Page 11 of Alien on the Moon

“That sounds complicated.”

“You have no idea.” She took a sip of the ruava tea and a bite of her food. “And that’s just on the world stage. Our culture can vary, not just from country to country but even from city to city. Two communities in the same city can have completely different cultures depending on where they are.”

Humming thoughtfully, he took all this in. Aside from this mission on Kheros, Rylan had never been off Thryal, but he’d always wanted to see another planet. Earth’s culture seemed so completely alien to his own, and he was fascinated by Elena’s accounts.

He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “Maybe a better question is this. What is Earth to you?”

She hummed and then looked up out the window as though she could see Earth among the starlit cosmos. “Home, I guess. But also not. An old friend turned stranger.”

That was not the answer he’d expected. “What makes you say that?”

She took a bite of the plo’meek stew she’d ordered for lunch. “In my native language, English, we have a word. Nostalgia. It comes from two other words in another language, Greek, ‘nostos’ and ‘algos.’ ‘Nostos’ means homecoming while ‘algos’ means pain. Put together, it means ‘the pain of not being able to return to a time or place.’ Right now, Earth only lives in my nostalgia. After everything I’ve seen and done, I can’t return tomy own world and have it be the same becauseI’mnot the same. Does that make sense?”

He nodded. It was a familiar feeling for him, a yearning to go back to a time or a place in his life where he never knew loss or grief. But even if he could go back, it wouldn’t be how he remembered it. “But you do miss Earth.”

She smiled. “Don’t you miss Thryal?”

“Sometimes. Though I mostly miss the conveniences and amenities. As long as I have my work, though, I’m fairly content.”

“I feel the same way. My sisters are my home, so as long as I’m with them, I’m content, but I miss a lot of Earth culture.” Her eyes brightened, and she leaned in mischievously.

“Speaking of… I have some Earth snacks in my room, and I’m really craving some chocolate now. I see that you can have caffeine.” She pointed to the energy drink next to his lunch. “What about theobromine?”

He thought for a moment. “Theobromine should be safe. As far as I know, it isn’t toxic to us.”

Grinning, she leaned back and clapped her hands. He’d seen her do it a couple of times when something delighted her, and he found it incredibly endearing. “Perfect. We’ll finish up here and then I’ll show you my snack stash.”

They quickly finished the rest of their lunch, and she led him to her room. His heart rate was elevated as he realized they were alone in her bedroom. His mind raced, trying to figure out the last time he’d felt so attracted to someone.

A purple foil-wrapped bar sat on her desk as though waiting for them. She snatched it up and gestured for him to sit on her desk chair while she took the bed.

“I’ll give you a little bit to start,” she said, breaking off a corner and handing him a solid brown triangle before taking a piece of her own. “This is a Milka chocolate bar. You can just chew and swallow or let it melt in your mouth. I do the second so I can enjoy it for longer.”

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” he said and popped it in his mouth. At first, he didn’t taste much. But then, it began to melt, and the flavor hit—a perfect balance of creamy, sweet, and the barest hint of bitterness. It was unlike anything he had ever tasted and truly divine.

It must have shown on his face because Elena laughed. “I take it you like it.”

“You said that this is called a Milka chocolate bar.”

She broke off another piece and split it in two, taking half for herself and giving the other half to him. “Milka is the name of the company that makes it. The food itself is called a chocolate bar.”

“And this is a regular snack on Earth?”

She tipped her hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. “Not necessarily this brand, because it’s a little expensive and higher quality, but there are other, cheaper kinds of chocolate out there.”

“Amazing.” He savored the rich flavor until it was gone from his tongue. “I understand you feel ‘nostalgia’ for Earth. I would, too, if leaving it meant leaving behind such wonderful human food.”

She laughed and handed him the rest of the bar. “Here. Take this one.”

His eyes widened. “But you said it’s something you keep for nostalgia. Are you sure?”

Her blue eyes twinkled. “Don’t worry. I bought several whole boxes of them the last time I visited home.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

He didn’t eat it that night. Instead, he hid it away for safekeeping. He would ration out this wonderful gift from Elena.

The next day, they ventured out to pick up some soil samples. Elena wanted to see why and how the soil was being depleted before any plant life could grow.

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