Page 41 of Lover from the Waves

Just as Luke began turning his entire body toward Hera, the recording ended.

Warmth blossomed in Ector’s chest, radiating outward from each of his three hearts. When Kathryn had speculated that a couple had once lived in that old, abandoned structure, he’d easily accepted her assessment, but he would never have guessed it had been a human and a kraken together. He doubted Kathryn could ever have guessed it herself.

The next hologram displayed what must have been the interior of the little house. The stone structure opposite the entrance looked much the same as it did today—though considerably cleaner—but it was amazing to see all the furnishings intact and in their original shapes.

Luke was holding the recording device in his hand again, but the focus of it seemed to be set on the big, wide bed he was standing in front of. The only parts of the bed frame visible were the thick corner posts. It was draped in lush furs, and Hera lounged on her side atop it, her tentacles bundled and curled behind her.

“No more sleeping on the ground for us,” Luke said. He beamed at the recording device for a moment before turning his head toward Hera.

Her lips were curled in a smile, too, but her expression was far more heated. “Come, mate, and help warm this bed.”

Turning back to the device, Luke raised his arm, giving a higher angle view of Hera. “I can’t yet. I need to capture how beautiful you look right now.”

She lifted a hand and bent her fingers, beckoning him. “I was notasking, Luke.”

Luke faced her fully; the hologram swung around with him, capturing the way his tongue slipped out to slide across his lips. He growled playfully.

The light in Hera’s eyes flared. Skin turning maroon, she crawled toward him, teeth bared, and grabbed a hold of him with hands and tentacles. When she suddenly dragged him onto the bed, Luke laughed. The recording device tumbled out of his hand and clattered onto the floor; the underside of the bed suddenly dominated the hologram’s field of view, leaving nothing of Luke and Hera visible but for a single dangling tentacle.

Luke’s laughter soon gave way to appreciative hums and groans, accompanied by sounds Ector now knew well—kissing.

Ector grew impossibly more aware of Kathryn’s feel, scent, and heat, all of which seemed to intensify in those moments, and the ache behind his slit reintroduced itself. The sounds from the hologram continued—also seeming to intensify—and the one visible tentacle curled.

Kathryn cleared her throat, reached forward, and flicked her fingers through the hologram, returning it to the selection screen. For a few seconds, she and Ector simply sat like that, their bodies so close and yet not connected in the way he yearned for.

“Guess they were…caught up in their passion,” she said breathlessly.

“Indeed,” Ector replied, willing his hearts to slow.

After several more seconds of silence, Kathryn touched the next symbol. Ector didn’t know whether to be disappointed or grateful.

The following three recordings offered a heartwarming glimpse into the life that Luke and Hera had shared, providing little glimpses into what for them had been normal. It was the recording taken during a sunset that resonated the strongest with Ector. Luke somehow changed the way the hologram was captured, creating a two-dimensional image instead of the usual three-dimensional, and had recorded the sun setting over the ocean as he and Hera sat on the beach. Their quiet conversation faded away as the colors in the sky grew more vibrant and varied.

Ector felt a strong connection to the pair in that moment. He and Kathryn had enjoyed several such sunsets thus far, and he looked forward to many, many more.

“Only two more left,” Kathryn said when the recording of the sunset ended. Her voice was undercut by emotion, but that emotion was too subtle for Ector to decipher; that barely noticeable quivering, that hint of hoarseness, could’ve been the result of anger, sadness, disappointment, joy, or a hundred other things.

Ector once more ran his hand slowly up and down her arm from shoulder to elbow; his palm rasped over the fabric of her shirt, adding another tiny layer to the night sounds. “Go ahead, Kathryn. We are almost there.”

The next hologram displayed the interior of the little house again. Luke lay in the wide bed, sitting up with his back propped against the wall. Ector was stricken by the man’s appearance; the human had aged years over the course of a few seconds.

Luke’s hair, once short and dark, was now long and gray, paired with a beard that was a shade or two lighter and which was large enough to rival Breckett’s. His skin, as darkly tanned as before, was now lined and weathered. His eyes—still lively and alert—had deep wrinkles at their corners.

Ector frowned and leaned a bit closer to the hologram. There was something off in the man’s skin—a sickly, grayish undertone, accented by frantic splashes of color on his face. But that little shell was still secure on its string around his neck—and there was a tiny chip near its narrowest end.

The man chuckled. It was a tired, hoarse sound that nearly broke in a mild fit of coughing. Kathryn sat up straighter and clutched at Ector a little tighter.

Luke’s breathing was labored when he finally recovered. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. “Nearly forgot about this thing. Hasn’t seen a whole lot of use through all these years, but…I’m glad it still works. Going through all my old complaining…it reminded me of how fortunate we’ve been.”

He drew in a deep, raspy breath that swelled his bare chest and made his rib bones only more visible through his skin. “Nothing’s been easy. We’ve…we’ve had to work for everything we have. Had to figure it all out as we went. And there were a lot of times when…when it seemed…” He pressed his lips together and exhaled slowly through flared nostrils.

“There were a lot of times when it seemed like we weren’t going to make it. You know, like…well, like now. But we made it this far, and that’s more than I could’ve hoped. I wasn’t even sure how long it’s been until I turned this thing on.” Luke laughed, making his shoulders shake, but he didn’t fall into a coughing fit this time. “Thirty-three years since we left that place. Not bad for only having a knife and a couple weeks of IDC survival training, huh?”

Luke shifted his head from side to side as though searching the ceiling for something. “Had things been different, I’d be in some nice apartment right now, maybe on Tau Ceti III or someplace like that, collecting a good IDC pension. Nothing to worry about, no reason to bust my ass for anything… No Hera. And that’s the whole problem right there. All that must sound like complaining, because it’s easy to focus on the bad stuff, right? But that’s not what life has been. Life has beengood. Yeah, it’s been hard, but we’ve had so much joy throughout those hardships. We made so many great memories.

“And that’s why…that’s why I’m doing this now. Busted up my leg about a week ago, and it got infected, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just know that I don’t want to leave her.”

Tears welled in Luke’s eyes and spilled down his cheeks. “I want all this on record because I love her, and I don’t know if I’ve told her all this yet. I’m afraid now that I might not have the time to.

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