Page 15 of The Space Traveller's Lover

LONG-LOST PASSION

Tell me how you feel, Shaillah. Do you feel your skin burning?

Shaillah closes her eyes firmly, counting down the seconds as the powerful suction force takes hold of her.

Suddenly, she feels a warm breeze bringing a sweet, calming fragrance.

As she slowly opens her eyes, she’s relieved to find herself back in the same quiet purple-lit room, her body resting flat on the polished floor.

The memories of her passage into the dreamlike landscape where she met Zula-Or spin inside her head like a far-fetched fuzzy illusion.

As she tries to get up, she hears a tinkling rattle under her chest. She fumbles around with her fingers until she feels the edges of her gilded pendant.

“Oh, it was real!” She rejoices as she contemplates the brilliant shafts of lights reflecting on her hands.

“How was Zula, the wisest lady in our vast Rom-Ghenshar empire?”

As she hears Rothwen’s voice, she tries to get up but immediately lets herself fall, realising Rothwen is sitting on the floor in front of her. She sits up while briefly looking back into the gaping blackness, hardly believing she has returned from that bottomless abyss.

“Revealing. Our Honourable Counsellor, Zula-Or, helped me understand and accept my true ancestry, and she gave me this gorgeous diamond.” Shaillah lifts the beautifully crafted gemstone from her chest .

“Oh, she gave you the Quark-Star diamond! One of her most prized possessions. Zula must like you very much,” Rothwen exclaims, fully realising that the unique gift is Zula-Or’s message of acceptance for Shaillah.

Shaillah keeps admiring the flickering stone—so many facets, so many colourful sparks. Like my own rapidly untangling life , she thinks.

“You definitely made an impression on her. Zula-Or can tell how special you are. And she is a very wise lady.” Rothwen adds while lifting Shaillah’s chin and gazing enticingly at her.

“I see the desire in your eyes. She warned me about you,” Shaillah says hesitantly.

“She did?” Rothwen grins while clutching her hands inside his broad palms. “True, she is right to warn you. I don’t have a glittering record, so to speak.

But only I know how I feel. Only I know why you are here—now.

Nothing could change my mind, not even Kuzhma-Or or Zula-Or or any other Oi Renski .

It was a long-fought battle. Of course, they had to give in at some point—”

“I see.”

“As I started to feel something new, something unusual … it hit me like a paralysing flare, but I wanted more.”

“Why unusual?”

“For us, very unusual. We care for victories and riches, skill and precision, perfect results. Everything else is irrelevant, inconvenient. So, in our quest for perfection, some useless traits and feelings were edited out of our genes.”

“For example?”

“Fear, pain, guilt, and …” Rothwen stops as if struggling for words.

He caresses her forehead while gazing intensely at her as if looking for an answer.

“Tell me how you feel, Shaillah. Do you feel your skin burning when we are close?”

“Yes, very much!”

“That’s exactly how I feel. I think this feeling can’t be bad if it makes my heart beat faster.”

“What makes you feel like this? ”

“Not what, Shaillah … but who.” Rothwen fervently says while drawing her face closer towards him.

She looks deep into his sharp green eyes, enthralled, imagining that she is swimming into his pupils.

“Perhaps a dormant trait was always lurking inside me, waiting to be awakened,” Rothwen ponders. “Or sometimes space warriors need something to thump their bleak souls.”

They speak in a mixed language without even noticing if it is human or Rom-Ghenshar.

He places her hand over his heart while sliding his hand under her pink diamond pendant and over her heart.

“Is this feeling what humans call ‘passion’?” he asks.

“I think so,” she murmurs, stroking his warm hand.

They feel their exhilarating heartbeats pulsating through their veins as they desperately kiss in an electrifying embrace.

Shaillah’s shivering body flutters against his strong muscles, and an overwhelming sensation invades him, that same feeling that he cannot entirely shake off, no matter how hard he tries.

“Is there anything stronger than passion?” he asks as he kisses her again and again, in between words.

“Yes. It is called love .”

“What’s it like?”

“I don’t know. But I’ve seen it in movies and read it in books. It can kill, or it can heal. It’s so strong it can make you lose your mind.”

“Whatever this is between us, it’s certainly strong. When it was time to bring you into our world, I told Zula, ‘She will be with me.’ She dismissed it outright, saying, ‘It will never work out between a replica and a space warrior.’”

“And what do you think?”

“I won’t pretend it’ll be easy,” he concedes. “But you’re not an ordinary replica. There’s something about you that makes me feel very different. That’s why I asked Athguer not to change your memories or your emotions. And I’m ready to see where it’ll take us.”

“What can you do to me? It seems like you can change my body any way you like,” she reproaches him .

“Shaillah, there wasn’t another option.” Rothwen brings her head against his chest and kisses her forehead.

“There were necessary things I had to do to bring you here. I had to make those decisions, tough decisions, for us to be together. I cannot explain everything right now. But I can promise you this—once your transition is complete, no one will ever change you again, without your permission.”

“If that’s what it takes to be together,” she whispers, “then so be it. It was meant to be.”

“Yes, it was—even if it meant breaking all the rules, taking all the risks.”

“How come?”

“As a rule, we never bring replicas from other planets into our domain. We study them, change them, control them— in their environment. That is why I have to break all the rules for you.”

“And the risks?”

“We had never turned a hybrid replica into our race fully. I had Athguer’s word that it would work. He is a genius, but there were no guarantees.”

“I see,” Shaillah ponders, a nervous glare flashing through her face. “What would have happened if it’d failed?”

“We would’ve returned you—back to your waiting friend. And you would’ve never known anything about it.”

Shaillah opens her mouth wide in astonishment, her mind racing through countless what-if thoughts.

“But that was the easy part,” Rothwen continues. “If it succeeded, we didn’t know if your body would be strong enough to withstand the entrance into our dense atmosphere and connect to our brain network. I have to give it to Athguer. He did this first part of the transition to perfection.”

“First part?”

“Yes, there’s a second part. It will give you superpowers. But don’t worry about it. You are already a Rom-Ghenshar. It won’t be as risky as before,” Rothwen reassures her.

“I feel numbed,” Shaillah mumbles while in deep thought, playing back her perilous journey inside her mind .

“That’s why I was with you every step of the way.

We could’ve sent one of our guardian robots, but I decided I had to bring you in, personally.

I was prepared for anything, Shaillah. If you had shown the slightest weakness, I would have asked Athguer to try again until we succeeded,” he says in a resolute tone.

“I’m pleased it went better than expected.” She breathes out a sigh of relief and pauses as if checking her inner thoughts. Then she adds in a nostalgic tone, “But I still miss home.”

“That’s normal. Something you and I must deal with. But now, embrace your new life. Together, we can venture on to greater things.”

Rothwen jumps up, his glossy boots creaking on the polished floor. Then, taking Shaillah’s hands, he pulls her up and announces, “Let me show you. I have a special present for you!”

He leads her out of the purple room and into the space-tunnel enclosure.

Soon they’re crossing the high gaping archway and walking around the hexagonal platform by the golden balustrades.

She admires the captivating landscape as she leans over the top rails.

The glimmering yellow sun is slowly starting to set against the pink-orange sky as the restless ocean waves keep breaking into foamy whirls over the rugged shoreline.

She gazes at the broad-winged manta ray-like creatures skimming the water surface, then soaring so high into the sky that she cannot tell if they are some kind of alien bird or flying fish.

“They’re neither. They’re our own species, called lyshars ,” Rothwen explains. “They’re preparing for the sunset … they always mate at sunset.”

Shaillah watches as the lyshars flip over and pair up, their bellies touching. Then they dive as one and disappear into the sea, splashing through the water’s crimson sunset reflections.

“So beautiful,” she exclaims.

Rothwen, standing behind her, caresses her shoulders. “Yes, they pair up for life—unlike us, Rom-Ghenshars,” he remarks in a derisory tone.

“Humans do. Well, most of them do.”

“Yes, they got it all wrong. I prefer to be free, go wherever I want, be with whomever I want, and so on.”

As the sky darkens and the last feeble sun rays drown behind the horizon, Shaillah wonders about the destiny that awaits her.

But surely, it’s impossible now to turn back—not that she wants to.

Despite all her heartaches and misgivings, all she wants now is to be with Rothwen.

She hardens up inside while coldly responding, “So do I.”

He pulls her away from the balcony, making her walk past the central hall and into another arched passage, eventually stopping in front of a curved silver-coloured door, its top panel decorated in distinctive crinkled pictographs.

“Now, you can use your unique brainwave frequency to open this door,” Rothwen tells her, his tone encouraging. “Concentrate and give it the command to open.”

Shaillah hesitates momentarily, altogether doubting herself. Then she tries it.

To her surprise, the graphics’ wavy lines start unravelling and reassembling into new shapes.

She gleefully stares at the newly formed symbols, spelling her name in the Rom-Ghenshar language.

Then the door slides open, silently and slowly, letting the bright lights from the inside flood the entrance.

“It takes practice, but you will soon learn how to use your brainwaves for everything,” Rothwen explains as they enter the brightly lit space.

A crystal–clear, azure swimming pool glistens at the centre of the room, extending up to the overhanging balcony at the end.

On either side of the pool, stylish cream and gold sofas furnish the aisles, surrounded by ornate golden vases holding her favourite gem-studded blossoms from Zula-Or’s garden.

“How beautiful!” She marvels. As they walk through the elegant decor, she admires the unique garments, colourful make-up sets, and precious jewellery showing through the glass doors and corner tables.

“This is your private smartroom, Shaillah, all decorated and stocked up by Zula for you. She wanted to spoil you.”

“For me?” she asks in complete awe.

“Your sleeping suite is at the back, by the balcony, overlooking your private lake. There’re plenty of refreshments and entertainment gadgets, all your favourites. And if you need anything else … think about it.”

“Why didn’t she tell me? I should’ve thanked her,” Shaillah laments, overwhelmed by so much extravagance.

“You’ll have plenty of time to thank Zula. But for now, find your way around, discover, enjoy. ”

Shaillah looks up at the rows of elegant dresses gleaming through the transparent doors of the aisle-long walk-in wardrobe.

She extends her hand to reach one. And as she does, the doors open.

She takes one of the gold-embroidered tunics, rubbing her fingers on the silky fabric.

She slides it over her body while excitedly checking herself in the free-standing tall oval mirrors.

Rothwen’s approving expression turns into an attentive frown as he receives a thought-message from Kuzhma-Or.

“Must leave now. I’ll be coming for you later tonight. We’ll be meeting Kuzhma-Or and Athguer in the flesh. Get ready,” he says in a hurry as he kisses her briefly on her lips.

Shaillah chews on her bottom lip as she watches Rothwen walk away. She relishes the taste of him in her mouth. It dawns on her that, for the first time since she entered this tantalising alien world, she is looking forward to the future and can’t wait until he gets back.

“This could be my downfall, but I’ve fallen for you …

Rothwen!” she exclaims as a deep shiver runs down her spine.

An intense yearning for him envelops her, she attempts to fight it off, but she can’t escape it, challenging her self-control.

Then she realizes that she is revelling in her cravings.

She runs while undressing and dives into the pool.

Underwater, she imagines he is swiftly swimming towards her.

She thinks she is dreaming while awake, feeling his arms wrapping around her body.

She closes her eyes tightly, wishing she wouldn’t stop dreaming anytime soon.