Page 41 of Uprooted

Aro

Elowen is radiating excitement as we enter the cargo bay. It’s still dark outside. The suns will be breaking over the horizon soon.

Her door slid open the moment I stepped in front of it this morning. I didn’t even have a chance to knock. She looked like she’d been dressed and ready to leave for a while. With her small bag strapped to her back, she followed me quietly throughout the dome.

We jump into the porter I have ready for us. Elowen smiles over at me while she buckles in. Every cell in my body lights up with that one look from her.

Elowen watches the view and I watch her.

Her head is turned away from me taking in the scenery, but I can see the wonder on her face in the plexi’s reflection.

I’m excited to show Elowen my planet. I dutifully point out everything we come across on our way to Bihar.

Birds, plants, animals, trees—anything I can think of.

As long as we are talking, I’m not thinking about her leaving.

“Want to see something cool?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“Absolutely,” she says without hesitation or needing more information.

I pull the porter to a stop. “You stay here. I’m going to make sure it’s safe.” I jump out and run a perimeter check. There haven’t been any Atorum sightings since that day weeks ago, but I’m not taking any chances.

I get back to the porter and open the door for her. She uses my hand to steady herself when she steps out.

“We need to be quiet or we’ll scare them off,” I tell her .

“ Them ?”

“You’ll see.”

We creep our way through the tall, high grass. It’s almost up to Elowen’s chest. She gently bats it away as we go. The suns behind us light her up in ethereal light. Everything she does is so beautiful it makes my chest hurt.

I hear the trickle of water. I crouch down and motion for her to do the same.

I silently point to the far end of the stream.

She follows my finger and sees what I wanted to show her.

A pair of mid-sized, fuzzy, green, barrel-shaped animals are bent over with their blunted snouts in the water.

They come up and wipe their long whiskers with their pudgy paws.

Their antennae are at attention, listening for danger.

The creatures scamper back into the grass and bed down near a fallen log, circling around before settling into their nest of leaves and grass. They groom each other before tucking into a tight ball and closing their big round eyes.

I bring Elowen up next to me and whisper, “Those are quinstaks, a male and female pair.”

“They're so cute! They look like a little family,” she whispers.

“Quinstaks pair off to mate and then go back to their colony once they have a kit on the way. They're prolific breeders and mate for life. One mated pair can produce hundreds of offspring,” I explain after we have backed away, giving them space to sleep.

“We interrupted their honeymoon!” she says tenderly.

“Some animals on Earth have lifelong mates as well. Penguins are my favorite. They're these little flightless birds that live in a really cold climate. The male penguin wins over the female by giving her little pebbles. They use the pebbles to build a nest where they lay an egg and take turns keeping it warm and raising their baby. They return to that nest every year and do it all again.” She is so cute when she’s explaining stuff.

I could listen to her rattle off facts all day.

“That sounds like most things here. They all have their own mating rituals and pick one mate and stick together. All except those slutty little flowers that just hit it and quit it.” I’m proud of my usage of the human saying, and I’m pretty sure I said it correctly this time.

“Aro, are you slut-shaming the flowers?” she says trying to hold in laughter .

“No shame whatsoever.”

“My flowers are just doing their part to reproduce,” she says.

“Tilaks used to have mating bonds like the quinstaks. It hasn’t happened in centuries.

Some believed couples were brought together by fate, or maybe it’s biology.

Regardless of why, it was much more than a romantic relationship.

It’s a connection that empowers each Tilak to reach their highest potential and makes it so together they could accomplish anything and be the best versions of themselves. ”

“What do you believe? Biology or fate?” she asks.

“There’s no disputing the biological reasoning behind it.

But when two individuals come together in a deeper way, they fulfill the universal truth that there is something beyond science.

It’s something that we don’t fully understand, but we feel it in our bones.

” As the words pour out of me, I push down the unfamiliar feelings starting to bubble up.

We’re talking about these cute little animals, but I’ve never felt so vulnerable with someone before.

“How does free will fit into that?” she asks.

“There’s always free will. We’re always given a choice.”

“Choices always come with consequences,” she says.

“And there is the magic of j’Tilak. This world from the tiniest creature to this whole planet—our society and spiritual structures all hang in careful harmony. You see it right here.” I wave my hand back to the quinstaks.

“I see it too. It’s what makes this place so special. I’ve never seen a world that has so fully embraced the power of balance. It’s so fascinating, because it’s not symmetrical or totally predictable, but it’s this constantly moving shifting thing holding everything together.”

I sit back and watch the way her face moves while she thinks. I love the way her mind works.

“Think those little guys back there have these kinds of conversations?” I ask. Feeling the need to lighten the mood. I recognize a sliver of fear inside me, that if I push too hard, I could lose Elowen.

“I hope so. If they are lifelong mates, what could be more important?”

Elowen has a piece of grass poking out of her hair.

I reach over and gently pull it out, trying not to tug on any strands.

She catches my hand and inches closer to me.

I look down at her. Before I can kiss her, she pulls my head down and her lips tug at mine.

I savor the feeling of her on me. She kisses me sweetly, and it’s over far too soon.

“I like being out here,” she says, sounding happy and content.

“I do too. Growing up we used to spend summers out away from the city.” Memories start to pop up. Most are good, but one is harder to think about. My mouth starts talking about that one before my brain has a chance to tell it to shut the fuck up.

“Sometimes my sister and I would hide in the woods when it was time to go back to the city. One last adventure before we had to go back to real life. My parents were in on the game, but the last time we hid my dad was furious about it. He accused me of avoiding my responsibilities and then gave me the silent treatment all the way back to Bihar.”

“Balance, right?” she says and slides her hand into mine. It feels like home. With two words she shined a light and dissolved all the ache from the memory.

I can feel Elowen sensing how I’m feeling. She pulls me into a hug and rests her cheek on my chest.