Lunar Rising

22

Charlotte- Back to the Beginning

City life has always been fascinating to those who have never seen it before. Things are constantly moving, people in all sorts of possible apparel are shifting around, trying to find their place in the universe. City life doesn’t change no matter how far you move it. Even nameless cities on a man-made planet named Tylius. People are still trying to find their place, and I am trying to find mine.

I stand in line patiently, waiting to have my electronic ticket scanned. The lady in front of me is searching frantically in her bag for USB that she stored her shuttle ticket on.

“Give me just a minute, now…” she mumbles apologetically to the man standing behind the podium.

“Miss, we don’t have all day. I’m sorry, but can you please step aside so that other passengers can get on board?”

With a dissatisfied grunt, the lady moves to the side. I step forward and place my new, glittering ruby USB ring into the man’s palm. He places it on his podium and I reach over, sorting through the holographic documents to get to the ticket, which I’ve placed in its own separate folder in the front. He scans it quickly and nods to me.

“Next!”

I readjust the backpack on my shoulders and walk through the passageway, into the boarding area for the space shuttle.

As I climb in and find my seat, the announcer overhead says, “Estimated time to Earth: 26 hours, 28 minutes. We are departing soon. Please find your seat and fasten your seatbelt.”

I scan the rows of seats for my seat number. Muttering the number under my breath, I find the row and scoot down it.

When I reach what appears to be my seat number, I sit. I don’t get to stay for very long. Within just a few seconds, as I’m bending over to put my backpack into the small luggage compartment under the seat, I feel a brisk tap on my shoulder.

“Excuse me, miss, but that is my seat.”

I look up and both of us gasp.

It’s been an entire year since we’ve last seen each other in person, on that day during the lunar rising. His dark hair and eyes are just like the ones I see on broadcast every single day since we last met. Unchanged, maybe slightly more mature since last year during the previous lunar rising. His hair and eyes are as dark as I remember them to be. I find my voice and regain my composure.

“Raven?”

My astonishment must be nothing compared to his. I haven’t seen him at all this past year on Tylius, and I never told them that I survived the jet crash and the lunar rising. Raven’s mouth drops open and he makes no attempt to close it until he’s had a good look at me.

I stand up, taking my backpack and USB, and quickly move aside to the seat next to his, which is my actual seat.

By now, his presence has begun to attract some attention. Whispers float around us. “Look, over there! It’s Raven Ire, the inventor from Tylius!”

Raven closes his mouth and sits down in his seat next to mine. “Ch-Charlotte…” he stammers.

A warm feeling expands inside me as I hear him say my name, but guilt dwells there too. “I’m sorry, Raven,” I say, unsure how he will take it. “I should’ve contacted you when it was safe to, but I… I didn’t know how…”

He shakes his head. “I knew something was up when the government went to the crash site and didn’t find a body. I didn’t think that you’d be… I don’t know… I thought maybe you’d went deeper into the tunnels and…” His voice trails off, and his gaze travels to a distant land that I can’t see. Then he clears his throat and turns to me, and says almost in a joking manner, “Was it your clever idea to sit in my seat until I showed up?” He laughs.

“My mistake, Raven. I didn’t know you were going back to Earth, too!”

He runs a hand through his hair nervously. “I need to go back to Earth to oversee some ozone experiments. I’m working with scientists and engineers from all over the globe on Project Ozone Restoration. If our work is a success, then you should expect to be able to see fragments of the Earth as it once used to be several centuries ago.”

“That’s pretty incredible, Raven.”

He smiles sheepishly and shrugs. “So, how are things going for you, Charlotte?”

“Better than I imagined. The government found out that I was alive because they came by my apartment to find that I was still living there, and they gave me a full pardon to all the crimes that I committed.” I smile at the recollection. “They were just as surprised as you were, Raven. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be pardoned. But now, I have a nice little fund from the government to keep me going, and I’m going back to Earth to lead a normal life.”

“I’m glad for that. Otherwise, I’d be awfully lonely without any friends on Earth.”

I look at him questioningly. “What about Ellison and Suzanne? Or anyone else, for that matter?”

“They’re staying on Tylius. Suzanne and Ellison both got permanent jobs in the city, and so far, it’s working out for them.”

“That’s good to hear.” I recall the White-Eyes lab. “Oh, and I almost forgot! Do you remember the lab that we found together, the one with the star?”

Raven nods. “That lab with all the inventions, very far underground. Yes, I remember.”

“The government has given it to me.”

Raven’s eyes light up in excitement. “That’s excellent! What do you plan on doing with all the blueprints and machines in there? And the protostar?”

“Well, that’s just it. I’m no inventor or great engineer. I was wondering if you want the lab for your own use, whenever you come back to Tylius, perhaps.”

Raven eagerly accepts my offer, and then he moves on to the next topic in his mind.

“So, uh, Charlotte,” says Raven. “Do you have any specific plans when you get back to Earth?”

I raise an eyebrow playfully at him. “Nothing planned, and nothing set.”

He glances down at my hand and gently takes it in his. My heart races. “Would you…. Would you like to move in with me?”

I stare at him.

He lets go of my hand and shifts in his seat. “I mean, well, I already have a nice place ready for when I get back. My parents are staying on Tylius, so it’ll just be us two, and we’re both old enough to live on our own…”

The shuttle rumbles. It’s time for us to take off.

My face breaks into a smile at Raven. “Of course, I’ll go with you. You were the first true friend I had, Raven, and you’re so much more as well. I’d love to live with you.”

Raven blushes and smiles back at me. “I’m glad to hear it.” Leaning back and sighing, he murmurs, “I’m really glad to hear it.”

We continue to chat in the tightly-packed room of the shuttle’s passenger area, waiting for the spacecraft to carry us to our future.

The shuttle launches upwards and into the cold emptiness of space. We fly towards Earth, back to the beginning, back to the planet of our origins, back to a world touched by Raven’s innovations.