We Speak the Same Words in Different Languages

It had been nearly a week since Ko's little visit to the police station, and fairly uneventful one too. He pouring himself a glass of water and chugged. It was one in morning. He was thirsty.

Somewhere far below, traffic went on below, cars honking obnoxiously. Sirens screamed distantly. Metal clanged. Silence was a concept that never truly existed in the city. Sometimes it was annoying. Other times, like now, it was a comfortable backdrop.

...Okay, the metal sound was getting closer and louder--not part of the normal city noise.

Someone was on the fire escape. He knew that because he sometimes climbed the fire escape of places that were not his own.

Ko set down his glass of water and picked up the baseball bat he kept for self-defense. He crept towards the window and rapped on it twice, grinning. They might as well he was there. They were, after all, making eye contact.

There was another man crouched by the window, wild-eyed and with a few days' worth of stubble. He had dark, long hair, hanging down to his shoulders. It was hard to tell in this lighting, but he looked maybe East Asian. He stared at Ko, and, wow, this was a really bad idea, but Ko opened the window.

"If you're looking for a princess to recuse, you're off," he said smugly. "Also, I have baseball bat, so don't try any shit."

"No, no, I'm not here to hurt or rob you," he assured quickly. His voice was breathy and scratchy at the same time. His eyes were slightly unfocused. Ko decided that he was possibly unhinged.

"Then why are you here?"

The man paused, lips parted to form a word, but nothing came out, which Ko took as a bad sign.

"Alright, man. I'm gonna call the cops now. Bye."

"Wait!" His hand shot out into the gap, holding up the window. Damn, his reflexes were fast. "Please—I’m not—" His voice wavers, brimming on sounding desperate, but also like he doesn’t want to admit that he needs help. "I’m in a bad way."

Ko paused. He sounded genuine. "Prove it."

The man sighed and shifted so his lower stomach could be seen. He lifted his shirt up to reveal bandages wrapped around his stomach. Just below his navel, there was a dark stain. Ko swallowed, mouth dry.

"Oh."

"I was stabbed."

"That's definitely a bad way." Ko sighed. He was gonna regret this, wasn't he? "Come on in."