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I’d love to be there with her, watching the show, but I’m elbow deep in Sathior’s bustle. I can hardly see a thing.
Sathior stands statue-like while I unfasten the many buttons and hooks that morph her Kaleidian body into the unusual shapes she deems fashionable. At last, the final hook releases and she steps free.
“Well now,” she sighs. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?” I won’t risk an honest answer. Despite the advertised promise of being her chaperones, the bulk of the voyage has been about serving the designer.
While she sipped prishem on the cruise deck, gazing at the stars, we fended off adoring fans. While she dined with the captain, we ate sandwiches in the butler’s cabin with the rest of the staff. Still, a vacation is a vacation, even if it's just a vacation from the regular duties of life.
“Come now, Tania. Take a look at Kalei while I slip into my leotard,” she says, kicking the white tulle aside as she heads to the closet.
Seizing my chance, I race to sit with Alice next to the holo screen to watch the final moments of our arrival.
“Look at this!” Alice's eyes are full of wonder. “Have you ever seen so many trees?”
“Never,” I confess. “We left Earth when I was so little. I wouldn’t remember if I had.”
“Me too.” These vulnerable confessions are ones we’ve had a thousand times before, but somehow, they sting anew seeing the possibilities come into focus on the screen. Questions bubble inside me that Alice must be feeling too. What would it have been like to grow up on a planet like this?
It was too late to know.
In captivation of the emerging lush world, we hardly notice the smooth and steady arrival of the cruiser.
“Greetings honored guests. We have arrived on Kalei.” A calm voice soothes any doubts I have. Somehow that gut instinct of mine augurs hope despite all the fear that comes with diving into the unknown.
My heart skips a beat with the pull of gravity against my feet as we lunge into the docks.
Kalei. I made it.
I may never do a thousand things in this lifetime. I may wish to be a top designer. I might want to see the seven galaxies. But I’ll never truly know if I have what it takes to get there.
But being here now permits me to tell myself that more is to come. There’s something here that screams that an opportunity is out there, just waiting to be uncovered.
“Well, ladies. Are we ready to go?” Sathior, nearly forgotten in the excitement of arrival, walks free of her closet with an outfit that sends my jaw to the floor.
I look over at Alice to confirm I’m not seeing things, and sure enough, the famed chaste mistress of white stands before us donned in a plain black leotard. With her head wrapped in an elongated black hat and a dark veil falling gently around her shoulders, you’d never know Sathior Havani was even in the room.
Alice’s eyebrows are so high I can see the whites of her eyes. “Well, Ma’am. We’re ready if you are.”
“Very good, girls.” She sighs, donning a pair of black sunglasses before opening the door with a flare.
As we step free into the hallway, I catch Alice’s grin.
“I guess this is, like, camouflage?”
“I have no idea.”
The trick works though, as Sathior manages to fool her adoring fans, grouped around the gangway with signs and disappointed faces.
Sathior turns to me, dropping her glasses with a sneaky smile. “Girls. I nearly forgot. My friend will be here to pick us up. I’m sure you don’t mind, but just before we officially step foot in Kalei, I’ll need a little something first.” Slyly, she presents us with her comm, set and ready for us to sign an iron-clad non-disclosure agreement.
“Just so you fully understand the conditions of our arrangement. You’re not to speak, photograph, or even remember anything that may happen while we’re here. Am I understood?”
Her pert smile nearly squashes our enthusiasm for the trip, yet nevertheless, our fingers each swipe the agreement line, dutifully, like the indentured servants we are.
I turn to Alice when her back is turned and ask, “Was that necessary?”
“Right?”
There’s no time for the burn to soften when a long black hover limo stretches into view. The door opens, and, as if we haven't had enough surprises for the day, Sathior’s famed secret lover emerges.
