"There's a weird man on the roof!"
The boy ran hastily into the kitchen and informed his mother about the pressing issue.
"Akshay! Don't you dare call your father a weird man. And where are your manners!? Is this how you talk to your elders? Also, when did he come back from his business trip?"
Akshay's mother instantly rebuked his statement while she lightly pinched his ear.
"Ow-w-oww.. Please leave me. I am not talking about Dad. There's some other man. He was wearing striped shorts and a banana suit, with his face hidden behind a scary mask. He was also, for some reason, sitting in a plastic pool on this winter evening. As soon as I saw him, I immediately dashed off to you. I swear, I am not lying!"
Her mother, puzzled and astonished, looked at her son. When she noticed his serious expression, she decided to check for his wild claims.
She followed him through the stairs, where Akshay carefully opened the door, without letting his hand off the handle, so as to close it in case of emergency.
He pointed his finger to the left and said, "There, he is!"
She peeked from inside while his eyes were focused on her face with an expression as if saying, "See! I told you."
But to his surprise, her reaction was not what he expected, as he got a gentle tap on his head.
"Eh!? What's this for!?"
"It's for pranking me and wasting my time."
"Pranking!? What prank? Can't you see-"
"..."
"Mom. Can you see him?"
"Are you joking again? Of course, I can't see him. Well, enough of your pranks. I am running late to cook dinner. Feel free to spend your time here. But come here as soon as the food is ready. Okay?"
Akshay was lost in his thoughts, not paying attention to his mother's words when she repeated her question with a slightly more intense tone, "Okay, right?"
He suddenly snapped from his mind and replied with a nod.
As soon as his mother left, Akshay came to the balcony on the back side of his roof, looking at the sky and the dimly lit moon.
"Yo! Can you see me?"
"..."
"Hello! Hello! Aloha! One.. two.. Three... Mic testing!"
"..."
"Hold on! So, now are you gonna pretend that you didn't see me? So cowardly! Can't believe God gave someone like you the power to see a supreme being like me."
"...."
"Well, if you are never going to talk. I guess I have no choice. I have to just sit here alone, all lonely and scared." he took a pause and continued, his voice became softer than a snake's hissing, "Oh, by the way, please close your pants. It's open right now."
He stood still for a moment until-
Akshay, still looking at the sky, got the urge to check the situation of his zip with his right hand. And he did check it.
"Gotcha! I knew, I knew. I knew you could listen to me. Now come on, man. Say something to me."
Akshay was dejected in himself for slipping out on such a childish tactic like that. He then took out his phone from his pocket, placed it to his ear, and replied while smiling, "Oh! Hello! Who are you?"
"What's this act for? No one's watching us right now. You can act free, dude. Take a chill pill."
"Hahaha.. Your jokes are so good. But I can't leave out a situation again where someone sees me talking to myself in the open. People will easily assume I've gone mad. In such small towns, rumors travel faster than sound, you see. If Rajesh uncle sees me talking to myself, his superstitious mind would instantly label it as some paranormal activity."
The man gave him a disgruntled look and said, "Okay, okay, as you say. I am Piero Des Marquetas, Chimera No. 7, The Back-End Sweeper for the Arcane Dominion Corps."
By the eighth word, Akshay got visibly lost in the conversation, and that was fairly visible on his face.
"Pier0!?.. Market!?.. Are you just trying to confuse me with a bunch of buzzwords that I've never heard before? Seriously, what are you? Some ghost? Or a demon? Or spirit? Or something else?"
"That's my question. I thought that here you would answer those questions. Who are you? How can you see me? What am I doing here? Why am I stuck in this fucking tub? And most importantly, why am I in this banana suit!!!?"
"Huh! Hold on! That's too many questions at once. So that means even you have no idea how you are here?"
The man named Piero nodded.
"In this case, Hello! I am Akshay. Sixteen."
"Nice to meet you, young lad. Myself- Oh, I've just told you. By the way, same pinch, dude. I am Sweet One Hundred Sixteen this year. Pleasure making your acquaintance."
"How's that the same pinch?" Akshay distastefully asked.
Then, by the next moment, Akshay's phone rang, and it was his best friend, Ankit, who had called him. He picked up the phone.
"Hello! Akshay?"
"Hello! Yeah, talk."
"Can you please send me the notes of the Physics Third Chapter?"
"No, I can't."
"Please, bro. Please. I need it right now. I will die tomorrow if I don't complete it by night."
"Okay, Okay. Enough with your lies. Just wait. Don't hang up the call."
He turned to Piero and said to him softly, "Wait for a bit. I'll be back in an instant."
And Akshay walked down the stairs while waving at him.
After he completed his task, Akshay returned to the roof.
But to his surprise, the roof was empty.
There was no one.
No trace of that weird man in the banana suit was left.
He walked around for a few minutes when it clicked his mind- Why did I come to the roof right now?
Since he could not find the answer to his question, he went back and locked the door of the roof.