Soul Ties

Chapter 10: Holy Galaxies

Barlow steers the ship while I look out the window at everything below. I can see the forest that surrounded us before, which looked larger than I had ever thought it was. Even the island we were on looked big. I hadn't really traveled through anything but the beginning of the forest to where the field was, so I had no idea the island stretched out so far. Let alone the forest itself.

I could see the trees stretching wider and wider the higher we got. Finally, what I was really searching for comes into view just as Barlow shifts the ship. The shore. I lean forward in my chair, scanning the sand quickly so I wouldn't miss anything. I can't see at first and that makes me start to panic.

I crane my neck more, pushing my body a little out of the seat to get a better view. And that's when I see them. They look so small it's hard to tell if it was actually them, but there's no one else on the beach so I knew it had to be. I try to squint to bring them into focus but it's no use. I push myself closer just as my chest is about to touch the lever in front of me.

"Here." I hear Barlow say. He pushes a large button above his head and the window in front of me changes. I look at the image ahead and let out a little weep of happiness mixed with grief. There on the window was Seren and my mother standing on the shore, but now they were bigger. They looked like I was right in front of them. I could see my mothers tears running down her face and Seren waving at us.

"Is this real?" I ask in disbelief.

Barlow nods, pulling the silver stick back. "I magnified the image so you could see them clearly."

"Thank you." I say, overwhelmed with gratitude. I knew this wasn't his first trip so he must've had to deal with this a hundred times. He had to know how impossible this all felt, especially leaving the ones we loved the most. Before, I had been jealous of Barlow, but now I felt sort of sorry for him.

He watched countless Lunoids get their hearts broken everyday on these trips and he just had to sit there and witness it. Even though it wasn't his grief, I'm sure it still hurt to watch. Especially knowing that one day his own heart would be broken just like ours had.

I look out at my mother who's now hugging Seren, her shoulders shaking from her sobs. My eyes burn with the threat of my own ready to come out. I didn't want to cry anymore. And watching Seren in the window, it seems like she didn't want to either. Her jaw looks set and her eyes stare out at us. It was like she was looking right at me.

I reach out my fingertips for her but Serens eyes turn away as she rubs my mothers back to comfort her. I drop my hand to my side. See you soon, Seren. I had to remember that this wasn't a goodbye nor would it ever be. I had to stop treating it like it was.

"Okay." I say. Barlow presses the button again and the image on the window disappears, only showing us the tiny people we had seen before. I didn't want to look anymore. Instead, I kept my attention on the water we were flying over. If I wasn't in this ship I would've never known how clear our oceans were.

Beneath us was the underwater cities and caves we lived in. I could see hundreds of small Lunoids swimming through the clear water. I could even see the fish traveling in groups, dodging others as they moved onward.

The children were playing in the oversized coral reefs. I watched as their tiny shadows swam quickly through one reef and straight into another. It reminded me of the moments Seren and I had hidden there to get out of class.

I smile at the thought. That had seemed like so long ago. Sadly, we weren't kids anymore and soon neither would the ones playing be either. Was it the time difference on our planet that made everything go by so quickly? Or was it the fact that we never sat down and actually appreciated the moments when we had them?