Mahesa, who had just returned from the bathroom, stared in confusion at Hendra, who was lying on his bed in his school uniform.
"Explain!" Hendra demanded.
"Explain what?"
Hendra immediately sat up straight, his eyes scanning Mahesa from his toes to the tips of his still-wet hair.
"Explain what happened earlier? I clearly saw you and that other Mahesa suddenly appear in front of that little kid." Hendra ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He was intensely curious.
"You saw wrong," Mahesa replied shortly. His hands were busy drying his hair with a towel. He had no reason or suitable words to cover up what had happened. Mahesa was too lazy to think.
"Then who is that kid?"
"Who is Mahesa Gaska?"
"Why did you go to that building when you said you didn't have any friends?"
"I do," Mahesa quickly objected.
"Who?" Hendra asked just as quickly.
"You?" Though Mahesa sounded uncertain, his answer nearly made Hendra flustered. He did his best to hold back his happy smile.
"Just me?"
"Karma?" Mahesa said it uncertainly again. The little squirrel peeked out from behind the pillow beside Hendra.
"He doesn't count," Hendra snapped when his eyes met Karma's black ones. "Humans don't befriend squirrels." Slightly offended, Karma began chattering in a squirrel's voice that Hendra couldn't understand. Mahesa, who did understand him, could only chuckle softly.
"Unless you're not human," Hendra continued. Karma immediately fell silent. He knew Hendra had just stated a fact.
"What if I'm an alien?" Mahesa asked.
"Impossible." Hendra immediately stood and approached Mahesa. He checked Mahesa from head to toe, making sure his body was still as normal as any human's.
"Karma," Mahesa called. Karma jumped off the bed and approached Mahesa's feet. Mahesa pushed Hendra aside and picked Karma up so he could set him on his desk.
"He's not just a squirrel, but he's not human either, and he's not an alien," Mahesa revealed, making Hendra turn toward Karma. The little squirrel looked away. From the moment Hendra had seen Mahesa arrive at the orphanage, he had been intrigued by him. Mahesa wasn't noisy; only a word or two ever left his mouth. Even then, he only spoke to the head of the orphanage. But once, Hendra saw Mahesa grinning widely and talking to a squirrel as though the squirrel understood every word he said. It had been hard to believe at first, but after learning that the squirrel was Mahesa's pet, Hendra understood. Some pets could understand their owners better than fellow humans.
"Could that be Karma's power?" Hendra guessed. Mahesa held back a smile.
"What power?"
"Teleportation!" Hendra exclaimed excitedly.
"Could he be a creature that lives inside the earth, Sa?" Hendra guessed again. He looked completely absorbed in his own imagination.
"Who knows? Try asking Karma." Mahesa turned to Karma and nodded, signaling for Karma to trust Hendra.
"Karma, you understand what I'm saying, right?" Hendra asked. Karma leaped from the desk toward Hendra, then his body transformed into a little boy who landed right in Hendra's arms. Unable to dodge, Hendra stumbled backward, his head nearly hitting the floor before Karma finally whispered, "maika nara." They moved onto the bed, with Karma landing on top of Hendra. Karma laughed brightly, a carefree laugh that showed how happy he was to share his secret with Hendra.
"Hi," Karma greeted him.
"Huh?" Hendra pushed Karma aside so he could get up. "How are we already on the bed?"
"Because I'm here," Karma replied with a goofy grin. Mahesa approached them and helped Hendra to his feet.
"Dra, this is a secret, okay? Otherwise, you'll be the one in danger later," Mahesa said, making Hendra's body go limp as he sat back down on the bed. Mahesa wasn't being serious. He and Karma really weren't ordinary humans, but they weren't here to hurt anyone.