by Eden Ember
“How long can we live like this?” Piper asked. She longed for planting her feet on firm ground and to experience the wind at her face. She missed it. But Piper also wanted to explore the worlds to discover what new things she would see there.
“I carried enough fuel cells to help us travel for two months if that’s what we want to do. But we would have to stop often for more food and fuel. There are a lot of unexplored areas.” Elzarr replied as he smiled at her.
“I would like to find a place where we could settle down.” Piper turned to him and looked into his eyes.
Elzarr smiled in return as he set new coordinates to a planetary system that had the same atmosphere as Earth and Azanie. “I have just the place,” he replied. As the ship turned and launched into hyper speed once again, they flew away from the beautiful nebula. “The Rodii and the Nubli have explored all the worlds between the Falk and the Terran systems. We should settle somewhere in between. It’s a lovely place that would remind you very much of home and you would enjoy it there,” Elzarr said.
They came into the Rafaela star system that had twice as many planets as the Terran system. “This is a peaceful system with mostly uninhabitable planets but there is one that was once an ice planet called Osiris. The indigenous beings there are called the Merce and they are very similar to humans, only there are some subtle differences. You’ll see,” Elzarr said.
The starship landed in an airfield on the surface of Osiris. The Merce had grown accustomed to seeing Rodii ships land on their planet. How refreshing it would be to live in a place where the thought of aliens was commonplace. Earth would be a constant struggle for Elzarr, and Piper knew it.
Osiris was once an ice planet but now it held a mostly snowy terrain and yet was warm enough to survive. The snowy mountain peaks reached up high into the sky. Huge trees were as big as the trees in Northern California. Piper felt a kinship to the place because she loved being in the forest among the large trees where she could see plenty of snow on the ground. It reminded her of Alaska. It was as if the entire planet were like Christmas Town. The Merce came out to greet them and it reminded Piper of characters from a Dr. Seuss book. The beings had long faces and long noses with brows that arched high over their eyes. Hats and coats covered their bodies. Six long fingers adorned each hand. They smiled as they approached them, their eyes growing larger as they took in Elzarr and Piper.
Elzarr, in his natural Rodii cheerfulness told Piper that the lovely Merce people were peace-loving and kind. She never experienced such joy and happiness ever before in her life. They decided to stay at a lodging in the nearest village for a month, exploring the planet as Elzarr told Piper all about the planet and its citizens.
“My family would come up here to vacation, three months at a time. They have beautiful deep indigo lakes where the water is almost like oil. But it’s not dirty, it’s very cleansing and leaves the skin very soft.”
Piper looked distressed as she averted her eyes to her feet. She wished her father had met Elzarr. Suddenly, she had a thought. “Your parents; should we go find them?”
Elzarr shrugged. “They took off when I was barely out of adolescence. They wanted to explore the galaxy. When they got out of range, I knew that it was a risk that I may never see or hear from them again. That happens occasionally. I don’t know, I guess I always played it safe and stayed within the range of the Rodii system. I loved coming to Earth, because it was so much like this place and Azanie. Perhaps someday we can go and search for them. Would you like to visit Earth and the little cabin again?” Elzarr asked as he grinned.
Piper turned away as she smiled while her hand moved to her belly. It had been swelling for some time now and her mind was constantly thinking of what grew inside her. She needed to see a doctor about it.
“What about settling here? At least for now,” she said.
“Really? You’d like to settle here on Osiris? I mean, this is a beautiful place and I don’t mind being here. It’s lovely,” Elzarr said.
Piper walked to the window of their room. She pointed out the window to the forest off in the West. “Perhaps we could buy some land out there and build a home. I’m not sure how they do things on this planet, though. Do they have doctors?” She asked as she spun around to face him.
Elzarr walked up to her, his eyes narrowing as he looked into his mate’s eyes. “Why do you want to see a doctor?” he asked.
“Or, a midwife, someone to help a mother deliver a baby,” Piper said as a smile stretched across her face.
Elzarr’s eyes widened as he smiled, showing his white teeth and brightening the room. This caused Piper’s heart to race with anticipation and cheer. She ran to his arms. “Really? You’re pregnant with my child?” Elzarr asked.
Piper’s head reared back, and she laughed. “Yes, silly, who’s else would it be? I believe I am,” she said as she nodded.
Epilogue
Elzarr acquired the land Piper asked about. She was his entire world. He built her a rustic cabin that matched the one she had lived in on Earth in Alaska. While he wanted to continue traveling with her, he decided it was best to settle down for the time being. Because they started their family, Elzarr wanted to make sure everything turned out well for the child and its mother.
Two years later, Elzarr readied the Valiant Cruiser for a trip back to Earth. After visiting Earth, they planned to visit Azanie where he heard his parents had made it back home. It was time to introduce his parents to his wife and child.
Piper appeared as everything was made ready and she held onto one-year-old Clementine. The little girl had her daddy’s eyes and his smile. She had her mother’s ears and her mother’s petite physique. Ryfon soon appeared, chasing a wooden ball that rolled across the floor. The just-turned-two-year-old ran into his daddy’s arms as he was so excited to be taking a flight to a new planet.
Piper boarded the starship, ready for a new journey with her new life. A son and a daughter born with an alien, and they still didn’t know if Ryfon or Clementine could shift into a reindeer. Elzarr told her it took most until adolescence for the gift to shift to appear in those born only half Rodii. But whatever the case was, her life was different. The transformation took place after falling in love with Elzarr. Piper loved being a mother and a wife to her precious Rodii family.
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