"Can you help me?" she asked.
The blonde-haired and blue-eyed man blinked, startled.
He had long since stopped reacting to people's stares—they had always watched him, both here and in his own galaxy.
But this was different.
She wasn't just watching. She was speaking to him.
The shock was so great that he instinctively looked around as if expecting someone else to be there.
The girl chuckled, her smile growing even warmer. "I'm talking to you. There's no one else."
He opened his mouth to respond but faltered.
It had been too long since he had last spoken. The last time was decades ago when he had learned the language of one of the native races.
His throat was dry. His voice, rusty.
He coughed, grabbed a nearby cup of water—something he no longer needed but kept out of habit—and took a slow sip.
Finally, he managed to speak.
"What do you need?"
The girl's eyes lit up.
