“I’d like that too.”
“We’re going to have a good life, aren’t we?” Joe whispered.
Kaden smiled. “The best.”
There was a pause before Joe spoke again. “Do you regret taking me out of that tank?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Or disposing of the ship?”
“No.”
“I’m glad we crashed.”
“Notwe, Joe. Not now. You’re one of us.”
Joe let out a shaky breath and shivered as if he’d just stepped into the sun out of deep shadow. “You didn’t just save me, you stood with me, offered me a chance of a new life.” He brushed Kaden’s hair from his eyes. “I might have lost my wings, but I have new ones now that let me fly in a different way. They’re made of light, and of memory and choice. You gave them to me. You showed me what love is. Something that doesn’t hurt, something that keeps you safe at night. And you gave me a home. I understand now that a home isn’t just walls. It’s a feeling of comfort and belonging. That’s the part that matters most. My home is wherever you are.”
“Until we’re old and grey.”
Joe gasped. “We go grey?”
“Only our hair.” Kaden chuckled. “You’ve seen people with grey hair.”
Joe smiled. “This world is wonderful and strange.”
“It is.”
“It scares me sometimes, thinking of what might have happened to it if…”
Kaden sighed. “We’re already doing a good job of ruining it ourselves. Climate change, burning fossil fuels, biodiversity loss, widespread pollution, overconsumption and greed. I suppose greed is the cause of all of it.”
“Maybe I should do something. Work on one of those problems.”
“Such as?”
“Alternative fuel sources.”
Kaden kissed his cheek. “You think you can come up with something that’s not already been thought of?”
“Maybe. Or a better way to collect and store solar power? Or wind energy? I don’t want this world to fail. I like it. All of it. The big things and the small. I like the way people greet animals, even when they can’t answer back. I like that people apologise when it’s not even their fault. I like snow and rain and sunshine. I like the way lights come on one by one at dusk. I like being inside with you and cuddling together. I like the way this planet looks from space.”
Kaden watched him carefully. Joe shone when he talked like this. “Be careful who you say that last part to!”
Joe laughed. “I like how people take the trouble to create things that aren’t needed for survival but bring great joy. Music, paintings, sculptures, stories, drama, dance… So many different forms of expression. I love the way the past is cherished. I love your music because it’s imperfect, emotional and irrational.It makes me tremble and ache and smile. I like laughter. Real laughter. The kind that catches people off guard and makes them forget themselves for a moment. The sort of pleasure you give when you perform.”
He shifted a little closer to Kaden.
“I like how strangers help each other. How a kind stranger once helped a desperate blue blob. How a kind man coped with a monster inside him.”
“Joe!”
“I’ve watched people hold the door for others, gestures so small they barely register and yet they happen all the time, as if there’s a quiet agreement to be kind. Picking stuff up others have dropped, returning possessions. Giving money to those who have nothing. Charity work. Donkey sanctuaries. Rehoming dogs and cats. Cancer research. Endless good things.”
Kaden’s throat had filled up. “And plenty of bad.”
“But so much that is good. I like that the sky is never the same twice, even if it looks it. I like that children search out shapes in the clouds. I’m stunned by how many sorts of clouds there are. One day, I’ll see for myself the oceans of this world and maybe swim in them.”
