I was sitting on a bench outside of Finn's place, watching the water fall pour into the nearby stream that rapidly flowed through the little village.
Xan was inside still, interrogating Finn and looking over the reports as if he was a doctor himself. It wouldn't make a difference; Nobody could figure out what was going on with me.
My memories flashed back to Earth crumbling apart while I desperately tried to escape on Xan's ship. All those risks and trying to fit in, only to find out it all could be for nothing. I wasn't as strong as the Galactic Elders. How could I expect to live in this environment?
I clenched my fist in rage. Earth never should have perished and I never should have found myself here, barely able to remember myself or even survive.
"Aeris?" Trish said, a perplexed look on her face as sat next to me. "Shouldn't you be resting? You look upset."
I sighed a long, angry sigh, feeling the heat of it inside my mask that only made me angrier. I couldn't even breathe without it, the basic function of the human body. The anger washed over me and I trembled trying to contain it.
"Finn doesn't know what's wrong with me," I grumbled, proceeding to inform her of what Finn had said, about the episodes and that my body might not be capable of handling living outside of Earth.
She nodded and leaned back on the bench, processing what I told her. She slammed her hand down angrily on the bench. "I told Neron we couldn't trust that quack!" She growled. "Don't even worry about it, he doesn't know what he's talking about."
I shook my head. "That might be so, but it doesn't change the fact that something is happening to me. And no one knows what it is or how to fix it. And I can't even be open about what I am." I slumped back and leaned my head against the bench in defeat. "There's no hope," I muttered.
Trish looked off into the distance for a moment before standing up.
"Come on," she urged.
I looked at her confused. "What?"
"Come on," she said holding out her hand. "I have to show you something."
I glanced back at the house, knowing Xan would be looking for me.
"Don't worry, I'll message Neron and have him explain to your protector that you're with me."
I nodded, realizing I really had no excuse, so I took her hand.
She pressed a button on her wristband and recited a message to Neron to have him let Xan know I was with Trish. Afterwards, she glanced at me with an encouraging smile while dragging me down the river made from the skyward waterfall.
We passed dozens of tiny little red flowers that resembled daisys, but with a citrus scent. From amongst them, sparkling yellow butterflies sprang from them and flitted from petal to petal.
We continued until she brought me to a small garden surrounded by a bed of ruby rocks. The flowers seemed to be in layers. In the outer circle, there were shimmering blue daffodil like flowers. The next circle contained large striped purple lily like flowers. In the very center was a small bed of silver and pink flowers that had intricate designs like snowflakes.
"Wow," I murmured in awe, admiring the uniqueness of them.
"Those flowers in the middle are called Solis. They were originally only found on the planet Ceraz," she looked at me more serious. "The planet that once belonged to the Ceres."
My eyes widened, realizing Ceraz was no more. The home planet of the Ceres had been destroyed, displacing it's beings and leaving them as desperate refugees rejected by most beings.
"The Ceres tried desperately for years to grow these flowers after their planet was destroyed. It was a symbol of survival for them, but everywhere they tried, they withered and died. They scattered amongst so many planets and galaxies, but every time the flowers died, just like their hopes of finding a home."
She walked passed the garden to a line of red weeping willow trees, pulling back their vines to reveal several beds of Solis and my jaw dropped.
"Until they came here," she said with a grin, plucking a silver one from the ground and handing it to me. "It turns out, they just needed to find the right environment for them to thrive."
I brought the Solis to my nose and took in the sweet aroma of roses combined with lilies. It was a lovely scent.
"They're like you, Aeris," she said and I looked at her curiously.
"Maybe your human body is having a hard time adapting." She looked off to the beds of Solis. "Or maybe you just need to find the place where you can thrive as well."
I looked down at the delicate flower in my hand and thought about how something so fragile was able to persevere against all odds. Perhaps Trish was right, maybe I could too.
I looked back at her and smiled, feeling a glimmer of hope from her words.
"Aeris." A deep familiar voice called me and I turned to find Xan.
His piercing silver eyes held a desperate tenacity as he urged my attention.
"I'm gonna go check on the others," Trish announced, excusing herself.
Xan stood there for a while, just looking at me, a pained expression on his face searching for the words that wouldn't come. I wished I could read his emotions like he could mine.
I approached him slowly and gently held his face in my hands, caressing his cheek gently with one hand. He closed his eyes and placed his forehead against mine.
My heart was racing but at the same time, I felt an undertone of fear and sadness. I was afraid of not being with him.
"You're scared?" I asked.
His eyes looked at me curiously. "You can feel it?" He asked as if I was reading him.
I smiled gently. "I just feel it too."
His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me in closer. "I will find a way to fix this."
"Xan..." I said with a doubtful tone. "It may not be that simple." I wanted to believe what Trish had said, that there was a place for me to thrive, but I needed to be prepared for anything so I shared that with him.
"I will find a way," he breathed determined, looking into my eyes as he said it. "Your place is next to me." My heart skipped a beat. How was he able to convince me so easily?
He drew his hand to my cheek while he shimmered with a golden light. An amused smile drew across his face as his index finger held my chin gently.
"So you feel this too," he murmured with a look in his eyes I hadn't seen before. There was a wanting in them that reflected what was pounding so fiercely within me.
I could feel the fire roar inside and my cheeks burned. These feelings were so much stronger than I could hold. I felt dizzy and grabbed onto the collar of his jacket to steady myself.
"Xan..." I whispered longingly. His hand reached for my mask and I held my breath.
His lips drew to mine, just about to touch.
"Incoming call from Commander Lark."
Xan froze, an anxious look in his eyes as ringing accompanied the voice coming from his wristband.
"Xan?" I asked confused by his withdrawal. "What is it?"
He caressed my cheek sadly. "The real world..." he lamented, kissing my forehead gently before pulling away.
"It's caught up with me."
Author's Note:
Hey guys! So, this chapter is pretty long so I decided to cut it in half! Hope you enjoyed part 1, I'll be posting the next part by the end of the day, just have a few things to tweak! Let me know your thoughts, I love reading your comments! Thanks for reading! 😊