Page 119 of Starrily

Her eyes burned. It couldn’t be possible—but life has taught her things even beyond the improbable were possible. “You remember me.”

“You told me not to forget you.”

She took in his face, studying him more closely. No, it wasn’t true that everything about it was unfamiliar. Besides the smile, there was the shine in his eyes—it wasn’t the same face, and they weren’t the same eyes, but the life behind them made them familiar.

“How?” she breathed.

“I … I don’t know. Like I said, half a year ago, I woke up with my last memory being that of an attack. I was fine, healthy, but still in the alleyway where the assault had happened, near my apartment. Only now it wasn’t my apartment anymore, because apparently, four years had passed. It took me a while to get my life back on track. Clear up the misunderstanding that I had died. Find a place to live, my family … my cat! Then, slowly, memories began to trickle in. A few seconds of your face, then more and more. And I … I don’t know how to say this, or how appropriate it even is, but I have the strangest desire to—”

Callie rose on her toes and pulled him into a kiss. He froze for a second, then returned it.

“Apparently not inappropriate at all,” he said when they stopped, maybe half a minute, maybe a minute later—she couldn’t currently tell what time was. She remained raised, touching his cheek with her nose.

“Raleigh.” Her whisper was part relief, part yearning. He was alive. And he’d found her.

“My Phoenix,” he whispered back, and she knew—it was him, all of him. More memories would trickle in, but more important than that, they could create new ones.

“Do you want to go on a date?” she asked.

“I’d like that.”

She laughed and took his hand. “Come. There are plenty of nice restaurants around here.”

“Good,” he said, and they walked away together, hand in hand. “I have an inexplicable desire to try pufferfish.”

Epilogue

THE UNIVERSE IN US

by Dr. Calliope Guidry

Preface by Raleigh Tate

When my wife first started research on her project about the origins of the Universe, she could’ve never imagined it would end up in a book.

CalliopeGuidryadded a note:We don’t need to tell people my husband is writing the preface.

TheRealRaleighadded a note:Nonsense. How else are they going to assume nepotism?

Most of the research in astrophysics ends up in research papers, which, while absolutely crucial for the progress of science and the expansion of our knowledge about space, are hardly the mostapproachable to the general public. Trust me, I’ve tried reading them.

CalliopeGuidryadded a note:You understand them perfectly well.

TheRealRaleighadded a note:Shhh. It makes me more relatable.

Which is why books like this one are so important. To make our knowledge approachable; after all, it’s made for the good of humanity as a whole, not a chosen few. The study of space isn’t the study of something alien, inconceivable; it’s the study of humans, ourselves. We don’t come from Earth; we come from the Universe itself.

CalliopeGuidryadded a note:Awww.

From the first clouds of gas that condensed into stars (possibly refutable; but you’ll have to read the book for that theory), from the magnificent supernovae explosions that created most of the elements we see around us, and are made of—wearespace. Wearethe Universe. Therefore, it only makes sense that we’ve always been drawn back toward the stars. They are our home.

Jessie97added a note:Guys, this is so cool!

CalliopeGuidryadded a note:Jessica? How are you commenting here?

Jessie97added a note:You gave me access when you hired me to do the photos for the book.

CalliopeGuidryadded a note:You’re not supposed to—how do I un-add her?