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“Still friends,” I agree, turning toward her. F’lor looks up at me with worry, her mane messy and dark against her golden skin. For so long I waited for us to resonate, for my heart to fill with love for her, but it has only ever been affection. Looking at her now, I am glad, though, to have a friend like her. “We have always been and always will be friends, F’lor.”
She beams. “Good. I’ve missed you, buddy.”
Thirty-Three
ROSALIND
Poor Tal’nef seems so lost and alone that I end up sitting with him for longer than anticipated. The boys continue to play on the beach a short distance away, near a couple walking on the shore, and I keep one eye on them while trying to hold a conversation. Of course, most of the conversation between Tal’nef and myself is hand gestures and lots of repeating, but he seems happy to talk. It kind of sounds like he just needs a friend, and I make a mental note to tell R’jaal he needs to spend time with Tal’nef and make him feel welcome.
“I like the water,” Tal’nef says at one point when the tide comes in enough that it licks at our boots. “But it does not look like one can swim in it. The water at home is very calm. No waves. There are fish and small creatures that dwell in its depths, but it is nothing like this.”
I nod agreement. “This water is terrifying.” I make a scared face and mock-flinch backward, earning a huff from him. R’jaal had mentioned that he lived on the beach, but I’d pictured something a lot less terrifying. The reality of the harsh landscape here just reminds me with every breath that this is an alien planet, and anything I expect to be like Earth isn’t going to be.
Not that the real me has ever been to Earth. For some reason, that bothers me less today. I’ve never truly seen white-sand beaches and the blazing California sun overhead, so how can I miss them, right? A tentacle moves in the waves in front of us, a dark shadow that looks like a snake, and I point at it. We both stare for a moment, and then I gesture behind us. “Maybe we should get up.”
Tal’nef nods, understanding despite the language barrier. “We should move back.”
I get to my feet as he does, brushing sand and grit off my leather pants. As I do, I see the two boys heading toward me. Also with them is a couple that I don’t recognize. There’s a tall, slim human woman with Indian ancestry and at her side is a four-armed blue alien man with what looks like a prosthetic leg. The man holds the hand of a toddler with four arms, and the little boy sucks on his fist as he gazes up at us.
“Hi. Hi. Sorry to interrupt,” the woman says, charging forward. She’s got the frisbee-like shell in her hands and the look on her eyes is full of absolute excitement. “Rukhar said you guys found this. Do you remember where, exactly? And can you show me? Were there others like it?”
“Oh, um…” I bite my lip.
The male alien clears his throat. He gestures at the woman. “This is my mate, D’vi. I am N’dek.” He jiggles the hand of the child. “And this is our son N’rav.”
“Right. Introductions.” The woman grimaces. “Hi. I know you’re Rosalind. I’m Devi…and N’dek already said that. But…this shell?”
I glance over at Tal’nef, who is trying to follow our conversation with a furrowed brow.
“Perhaps we should go eat. Come, boys,” N’dek says, indicating the kids should follow him. He mimes an eating gesture at Tal’nef. “Eat?”
Tal’nef nods. He turns towards me and gives me a nod as well, then follows behind the others, leaving me with an excited Devi.
“I’m not sure I remember exactly where,” I confess. “But I can help you look.”
She brightens. “That would be amazing. See this part here?” She holds out the disc and runs her fingers along the center hole. “These rough spots are hinge teeth. Most bivalves have a way to open up so the creature inside can feed, but if the hinge is on the inside of this donut-shape here, does it mean that it’s opening up and down like a lid or is there another part that’s broken off? Or am I just associating hinge teeth with this because that’s the most common explanation? Or is it that this has nothing to do with hinge teeth at all because it’s an alien lifeform? That’s the question I have.”
“That’s…several questions.”
Devi blinks. Then, she giggles. “So it is. Sorry. I’m probably nerding out on you.”
“Not at all.” I grin at her. “R’jaal actually told me I needed to meet you because he said you liked science and we might have similar tastes.”
