When I first arrived here, everything felt strange—the way everyone did as they pleased, how life seemed easy. It was nothing like Crane-Dev, where music was an abomination and laughter was something to be handled with caution.

For weeks, I struggled to cope, ignoring the glares from humans who must have found me odd. It wasn’t just my blue hair; it was how long it took me to catch a joke, how my heels never truly touched the ground. But none of that mattered. What mattered was that I was free—far away from Crane and all that it carried.

Music was the hardest thing to get used to. On Sundays, it was everywhere—hymns and songs of worship pouring from every church around the block. Music announced everything in Nigeria. Hawkers sold their goods with catchy melodies on their lips. Somehow, I got used to it. I even caught myself humming along once or twice.

Everything about Nigeria, about Earth, felt foreign—except you.

We met at an ice cream stand. My phone rang in my pocket, and I flinched.

“Are you okay?” you asked.

I smiled. “It’s nothing.”

Then you saw my hair.

“Oh my God, is this your hair?”

Your eyes widened in awe, and a smile broke across my lips. In Crane, everyone had blue hair—I was nothing special. I nodded briefly, looking into your eyes for the first time. They were blue. I had never seen eyes like that before. I found myself lost in them, wondering if you were from somewhere else too, somewhere far away.

“We should be friends,” you said, and suddenly, everything made sense.

Days later, we met again at a coffee shop, and I discovered that you, too, were from Dev. From Soph—a different country on the same dark planet I had escaped. Born to parents like mine, who left Earth believing Dev was better—utopia, a dream. Parents who were sold lies.

I told you about my hair, about Crane, and you understood. Your eyes watered as you listened, and then you told me about your home—about Soph, about your eyes, about why you chose Nigeria.

When my hands found yours, it felt like home, like peace, like sisterhood—despite the chaos.

Written by Julia Akpoti