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“Yes,” I say.
She steps forward and kneels before large pile of soil. “You know, back home, these people were regarded as heroes. There were people who disagreed with the outward expansion into the cosmos, but they were generally thought of as crazy. Now, it’s so obvious.”
“I feel for them,” I admit.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I do it anyway. I have to move on from this. Otherwise, it’ll haunt me forever.
All this pain, this endless suffering I thought would swallow me whole, was not all in vain. I met Naomi.
This was the path I was supposed to take.
Naomi gives me a queer look. “You really feel for these monsters?”
I nod. “They were programmed with behaviors, too. Everyone is.”
Naomi’s hands form a fist in the soil. She’s shaking. “But they beat you, Turin. They tortured you to comply with their wishes and needs,” she says. “They were evil.”
“They did worse,” I say. “And I still forgive them.”
Anger causes her cheeks to turn red. “Why?”
I take her in my arms. Closing my eyes, I nuzzle my cheek against hers. “Because I found you.”
She sighs as tears drench her face again.
“Stop crying, baby,” I whisper. “It’s okay. We’re going to find home.”
I know how afraid she is to do this, to leave planet Avalon. I was afraid once, too. Zakar kept me here for years, and it took one special woman to make me realize I needed to change.
She can do this. She’s the best captain in the universe.
I trace my fingers around her belly button. “I know you’re worried. I know how hard it’s been for you. But you
can fly that starship,” I say. “You just have to believe in yourself and trust that everything will end up as it's supposed to.”
“I’m scared,” she murmurs against my chest. “The system command differs from what I’m used to using. What if I fail?”
I lean forward and brush her hair from her eyes. “You won’t fail,” I say. “You are not what happened to you. You hear me? The accident is not who you are.”
“Then what is it?” she cries.
“It’s something that happened. Something you can’t take back. But you can move on from it. There are things that make this life worth living,” I say.
“Our baby,” she whispers.
“Our darling child,” I repeat. “And she will have it a hundred times easier than we did.”
Her eyes stare into mine. “I believe you,” she says. “Because I trust you.”
“You can achieve anything, Naomi. Anything,” I say. “I love you.”
“I love you more than I can explain,” she says.
This might be the first time I’ve ever taken something so serious. What we’ve made defies all of the expectations of life for an alien like me. It is a miracle, and now, my final journey will be to make sure that child comes to fruition.
I look up from the graves, staring at the three moons in the sky. It’s daylight, but they are still visible. I will miss the site of them, but I’m sure Earth is a much safer view.
Fifteen
