28. Chapter 28
Forty-five rotations later
Mazorium
As we were landing on our home for the next three solars, I felt intense regret. I could’ve canceled this contract. We could’ve stayed on our stump for another few years before I accepted another assignment.
Why had I been so determined to fulfill this obligation? I had two far more important obligations traveling on this ship with me.
“Da, look!” Nadia said, bouncing in my lap and pointing at the display on the wall in front of us. “Look at the blue! It’s big-big!”
“That’s an ocean,” I explained to the excited child.
She’d enjoyed the space station we visited and had a great time on the pleasure planet; however, I thought she might’ve been a little overstimulated.
She hadn’t protested at all when the vacation was over and we’d all gotten back into the ship to leave.
“Osssun,” she repeated. She struggled a little with some sounds, and we made sure to practice with her.
“Ocean,” I repeated.
“Osun,” she said.
It was closer, so I gave her a rumble of agreement. “Very good.”
She beamed at me briefly, then was distracted by the display again. “Look! Look!”
It seemed she was pointing to a flock of birds. Before I could comment about it, she was pointing to something else and demanding I look at that also. She continued that until Mika pulled the little girl into her lap.
“Da needs to concentrate on landing,” she said. “Show me what to look at, but you have to try to name it for me.”
“Look,” Nadia said. “Osun, Mama, osun!”
“What color is the ocean?” Mika asked.
They continued talking as I guided the ship to the spot I chose. It was far enough back from the beach to keep us safe from high tide or storms. If anything severe happened, I had a secondary spot we could retreat to.
The landing went smoothly. It wasn’t long before I was able to lower the ramp and open the hatch. When I turned to face Mika and Nadia, the child was visibly vibrating with excitement.
“Time, Da?” she asked. “Time to esplore?”
“What are the rules?” I asked.
Nadia’s expression turned serious. “Stay close so I can sees you.”
“Yes, exactly,” Mika said. “What’s the other rule?”
“No touching,” she said.
“We’ll know what you can safely touch soon,” I promised. “Until then, we need to be very careful, especially with the plants and animals.”
“Okay, Da,” Nadia. “I’ll be good. Can I see the osun now?”
“Yes!” I grabbed her up and swung her on my shoulders before standing and running through the ship.
Her laughter filled the corridors. Soon we burst out into the bright sunlight with Mika right behind us.
“Osun!” Nadia demanded, wiggling on my shoulders.
“I’m going to get there first,” Mika said, running past us. There was a thin grouping of high bushes between us and the beach.
“No, Mama!” Nadia said. “Da, get Mama. Go, go!”
I jogged after Mika, making it seem as if it was hard to keep up. We carefully made our way through the bushes, and my feet were soon sinking into cobalt-blue sand.
“This is beautiful,” Mika breathed.
“Down, please,” Nadia said, tapping the top of my head.
I pulled her off my shoulders and set her down. She immediately dropped to her knees and sank her fingers into the warm sand, enjoying the entirely new texture of the substance.
Mika pressed herself against my side. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and we both looked out at the glittering ocean.
“It’s breathtaking,” she murmured. “I didn’t think I’d like any place as much as our stump, but this is nice also.”
Relief filled me. “I’m happy to hear that.”
“I’m still glad we have the stump to return to,” she said. “And even happier that my parents are already settling in there.”
“Their domicile was the first one finished,” I said. “Iris assured me that it was perfect for humans. I also got a message stating that your sister and her family are on their way. By the time they get there, the second domicile should be done.”
“What about that human Damascus wrote about?” she asked.
“He and Iris are still looking for her,” I said.
“I hope they can find her,” I murmured. She turned and hugged her arms tightly around my waist. “I’m grateful every day that you bought me.”
I purred loudly. “I’ll never stop thanking the ancestors for bringing you and Nadia into my life.”
Nadia
“Hello,” I said to the shell I found in the sand. I was good and didn’t pick it up, even though it was a pretty light yellow color. Soon Da would tell me what I could collect, and I hoped this shell would be touchable!
I saw something else. Taking a few steps over I found something crawling on the sand. It was a pretty dark green color and looked like a bunch of little plants were growing from its back.
“Hello,” I said to it, then watched it crawl a little longer. Mama and Da were standing close, so I went back to them.
“Come see,” I said, grabbing Da’s hand. “It's gween and cwawls.”
“It crawls?” Mama asked.
“Yes, cwawls,” I said. “Come see! Come see!”
They both walked with me so I could show them the new creature. Then I showed them the shell.
It was important I tell everything here hello so this new place understood that we belonged here. It took a while, but Mama and Da helped by carrying me in some places. I was tired before I was done, but Mama explained I could finish saying hello tomorrow.
Da carried me back into our home, and I waved at some tiny trees as the hatch closed.
“Mama,” I said, even as Da put me down next to my big girl nest. Mama said all big girls had their own nests to sleep in. Mostly I don't mind because my nest is full of my favorite soft toys, but sometimes I sneak into Mama and Da's nest to sleep with them.
Mama got out my sleeping clothes and helped me change before tucking me.
“Sleep, baby,” Mama said.
“I not a baby!” I insisted.
She smiled and nodded her head. “You're right, you're a big girl. I keep forgetting. Can I pretend you're still my baby sometimes?”
It was getting harder to keep my eyes open. “Sometimes. But only sometimes, ’kay?”
Mama kissed my forehead, then Da did it too, then they dimmed the lights and left. I thought of all the things I'd say hello to tomorrow and all the exploring I was going to do.