Xenon had heard about a strange new visitor on the surface from a group of people walking by. The pale Martains’ dark almond eyes seemed wide with excitement and fear, similar to the fear you’ll feel when told a ghost story. Xenon first shrugged it off as gossip like their classmates would tell them, some things never change.

As the thought dwelled in Xenon’s imagination they started to worry, they’d been told the strange aliens that visit Mars are violent. These aliens were bulky and pale, paler than the normal martian’s gray complexion, and they had one big chrome eye. 

Xenon enters their home and shivers, still thinking about the strange martianoid that might be on the surface. 

“Aliens aren’t real,” they reassure theirself “at least not so close to home.”

Xenon sits by a window and looks at the underground society around them, watching as fellow Martians passed. They thought some more, what if the rumor was true? It was even more horrific to think the alien was so close to the colony’s entrance but the curiosity was so strong. 

It took a few minutes of going back and forth with theirself but eventually, Xenon decided to go looking for the visitor. 

Xenon reaches the entrance and the mild air of Mars’ surface rushes over their silvery skin, the light from the sun almost blinding as they adjust to being above ground. Martians have evolved to see well in harsh light, but it’s been a century or two since anyone’s lived on the surface.  They trek their way through the barren desert, nothing seemed to be around for miles. Xenon feels slight disappointment before seeing something in the distance, something robotic. They approach the odd vehicle with haste, it doesn’t look like anyone is piloting it. Xenon is again slightly disappointed but can’t explain why, they’re terrified but there’s something that feels pathetic about looking for something and not finding it.

“Oh, it’s just a rover,” they thought before realizing “But this doesn’t look like our technology. In fact it’s basically eons behind, who’s relic is this?”

Xenon snoops around the vehicle some more, nothing but rocks labeled in an unfamiliar lexicon and a crate they can’t open. They step off the rover to do another walk around when they spot it. The alien stands at about Xenon’s height, if not a few inches higher, but height was the least of Xenon’s worries; it was right in front of them!

Caught by surprise, Xenon shrieks and jolts back, they feel their body’s temperature drop and their limbs feel numb, the thought that these aliens were one thing but to actually find one was a rude awakening. The alien’s perspective was much different, they were ecstatic to see Xenon, so much so that underneath the reflective visor they couldn’t help but stand with wide eyes and full of wonder with a smile to match. 

“There is life on Mars!” the alien exclaimed.

Xenon’s fear still grasped their mind but the tone in which the alien shrieked didn’t feel ferocious it felt excited. Xenon’s fear turns to curiosity as they take a few steps closer to the alien.

“So, you’re friendly? Right?”

The alien of course didn’t understand that, but it waves one of its arms so Xenon took that as a yes and waved back. There’s a short period of the two going back and forth before something on the alien's suit beeps and it waves before turning back to the vehicle and starts leaving.

Xenon heads back home not knowing what just happened, or what the visitor told them, but they felt better knowing the visitor isn’t here to cause harm and was simply that, a visitor.