
Caleb lay prone on his cot in the dark barracks. A little flashlight rested at his elbow, illuminating his journal. He rubbed the flat end of a pencil tip over a blank page, revealing the imprint of the words he'd written to Zara. He remembered most of them, but he wanted to be sure. When he was finished, he copied the letter onto another page and pocketed the journal. 348Please respect copyright.PENANAEEz8IoizCb
After hiking to the far north end of the base, he looked back at the victory party, now just a blanket of tiny lights and muffled sounds. Then he considered the glimmering stars, stars thankfully at rest. He gripped his photo tags in one hand, the medal on the other, and thought of the end of his letter.348Please respect copyright.PENANA87mWtYnaAO
Elsewhere....stars are born. Other systems, much larger, much older, continue to breathe.348Please respect copyright.PENANAO8F1IDoCP0
He imagined a brilliant flow of yellow and red gas drifting before distant stars. The gas dissolved into the image of a spiral galaxy, a beautiful celestial flower in full bloom. 348Please respect copyright.PENANAFxxGfmsLPX
The solar system dies of crib death...if that's what it takes, then okay.348Please respect copyright.PENANAraaRVjeQ9p
A comet trailing a brilliant ice blue tail streaks towards a dimming Earth.348Please respect copyright.PENANApUmlQ09O6s
If I must wait that long, then all right. Because when I think of this....nothing is more desirable than the hope of watching that last day when the sun flickers out, with you beside me. We'll sit alone on a dark chunk of ice at the top of the world and...348Please respect copyright.PENANAWGDMbo5tfm
Reeling from a burst of loss and longing, Caleb tore the medal from his neck and pitched it with all his might at the bright blue star that was to have been his home.348Please respect copyright.PENANAM7Ij65bq6e
He watched the medal fall light-years short of Zara, but that didn't matter. He whispered his promise:348Please respect copyright.PENANAATTTxjuBZt
"The stars above, below, and between us will never shine brighter...as we drift away...into space."348Please respect copyright.PENANAedpbHJM66K
348Please respect copyright.PENANAOfysJfw1sb
THE END
ns216.73.216.206da2 THE END