Authors: Summer Cooper
“Where are we going next, Elle?” Fara asked. It was now late afternoon, early evening, and some of the locally owned shops were beginning to close down in the area for the night.
“Normally, this would be my day off. I would just go home, write a little, and go to bed,” she answered, but tugged gently at Fara's arm when they made to head back in the direction of her house. She stepped forward and leaned in a little bit. “But today can be a little special, can't it?” She whispered conspiratorially, like the idea of an adventure was a precious one that needed to be guarded at all cost. Fara grinned.
“So where are we going to go?” Fara's tone matched hers, and it was all Elle could do not to squeal with excitement.
“Oh, we're still going home,” At Fara's baffled expression, she giggled. “But we're doing something a little different this time. Trust me!” And so Fara did, and off they went back to the house. Elle pulled Fara in, and gave a short greeting to Socks, who mewed in indignation when she received no ear scratches from her owner. Quickly, Elle snatched their mugs from before, and pulled the books out from the bag, leaving the food remaining at the bottom. Setting the books on the table, she ushered Fara down the hallway, into her bedroom.
“This is your bedroom,” Fara said with no small amount of confusion.
“That it is,” Elle grinned broadly at her. “But that's not the main attraction,” stepping up onto her bed, she lifted her arms up to reach her skylight. Cranking the window open with the wind up winch, she tugged at a cord Fara hadn't noticed before, and watched in surprise as a ladder slid down to the center of the room, its descent slowed by Elle's hand easing it to the floor to avoid hitting them by accident.
“What... what is this?” Elle's grin softened into a smile that tugged at her lips.
“This is where I go to look up at the night sky when I can't get to my usual spot.” She began to climb up the ladder with movements practiced through years of doing this on nights where the roads were too slick or closed down or it was too late to drive. “Coming?” She asked over her shoulder as she reached the top. Swinging herself out of the room, she turned and offered a hand to Fara. “Just a moment- it's really dark, but I know what to look for,” Fara squeaked when Elle disappeared into the darkness, leaving Fara to wonder what was going to happen next. “Okay, turning on the lights!” Fara gasped once its eyes had readjusted to the new light source, and they were able to take in what was before them.
Soft fairy lights were strung up in a little nook protected by built-in rafters and filled with soft looking cushions, blankets that Elle was pulling out of a storage closet, a small table to set things on, and an open view of the sky. Fara stepped into the little space, and instantly felt warmer, the spot clearly protected by the chill of the Earth season. Elle finally had the blankets situated to make them a nice bed to stare up at the stars in, and she was sitting there, patting the empty spot next to her in the nook.
“We can talk and stargaze here. And there's the snacks we got earlier, so you can try some stuff from here! And I brought the tea!” She motioned proudly to the two mugs and the large thermos set on the little table beside her.
“It sounds lovely, but first... ” Fara offered a hand to Elle, and the human blinked in confusion. “I promised to show you the stars,” confused, but clearly excited, Elle took the hand and let herself be pulled up. She gasped when Fara drew her close, long arms wrapping easily around the thin human. “Hold on to me. I promise, the trip will not be too far,” neither of them knew whether that was a good thing or not.
E
lle shut
her eyes against the glow of the crystal mounted to Fara's chest that suddenly burst forth. She swallowed a scream of alarm when she felt them lift off of the ground slowly, but forced her eyes to open to watch what was happening around them. The crystal dissolved from its socket, instead beginning to expand around them and piece itself together to cocoon them in its multi-faceted form. She quickly realized it was forming into the ship that brought Fara here to begin with, and tightened her grip on Fara in anticipation for whatever happened next.
With the hum of the newly formed ship resonating low in their chests, it began to ascend. The strangest part, to Elle, was that even though she was witnessing how quickly the city she was born and raised in was shrinking below them, she couldn't feel any of the acceleration; they were floating, and she felt the sensation of not being on solid ground, but they weren't being pulled in any direction they didn't want to go. Fascinated, but knowing that any technical explanation would simply take away the magic of the event, she held her breath and watched as the sky darkened around them. It wasn't long before there ceased to be any blue to speak of around them, and Elle had to remember to breathe for fear of not being able to take in what was around her.
There they were, floating amongst the stars.
“You can let go now, if you wish,” Fara whispered.
“I don't,” Elle whispered back, tears beginning to prickle around the corners of her eyes. Fara gave her this, a blanket of stars to wrap herself in, just this once, and that was more than she could have ever hoped for. Yet, it wasn't until she looked up at Fara that she whispered the word, “Beautiful,” and knew it needed no explaining for them to know she wasn't talking about the stars.
“You know I cannot stay,” it wasn't a question, but Elle nodded anyway.
“I wouldn't ask you to, anyway.” Fara smiled sadly.
“And that is what makes you special,” Fara pressed a forehead against hers. “You understand.”
“Show me,” Elle whispered. “Show me everything. I want you to see my memories. Share this with me?” Fara nodded, hands coming up to cradle her face.
This was so different from the other times they linked minds; this was all immersive and all encompassing. The stars meant
nothing
in this moment, as all that flooded Elle's vision were flashes of a bright and beautiful city that seemed resplendent but left a feeling of prison walls closing in, of another of Fara's species, taller than Fara, chastising Fara for wanting to travel so much, and she felt the accompanying guilt that followed every subsequent memory of similar situations. She felt the freeing hum of the ship as it soared to the next destination, felt the giddiness of anticipation when she felt Fara's wonderings of what they would find when they landed. She saw planets that were red, purple, green, skies that were colors she had no name for, and felt every single thing Fara had ever felt.
Her breath abandoned her when the last memories began to surface- how odd it was, she thought, staring up at herself, but it was overpowered by Fara's fear of being found, thoughts of being hurt or attacked that had melted away after their awkward greeting. The curiosity that turned into kinship of a sort, that blossomed into this fiery sensation that Elle had grown accustomed to feeling herself since Fara had entered her life last night. When the memories trickled off, she felt Fara in the now again, bathing in her memories and drinking in what brought them to this point. Elle was trembling in Fara's embrace, reeling from the revelation of what they had and what they were going to lose in each other. The realization forced her to whisper out a shaky,
'I love you,'
across the river that connected their minds.
It wasn't until she felt Fara begin to shiver following the watery sounding,
'And I love you,'
that echoed back to her that she opened her eyes to find them both crying freely. They clung to each other, even as the ship began to hum in announcement of its descent, and held tighter still when it flung itself back to the Earth. They held tightly as Fara slowed the ship to settle gently on the roof, exactly where they had launched from, and even after the ship had long since dematerialized, they didn't let go of each other until Elle was the first to step back.
Wordlessly, she took Fara's hand and led them to the cushions, and they curled into each other as they sipped at tea, nibbled on their food, and just... talked. They talked about their lives, their experiences, their wishes and their dreams. They talked about their favorite fairy tales and myths of their civilizations and where they wanted to travel. Their intimate whispers faded into simple telepathy, where they held each other until all they could be aware of was the warmth of each other's presence. Sleep soon came to Elle, and even in her dreams, she clung to the warmth that she registered as Fara.
She wasn't sure exactly how long she had slept, only that when she woke, she was certain of two things: that the sun had not yet risen, and she was past the point of cold and had been plunged headlong into feeling numb. The spot beside her was vacant, and as she flailed, panicked that she missed her chance to say goodbye, she saw Fara, books tucked in one arm, fidgeting, as though trying to prolong leaving but knowing that it needed to be done all the same.
“Fara,” she croaked around the lump in her throat that she knew,
knew
was her heart trying to escape her body and go where it belonged. “You're leaving?”
“I wasn't going to tonight,” Fara whispered, tears of mercury already rimming the bottom of both eyes. Those eyes, usually so colorful and telling of emotions, were onyx, and it was all it took for Elle to begin to weep. “But I was contacted by my people. I need to go back.”
“I won't stop you,” she bit back the words,
please don't go! Or let me come with you! Please don't leave me!
Because she knew, she
knew
that this was going to happen, that it needed to happen, and that she couldn't stop it. “You know I won't. But answer me this,” her voice, horribly warbled from the tears, broke at the last syllable, dreading the answer that would reach her ears. “Will I ever see you again? Will you travel back to Earth in my lifetime?” She had only just barely managed to whisper the questions, but she might as well have shouted them for all the lack of noise around them.
She was trembling like a leaf, her anxiety burning a trail in her throat and threatening to melt everything she ever had inside of her until all she could feel was pain. She hadn't even realized that Fara had stepped up to her until a free hand touched her face and coaxed it up to meet sparkling eyes. Flickers of magenta flitted about the otherwise still obsidian void of sadness Fara's eyes had become- sparks of determination amidst the darkness.
'Like stars,'
Elle thought through her tears and hiccupping.
“I will, I swear that I will,” Fara said, and Elle could feel the truth and the conviction behind their words. It was a vow, one that tied them together irreversibly. “It might take me almost... ” Fara scrunched up its face in thought. “A... year? A year in your time. But I will return to you.” Fara hesitated. “I... I have left something for you, where the books you bought me were. It will help you speak to me whenever you need me.” Fara hugged the books to their chest, where the crystal was already beginning to glow. “Thank you again for these. And for your love,” Fara smiled sadly and drew Elle into one last embrace. “I love you,” the whisper had to be carried on the wind for her to hear it, but it made her heart swell in spite of herself.
“I love you, too.”
“Count the stars until I get back,” Fara whispered as the light encompassed them. What space remained between them was soon occupied by the crystal that encompassed them, and she watched as Fara curled into the fetal position once they began to hover in place, body wrapped protectively around the books. They held eye contact until the ship rocketed off into the stratosphere and beyond. Elle followed its movement until even the twinkling gave out behind it.
Her star had left her.
Numbly, she climbed the ladder back down, and walked through the hall toward the table. Socks was sitting in her usual place, paw lightly touching a crystal prism that was strung along on a silver looking chain, a new addition to the house, and clearly the thing Fara was referring to when speaking about leaving something to communicate with here. Stepping forward and daintily picking up the smooth cube like prism, she inspected the myriad of colors that bounced off of every surface, the way that the spider web of facets inside the perfect cube showed a much more intricate interior.
'Just like Fara,'
a wicked, bitter part of her said. The cube itself was no bigger than a plum, but she looped it over her neck, stunned at how light it was once it settled. Sucking in a breath, she stood there in anticipation, waiting in hope for the warmth that she had already missed to begin to suffuse through her. At first, there was nothing, but slowly, she began to feel the heat trickle in and settle over her heart. It was weak, much weaker than it had been when she stood here with Fara, and she knew it would never go so deep as to settle over her very bones in quite the same way, but it was enough. Not enough to take away the loneliness, not enough to replace Fara, but just enough to make the absence ache a little bit less. She tucked the cube under her dress so that it could press a little more closely against where her heart pounded out its pain against her ribcage.
Pulling on a baggy hoodie that was hanging limply over a kitchen chair and climbing back out of the window to get back to her nook, she let out a shaky sigh and sunk into her previous spot among the cushions. Burying herself in the blankets in the vain hope that she would feel anything other than numb, she stared at the two tea mugs, still left out beside the empty thermos. The food had been eaten down to the crumbs, Fara finding new favorites to look forward to on a return trip.
'Fara's coming back,'
Elle repeated to herself.
'It's not forever, Fara's coming back, it's not forever, Fara's coming back,'
even after she'd repeated that to herself until her head hurt, it didn't make her feel any hope.
A thousand things could keep Fara away from her forever; unable to travel, getting hurt or- she stopped that thought before she did more unnecessary damage to herself. Her heart had been put through enough for the next eighty years, thanks very much. She tried to snuggle deeper in to the makeshift bed, to maybe breathe in something that was left of Fara, but there was nothing; Fara had no scent, no distinguishing thing that could leave a trace behind, and that small comfort, however temporary it might have been to her, being denied was enough for her to start crying again. She pressed her face into the pillow beneath her as she howled out her grief.
She wept, and wailed until there was nothing left in her to cry. Her eyes felt as dry as a desert, and her heart felt just as empty, but she forced herself to sit upright. Cupping the prism through the layers of clothing, she curled into it like it was the last thing she had left to her in the world, and let the events of the last few days flood over her. It was something of an emotional roller coaster, and one that had certainly sent her blood pressure careening in several directions, and yet, she couldn't find it within even her most bitter and spiteful parts of herself to regret it. Though her heart was broken, it was beating, and she knew this was not the end. Not for her, not for Fara, not for them.
She turned her gaze upward, narrowing down to the spot that Fara's ship had disappeared from, and let Fara's last words to her wash over her.
'I love you. Count the stars until I get back.'
She really shouldn't have been so surprised when her eyes managed to squeeze out fresh new tears to toss down her cheeks, but she let them flow, unafraid to show the world- no, the galaxy, her grief, her love, and that she was going to be okay. With that thought, she took a shuttering breath, and began.
“One... two... three... ”
The End