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But now I had a wife. And I wanted to see her.

And so, I rushed.

By midday, I’d completed nearly everything that required my attention. The only thing left was to take Nali out on her daily hike. It was on the way to Nali’s enclosure that I glimpsed Jaya making her way towards me.

Funny. I’d been standing in the sun all morning.

But seeing her now, it was as if the sun had only just come out.

“Oaken!” she called, raising her hand in a human gesture of greeting.

My wife was waving at me.

I eagerly returned the gesture, jogging towards her.

“Hey, big guy,” she said. Her smile left me rather dizzy, uncentred in the most delightful way. “I know last night was a bit of a disaster, and that I literally fell asleep on you. But I was hoping we might try again today anyway. What do you say?”

Ah. Of course. I knew she’d want to get back to her ship. I just hoped it would not be quite so soon.

“Yes, we can do that,” I said. “I must take Nali into the mountains for her exercise anyway. But…”

“But?”

But if I took her to her ship now, then she would stay there. And I might not see her again until it was time to leave.

I might not even see her when she left.

My chest went tight with constriction at the thought that she might leave without saying goodbye. I hadn’t felt this crushing sort of weight around my chest since I was a child, suffering from lung attacks on Zabria.

I coughed, then pounded on my chest a few times with my fist.

“Are you alright?” Jaya asked. “We should bring some water on the walk.”

“Yes.” I choked out. “Water would be good.” I did not want her getting dehydrated on the way. “You will need the hat Magnolia gave you as well.”

I was glad to see that she was still wearing my socks. They were much better made than the thin ones she’d had on before.

I should know. I had made them.

She must have noticed me looking at her feet, because her weight suddenly began to shift between them, as is self-consciously.

“Thanks for last night. I swear, I don’t usually pass out on people like that. And I don’t usually make them take off my sweaty boots and deal with my blisters, either. I’ll wash your socks and give them back.”

“No need,” I said. “They’re yours.”

Everything I have is yours.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

She gazed up at me with doubts in her eyes.

I wanted to take those doubts away, soothe them. Bury them.

I wanted to do the same with my own.

But she was wearing the wedding ring I’d made. And she was wearing the socks I’d made.