Among

Day 364

This is it. The last full day of my mission. I never suspected this part would be so difficult.

You'd think that after exploring numerous worlds, each with their own unique species and intricate cultures that I'd be used to saying goodbye. The truth is, I've never needed to before. Like any good researcher, I had become rather good at blending in. Seeing without being seen. Observing without attachment.

But, this.. this has been a different experience entirely.

I've made the one, grave mistake that we are always warned against. I didn't just observe this alien world. I became a part of it.

In doing so, I've gained a new appreciation for things that I once took for granted. Like, the stars. These people, in this alien world, in a galaxy lightyears from the one I call home; people who have never seen beyond their little corner of the universe, love to look at the stars and ponder about what exists beyond the twinkling expanse. I've traveled farther in my years on this team than they could ever fathom. I've flown past more stars than they could ever count, without a second thought. But, until fortune brought me here; until I met Enith, I had never once taken time to lay back and really admire the stars. 

Tomorrow I will leave Enith and her world. I won't look back. I won't be able to. I will disappear into the stars that she loves so much; that we spent hours of clear, warm nights admiring together. But tonight, while she is contemplating the stars, I will be memorizing every curve of her soft face. The lines that crackle around her eyes and mouth when she laughs. The way she smells like a cool morning dew. The sparkle in her eyes when she talks about something she finds particularly interesting. That's what I will see now. Every time I look at the stars.