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"It was dumb." Her gaze travelled from the main building to a shed on the side. "They repaired the fence. That's nice. I don't like the blue paint but I guess it's lively."
I stayed quiet, giving her space to look around and take in the changes. It couldn't be easy to come back after all this time and have someone else live here. I felt weird whenever someone entered my cabin or sat in my chair, this had to be incredibly strange for her.
Heather paused in front of a wooden bench in front of a window. "My dad actually made this. It was a present for my mum's birthday because she loved the view. They would sit here every Sunday and have their morning coffee. Rachel and I used to as well, once they passed."
I joined her by the bench. "Do you regret leaving?"
"No, I don't. I'm grateful that Tamsia took us when she did." Heather sat down and sighed sadly.
"How did a Kyven end up here actually?" I asked, carefully sitting down next to her. I felt like I was intruding on a very personal and intimate moment but Heather didn't seem to mind my presence. On the contrary.
She took my hand and rested her head on my shoulder. "It's a long story, but basically, my cousin met Tamsia at a party and made quite an impression on her. When she came to Earth to buy some cows, Tamsia came to our farm, and they fell in love."
"And then you both went with her to Kyven?"
"Yes. We were deep in debt. Do you know what debt is?"
"Oh, I know what that is," I assured her.
"The bank would've taken everything. Luckily, Tamsia offered to take us along. We still lost the farm and the land, but at least we got to keep the animals. And I didn't have to say goodbye to my cousin."
I nodded slowly. "Is it hard being away from her?"
"Yes and no. I love her like a sister but now that she has Tamsia, we've drifted apart. Not in a bad way, just in a natural manner. She has her own life now and I have the animals. I just want... more." Heather sighed. "I thought coming back here might give me some closure or an idea of what I want from my new life, but it's just weird. And I know I suggested we come here, but I'm worried someone will recognise me."
"You could use a LightScreen ring," I suggested. "I have a spare one in the shuttle."
Heather offered me a smile. "No, that's okay. It's not right coming back here as anyone else but myself. And I might still be able to get good deals from the local vendors."
"That makes sense."
She straightened up. "Oh, oh, someone's coming."
Just like she said, another kyvenoid walked up to the farm and paused in front of us. If my research was to be believed, it looked like a male.
He raised his hand. "Can I help you?"
Heather got up from the bench and smiled. "Sorry for intruding. A friend of mine used to live here."
"Oh, you knew the former owners? Do you know what happened to them? We're new in the region but we heard they fell off the face of the Earth," the man said.
"They moved very far away," Heather replied.
I bit back a grin. That was an understatement if there ever was one.
"Are you going to see them again soon?" the man asked. "Or do you have a forwarding address for them? We found this bundle of letters when we moved in and thought they might like them."
It was clear that Heather was having a hard time trying to pretend that she wasn't extremely keen to find out more.
"Where did you find them?"
"Funny story, actually. We pulled down the wall between the kitchen and living room to give us an open plan layout, and between the bricks was this little metal box. At first we thought it was a time capsule, but when we saw that it contained personal letters we decided not to read them." He laughed heartily. "My wife thinks that reading them might earn us the ire of whatever ghosts live in the farmhouse. The building is old, you see, and she's convinced that we have a ghost living in the rafters."
Heather laughed as well, but it didn't reach her eyes. "More likely for that to be rats."
"I agree, but don't tell my wife. Anyway, want me to get those letters for you? It would be lovely to know that they're back with the family who owned this place."
"I will make sure they get them." Her voice quivered slightly. "Thank you for being so thoughtful."
