze from me. He looks down at his palm and smooths his fingers across their intricate patterns. "Just because I am immortal doesn't mean I don't get hurt. If I did happen to suffer an injury that most consider fatal, I would still feel the sting of death, but it is like... a very bad dream. Depending on the injury, my body would regenerate after either a very short time or moderately long time. I would eventually be back to normal, however. There is no injury I could sustain that would kill me in the sense that you humans understand death."

  His words are unsettling to me. He is more of a monster than a man from the sound of it. I take a few steps back. "I don't really get it. So, you will never die, no matter what?"

  Iskir's eyes return to me. "Correct."

  I meander into the room, but avoid meeting his gaze. I hop onto the couch across from his chair. I look up at the ceiling, anything to avoid his fiery gaze, and swing my legs. "Sorry mister, but I still don't believe you. I won't believe you are actually immortal until I see you actually survive a crazy accident. How do I know you aren't just making it up? I could say I will never die either. You wouldn't know otherwise. Maybe I am an arenka too."

  "Maybe you are, but immortality is probably not something humans should test lightly." Iskir sits back in his chair and folds his hands. "That would be quite a story to make up. I would appear quite foolish if I proclaimed to be immortal only to meet an untimely demise." There is silence between the two of us for a bit, aside from the clock in the lounge ticking away.

  "How old are you anyway, mister? You're like a high schooler." I ask out of curiosity.

  He laughs yet again. "I can't say I remember. You stop counting after a while. What about you, Little Miss Vells?"

  "Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?" He doesn't have much of a reaction to my rebuttal. He seems more than content to leave his question unanswered. "I'm about to turn ten."

  "How about we make a deal, Little Miss Vells? I still have much work left to do on this planet. So long as you remain on this planet as well, you will be free to keep watch over me. Maybe if you're lucky you may even get to witness one of these so-called crazy accidents you wish to see befall me. You will find, however, that no matter how many years pass, even when you become an adult and eventually an old maid, I will remain the same. Even if you reach one hundred years old I will have not changed one single day. I could very well be with you forever, until the end of your relatively short human life, if you so pleased. I think that should be sufficient to prove my immortality to you."

  I recoil at his offer. "I'm not going to follow you around all the time waiting for you to kick the bucket. That sounds boring." I scooch off from the couch. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Mister Iskir sir. I guess I'll see you around if you keep working with my father."

  "Indeed. It was nice meeting you too, Little Miss Vells."

  I leave the study walking out into the hallway illuminated by the afternoon glow. I turn back to steal a glance at him once more, but my departure seems to have left no impact upon him. He is content to stare into nothingness as he waits for my father to return.

  Little did I know that was the beginning of our friendship.

  Thinking back on it now, nearly thirteen years later, I never thought I would be the one to be proven right. Perhaps there are no such things as immortal beings. Though I wish such was not so.