I sighed. He still didn’t know of my deduction, and I had a feeling this was a way for him to ask about it without arousing my suspicion. “I’m not sure,â€? I said. “I’m not other people.â€?

As Anthony shifted in his position, the water in the lake behind plinked up for no apparent reason. His eyes burned green simultaneously.

“It’s funny,â€? he started, “how the ways of the world work. I don’t understand it. In fact, what makes it funnier is that barely anyone else seems to understand it either. How there can be so much pain and death, and yet a balance of hope and life. Does this mean there’s a God who controls it all?â€?

“Some people believe so. I do. It’s an explanation for the impossible-to-understand.â€?

“Explanations,â€? he snorted. “They’re only elaborations on pre-formed judgments. I do better without them.â€? And he did. He was part of the unexplainable.

No, Anthony Petrov was not human. What he was, I had yet to find out. Maybe I never would.