There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

"Whatcha' reading?"

The asker, in question, had a young polite face, fitting for an innocent boy. He also had on a wide grin, as if he was trying to mock me without words. Feeling ticked off, I veered my head back to the newspaper article in front of me and continued chewing on the metal end of my pencil.

"Words."

I answered vaguely.

"Hmm…I didn't think you were into those sorts of things."

"And what, exactly, do you mean by those sorts of things?"

I avoided eye contact with him, though, I already knew where this conversation was headed.

"You know," he said, "aliens, UFO sightings…Bigfoot."

He made it sound like as if I had joined a cult. Of course, that wasn't the case here. I was just holding a second-rate junky tabloid in my hands all because of habit.

Back in my younger days, my eyes had stumbled upon a magazine. It was the kind of brainless magazine that puts The Wall Street Journal to shame in terms of idiocy and absurdity. But back then, I was very impressionable and didn't really know much, so I was intrigued to buy one of these tabloids and convinced myself to read one every month or so.

Over the years, my knowledge increased tenfold and I learned to be a little more skeptical, but I've continued to buy a magazine at least once a month just to keep up with the tradition. I admit, this stuff is garbage, but I also have to admit that, as far as garbage goes, this is some pretty weird garbage.

The current featured article in my hands read aloud, "THE WHITE HOUSE IS BEING RUN BY ALIENS!" in large bold ink. Along with the article was also a blurred photograph of a being that kind of did look like Bigfoot.

"Don't tell me you actually believe any of that?"

The boy looked at me with the kind of dismayed look that would send an alien enthusiast into a fit of rage. Thankfully, I wasn't one of those types of people, but I was still irritated at the fact that he was asking.

"Of course not, only an idiot would believe this crap. I mean, c'mon, as if aliens and secret organizations would be stupid enough to be caught by the media."

There was a short pause.

"…ah ha ha ha. You're pretty funny."

Though I had kept a straight face, he thought I was joking.

"So, seriously, what's up with that newspaper?"

I ignored his question. Instead, I glared at his head for a few seconds but gave up when none of his thoughts were revealed to me. I sighed and returned to my reading.

"What do you think about aliens?"

I asked monotonously, avoiding what he last said.

"Huh?"

"You know," I said taking the pencil out of my mouth, "those little green guys with bulging black eyes and slimy skin, kind of like a disfigured tree frog."

"Uh…what do you mean?"

"Just tell me what you think."

I screened myself from him with the newspaper and spoke apathetically.

"…well, I suppose they're kind of cool…but they aren't real, aren't they?"

I can tell that question part of his answer was just put on for courtesy's sake, but that just made him sound like a moron when he did it.

"So…you don't think aliens exist."

I stated flatly.

"Well…yeah, pretty much."

"Why do you think that?"

I asked. I scrunched the ends of the paper together and flipped to the next page, creasing the paper in several different places in the process.

"Well," he said, "in order for there to be life, there has to be certain conditions that have to be met: light, heat, certain chemical compounds to sustain life, and a reaction to startup the whole life process. For these factors to coincide so conveniently out in space, the probability of that is relatively none. And for the survival of life, that's even less."

…where the hell did you pull that out of? Do you contain some sort of wireless internet in your brain or something? Ugh, this is what I get for talking to someone that smarter than me.

"You're saying…it's impossible to win the lottery twice, right?"

I put some of his words into my own analogy.

"Well, I suppose, but this goes on a whole different scale compared to a lottery ticket you buy at stores. These odds are one to an astronomical-"

"Yeah, I get it."

I put the tabloid down and looked him eye to eye.

"But…who's to say that it's impossible. Time and space are infinite, so even if it's unlikely, anything that can happen will happen, in due time. So, you can't say that they don't exist, and you can't say that aliens haven't been to earth either even with those odds, because there's always a chance. And if there are aliens around, even if it's only a tiny chance, isn't it enough of a reason to take an interest and maybe search the skies every once in awhile?"

He took on a thoughtful pose and scratched the side of his head.

"You have a point…but, it's still pretty improbable that they exist."

"…"

I grimaced at his words and growled.

"Shut up Kunikida."

I crumpled up the gazette in my pocket and laid my head down on my desk. I suppose I should have listened to my teacher's lectures, but I decided to concentrate my efforts to something more fruitful, like say...trying to move my pencil by intensely staring at it. Needless to say, I was deeply disappointed again.

Readjusted myself to a more relaxed position, I found myself sighing.

For the rest of the school day, I let time sift like sand through an hourglass.

By the time I came home, I was confronted with two tickets posted on the refrigerator door. A note was attached to it with a very easy to comprehend message: Take your sister. For whatever reason, it seems that my parents wanted us out of the house.

Normally, this would strike fear and shock into any child's heart, leaving such thoughts as, "Are my parents getting divorced?" and "Is this because of me?" I can honestly say that I thought of neither since I already knew what the case was. And even if there were getting divorced, the one at fault would probably not be me, but rather a certain annoying little girl.

A few days earlier, my parents informed me that they would be out on business, so they wouldn't be able to take care of us. But rather than spend the money on a babysitter, they gave me an industrial sized package of ramen and left me in charge of the house. These tickets was obviously a consolation gift to try and buy their way out of being called "bad parents".

Though their actions were kind of iffy on the side of bad parenting, I was neutral to the prospect of managing the house. I could take care of myself easily, and taking care of the house for a few days would be a simple matter. And plus, I was kind of too old for a babysitter. I would've loved the idea if they left me at home alone, but, of course, there was a certain someone that made me change "loved" to "felt neutral to".

"I don't want to!"

My sister was taking full advantage of the absence of our parents and put her rebellious attitude into overdrive.

"Look, we got the tickets and today's the only day they can be used."

I was unenthusiastic with trying to reason with such a simpleminded girl, so it can't be helped that I wasn't excited to be going out with her.

"But I really don't want to!"

Her shrill eight year old whining was enough to make a ringing noise in my ear.

"I already promised Miyokichi that I would eat dinner at her house and sleep over."

"What?"

"Miyokichi's parents said I could."

She said it in a tone that suggested that I ought to get jealous. It lost its desired effect.

"…wait, who is this Miyo...person. This is the first time I've ever heard of her."

"Yoshimura Miyoko," she corrected, "She's my friend."

"Mi-Miyoko…yeah, I don't think I've met her."

"Yes, you have."

Really? Have I? Hmm…Yoshimura Miyoko, I don't recall anyone with name.

"You let her in. See, that's…that's her right over there."

She gave a look to the side and followed her gaze. Sure enough, there was a girl standing near the doorway. She was standing idle with her arms crossed behind her back and shyly gave a glance at me. After a few seconds of sizing her up, I looked back at my sister.

"…her?"

No offence to Miyoko, but I find it hard to believe that a nice looking girl like her could be friends with my sister. My sister is like a sporadic fireball, while this girl here seems...really conservative. I mean, she was so quiet, I pretty much forgot that she existed, let alone that I let her into my home.

"Yes her! So, can I go? Pretty, pretty please!"

She pouted her lips and widened her eyes, trying to pull off a puppy dog glare, the kind of stare that's just too cute and irresistible. And it could've worked too, except for the fact that this was real life and not some cartoon.

"Stop that. You look stupid."

She relaxed her face and glared at me.

"I'll tell mom on you if you don't let me go."

She threatened.

"Tell her what? That I didn't let you go to a house of a complete stranger."

"She's not a stranger!"

She glared at me some more. I caved in after about two seconds. Between this and the puppy dog look, I'd have to say she looks cuter angry...and maybe a little bit hostile too.

"…fine. Just promise me you won't get kidnapped. If you do, I'll get really angry."

My sister's facial expression suddenly brightened up and revealed a wide grin.

"Okay!"

She jumped up and hugged me, and then sped out of the door at breakneck speeds, grabbing Miyoko's hand and pulling her along like the streamers on her bicycle handles.

…jeez, what a rash girl.

I fingered the tickets in my pocket. The crisp cut edges dented my fingertips and the smooth paper surface signaled that they had been bought recently, or that they hadn't had the time to be worn out in human hands. At a closer glance at the tickets, it was revealed that they were for a baseball game.

Now, I wasn't really a big fan of baseball. I sort of knew the rules and game play, but to say that I was interested, that would be a lie. However, I couldn't handle the thought of wasting something that my parents bought for me, so I decided to go. Since my sister didn't want to come with me, and calling any of my friends out of the blue to go to something as arbitrarily as this was really something I wouldn't do, I just went ahead by myself. So, after a trip to the station and quite a ways of walking, I found the stadium.

The place was relatively new. The floors weren't as greasy as I'd expected and the tiled walls still had a shiny synthetic gleam. I remember back a few years ago about how this stadium was built, but this was the first time I've ever set foot in here.

By the time I got to the seating area, the game had already started. A surprising multitude of spectators were cheering all around me, engulfing me into a wave of ruckus. Apparently, this game was a lot more jam-packed than I thought it would be, with thousands of roaring fans easily outnumbering the amount of people in my school. Inside all this chaos, I was probably an ant in a swarming sea of other insects, and if one took the time to notice everyone else, someone could lose themselves in the huge surplus of people.

I, myself, was a little shocked. For a second, I stood and gazed at the immense audience, feeling the same way one would feel after observing the countless stars in the sky.

I felt a little lonely.

It was an ironic feeling to be alone within a crowd. On the other hand, it made perfect sense. After seeing so many people, you can't help but to feel a little minuscule and insignificant compared with everyone else too, can you?

…my idle thoughts ended just about the time it started, when I felt a brush near my shoulder. It was then that I realized that I had been standing in the middle of the doorway, and belated people like myself were naturally trying to pass me. I was a little embarrassed, and so I quickly walked out to the platform.

Within a matter of seconds, I had found my seat and sat myself down between two bystanders. I was considerably tired from walking all the way from the train station to where I was now, so it was a big relief to be sitting down. I sighed and leaned back into the chair. And for a minute or so, I stared lazily into the field filled with baseball players.

...maybe it would've been better if I hadn't noticed it, but a nagging feeling caused me to realize that something was wrong here.

I took a look at my seat number and compared it with my ticket stub. Of course, they matched, meaning I wasn't in the wrong seat. By my reasoning, there should have been two free seats before I sat down. One of those empty seats should have been located one chair next to the aisle seat, and that was where I was seated. However, the aisle seat, which was supposed to be reserved for my sister, was…well, occupied.

It probably would've been best if I hadn't confronted this person on the matter, but, I was enough of an idiot to do so.

"Uh…"

I stupidly gestured to the girl beside me, but stopped when I took a closer look at her. She looked around my age, with long dark hair, and a bright yellow hair band tied towards the crest of her bangs. I have to admit, she was strikingly pretty, and this made it a little intimidating to approach her, so I stopped myself from doing anything else. Again, it was a stupid move.

"…"

"What?"

Her lips curled into a scowl and she turned her head towards me. Though all around me were screaming fans, strangely, I found that I could hear her perfectly.

"…well, that seat…"

I reluctantly said words aloud. The more I thought about it, the more idiotic it seemed to bring up.

"Is someone sitting here?"

She asked.

"Well, no but-"

"Then stop complaining."

She remarked coldly. The girl folded her arms around her waist and turned her icy gaze to the field. Before I knew it, I found myself murmuring "sorry".

Oh, damn, this wasn't good. The first inning hadn't even finished, and yet I've managed to piss off my neighbor. Man, this feels awkward. Should I say something to her, or will that make it even worse? Or maybe I'm making it worse by not saying anything. I wonder, is it possible for me to change seats?

After several minutes of bickering amongst myself, I made an attempt to strike a conversation.

"…so, do you like baseball?"

"…"

"...yeah, neither do I."

I slouched in my seat and grimaced at the dry topic I brought up. I fought amongst myself to whether or not to try talking again, but I decided to ignore her, since she didn't have a problem ignoring me.

I sighed and leaned my hand against the side of my head. I tried to focus my attention to the game on the field, but found my eyes drifting off. Really, I wasn't much of a fan of baseball, and as much as the fans around me were cheering, I just couldn't get into the spirit of things.

How long had it been? An hour? Two? I wasn't sure, but the sun had already set, signaling that it had been awhile since I first came. The stadium had a retractable dome for rainy days, but since the sky was as dry as the floor beneath me, I was free to look up. Of course, due to light pollution, I couldn't see anything other than aircrafts, so the billions of stars I knew beyond the atmosphere were being obstructed by the city lights, but that didn't stop me from looking.

"What are you looking at?"

I gave a glance at the girl beside me. She seemed to have stopped ignoring me and had taken a sudden interest in talking.

"Looking at the sky."

I said dully. I let my eyes idly drift back to where they once were.

"Are you stupid?"

I flinched. Apparently she hit a nerve.

"There's nothing but planes and helicopters up there. Do you expect to see something else?"

That question sounded more like ridicule than an actual question, but I answered anyway.

"…yeah."

"Really? What then?"

Between telling her the truth or just tuning her out, I decided to be honest since I'd probably never see this girl again after today. Though, knowing that fact still didn't make me feel any better when I said it aloud.

"…mysterious things…"

I cringed at how that sounded.

"What do you mean?"

I sighed and tried to simplify it out.

"Mysterious, paranormal, suspicious things…anything out of the ordinary…"

I regretted everything that came out of my mouth, but I didn't want to say straight out that I was searching for UFOs.

"Aliens, huh?"

Damn, she saw right through me.

"Sorry to crush on your dreams now, but you're not going to find anything up there."

The girl seemed to be purposely antagonizing me.

"You really think that out of the infinite numbers of galaxies in the infinitely enormous universe, there's not one planet out there that doesn't have life on it?"

"Yes."

She didn't even think about it. The girl turned her head away and apathetically let her thoughts out.

"You think there's something else out there, but there's not. Up in the sky, you'll only see planes and helicopters. If you look even further, you'll see rocks and flaming balls of cosmic gases, and then, that's it. People have already built telescopes that see light years away, and they haven't found anything at all, so even if aliens existed, they would be too far away to ever reach, so you might as well say that they don't exist."

She tilted her head forward and hid her face away from me before continuing.

"Plus…there are more than a billion people on this earth. Everything you see, it's what everyone else sees. Everything you feel, it's what everyone else feels. And everything you want, it's what everyone else wants. So even if aliens did exist, what makes you think you're so special that you'd actually see something like that instead of some other kid?"

I had nothing to say. There was no denying her logic, but, I didn't want to accept it either.

"…"

I was hoping that by the time I opened my mouth, an ingenious comeback would spring from it, but I had nothing.

"There's nothing that can be done about it. That's just how life is."

I was struck by that last sentence.

"That's…just how life is? ...for your sake, I hope you're wrong, because if that's true…life would just be too…dull."

I really wanted to say something with more impact, but that was the best I could come up with. And so, I continued to blather on idiotically.

"I mean, wouldn't it be more interesting if there were things like that, like something out of a bad sci-fi flick where…time traveling espers slide off into different dimensions to fight off an ambiguous evil."

I can only guess that it was only due to a temporary lapse of sanity that caused me to spout out that pathetic argument.

"How can you think like that?"

I bared my teeth to her in a half-assed smile before saying,

"Because…it's a lot more fun to believe."

I let out a small sigh before turning my head back to the game.

"…you're insane."

…yeah, that must be it.

After the game ended, we both left without saying goodbye since we were neither friends nor any sort of acquaintances on good terms with each other. As far as I could tell, we were strangers before the game, and we were slightly more irritated strangers afterwards. Or, at least I was. Well, it doesn't matter anymore, since that would probably be the last time I'd see her. I'd probably forget her face in a few weeks tops.

I didn't see her walking out of the parking lot, so I assumed the girl must've had a ride from her parents or something like that. As for me, I went back the way I came. To be honest, I wished I would've gotten a refund on those tickets.

…a few days later, I took a trip to an abandoned warehouse rumored to be haunted. Usually, I wouldn't do something as outlandish as this, but I was still a little peeved from that baseball game. Maybe that's why I decided to do this. It was around nine in the evening when I got there and the place looked desolate and dreary with little vegetation.

I didn't want to make a habit out of illegally trespassing on property, but sneaking through the gate was pretty easy. The chain link fence surrounding the building was poorly constructed, and I was able to pull the fence to the ground and walk on it. It was almost too easy.

…okay, I think I'm just being paranoid.

There were thick rusted chains wrapped over the handles of all the doors to the building, but, in contradiction, all the ground level windows were open and shattered, meaning that practically anyone could get into the building by climbing through. I checked the sill for any broken pieces of glass before stealthily sliding into the building.

I found out that the warehouse wasn't that impressive in terms of eeriness or abnormalities as I explored the building. The place was completely stripped of everything, leaving the bare grease-stricken concrete floor and the jagged brick walls. Other than that, the warehouse was just like a giant empty room. There wasn't even a creepy basement I could go down into.

In the end, I didn't find any ghosts or phantoms, only dust and cobwebs. Not even rats wanted to be in such a desolate place. However, I wouldn't allow myself to give up. Not yet. I saw an old rusted fire escape stuck to the side of the building, and I wanted to at least see the roof. The fire escape, in itself, was pretty odd to see, since there weren't any floors to the building. It just led straight up, and so, I wanted to see if there was anything up there.

I could go in to detail about how petrified I was to climb an old rusty fire escape that could've probably fell at any moment, but I'll just skip that and say I was disappointed when I reached the top. The roof was just as bare as the inside. There wasn't any spacecrafts, no machines from the future, or any sort of secret meeting going on. I was by myself. After all the effort I put into this, this turned out to be a complete waste of time.

I sunk down and rested my back on the ledge of the building.

But that's just life, huh?

I sighed and closed my eyes.

…to tell you the truth, I don't think I've ever believed in any of those things. I just wanted to believe. I wanted to believe that aliens, time-travelers, ghosts, monsters and espers were real. I wanted to think that I could be someone who could save a girl kidnapped by extraterrestrials, or use a laser gun to fight off villains from the future, or engage in telepathic fights. Or at least maybe be a sidekick that somewhat helped in doing that.

…but reality didn't work like that.

Everything was bound to the laws of physics. All these things that I wanted, it was impossible for them to be real. And that was how life really was. I had already known that beforehand and I understood it clearly, but I still yearned something more interesting. I was sick of how normal things were, and, I suppose that's why I kept buying those cruddy newspapers. I just wanted that life.

The next time I opened my eyes, I found my joints cramping badly. It wasn't much of a surprise since I had fallen asleep in an odd position. Obviously, your body would have to cramp after…three hours.

Only three? It felt like a lot longer. Well, I guess this makes it June 7th then.

I checked my watch again and stood up, cracking any parts of my body that needed to be cracked. Afterwards, I walked over to the opposite side of the roof and looked over the ledge. The semi-star filled sky lit up the ground with a bleak silvery glow. From my pocket, I pulled out the ridiculous newspaper I had when Kunikida confronted me on the matter. If I had smoked, someone could've taken a suave picture of me from the ground.

The life I wanted was impossible. I already knew that. I already knew, and yet, I still yearned. I guess it's kind of stupid of me to do that. I mean, why want something you can't have? It's a kind of funny. Originally, I thought I was a little more reasonable, a little more rational than everyone else, but apparently I'm not. No matter how many times I was faced with the odds, I would always be too stubborn to accept it. And look where I am now by being that way: exhausted, alone, hot and sweaty, not to mention miserably disappointed.

I really ought to accept how life is. When I think about it, it isn't all bad. I could live ordinarily, go to school, do homework, and eat dinner with my family. And maybe someday I could meet a girl, someone I'll have common normal interests with. That's not too bad of a life style. It's just that…it's ordinary. Then again, that was just how life was, ordinary, but still…

I lifted my eyes to the sky and observed the astronomical figures above me while still hoping.

…I wish there was someone who could change that.

I waited, and nothing happened. I don't know what I was expecting to happen when I made that thought. Maybe I expected the stars to arrange themselves into an alien message saying that this person was here. It was ridiculous.

I hung my head and glanced downward.

It was, indeed, ridiculous. There were no aliens, time travelers, or espers. Why? Because that's how life was. There was no denying this and no question about it. It was just a fact. Some would say that this realization would be dark and depressing, but at this moment, I found that this gave me a new perspective. Did my world start to lose its color? Maybe, but I didn't feel bad about it. It almost felt a little comforting, knowing that everything had its place and time, knowing that everything had sense and meaning. I felt like I was waking up from a dream, or maybe drifting off into one.

Bzzt!

And now the feeling's gone.

"Hello?"

I pulled out my cell phone answered automatically.

"Kyon! Where are you?!"

I recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to my sister, who seemed distressed and afraid.

"Huh? Uh, I'm…um, out on a walk."

Yeah, I'm taking a walk in the middle of the night. It's my thing, you know.

"Well come home soon, Kyon! I'm scared being alone!"

I couldn't tell…was she calling me something? Or is she just making an attempt at a cute noise?

"Wait, aren't you at Miyoko's? And why are you calling me that?"

"What do you mean? Isn't Kyon your name?"

You're my sister, and you should know that that's not my name.

"But that's what Aunty calls you."

…ah, now I remember that name. My aunt visited a few weeks back and gave me that obnoxious nickname. But wait, how is it that she remembers this?

"That doesn't matter. Just use my real name."

Or maybe Onii-chan if you want.

"But Kyon sounds a lot cooler!"

How, exactly, is that cooler?

"It just is! Now come home quickly Kyon!"

I heard the other end of the receiver click before I got another word in.

…jeez, I hope she gets tired of calling me that. It's really annoying. Ah, well, even if she does keep continuing to call me by that stupid name, I doubt it would catch on with anyone else.

I put the phone back in my pocket. Before I left for home, I extended the newspaper in my hand and let the wind catch it.

AN: Greetings fellow fanfic readers. I hoped you liked this as much as I liked writing this idea. I'm not much for Kyonism, but the thought of Kyon being an alien enthusiast was too good of a thought to pass up. I tried to incorporate some of the things from the books to make it as canon as possible, as well as referencing to things I doubt anyone would get, and voila! Here it is!

I would also like to talk about my other Melancholy fanfic. Here, I'm talking to my fanbase compromised of probably less than thirty people. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill Kyon off...yet. Ha! I'm kidding. Or not. Or whatever. Just read it. Well, I read some of my previous chapters and thought to myself, this is lot more interesting then I was going for. But, as everything has to have an end, I made one. Unfortunately, I don't know how to lead up to that point, since I haven't thought up a middle yet, but I'll let you know that I, in fact, do have an end. I could let give you an a piece of what I have, but instead I'll let you drone over these ideas:

A.) Kyon gets shot (obvious)

B.) Mikuru plays a game of Russian roulette (improbable)

C.) Itsuki is shot from the window side (not so obvious)

D.) Yuki is stabbed to death (No! That's blasphemy!)

E.) Haruhi gets burned (okay, as long as it's not burned to death)

F.) My character suddenly...I don't know, gets run over by a train (random, but I like the idea)

All right, ready! Set! Speculate!

For those who haven't read The End of the World, it's not as dark as I make it seem. I think it's pretty good, but then again, I'm the author.

...until the next AN, I.R.E.