Page 51 of Uprooted
“This is probably just another ordinary day for you,” I whisper.
“Elowen, there is absolutely nothing ordinary when I am with you.” He bends down bringing his face close to mine. His index finger lifts my face up to meet his, and his eyes drop to my mouth. Aro hesitates a moment before his lips softly brush against mine and it feels like warm electricity. He grabs the back of my neck and brings me harder against him. We both part our lips and his tongue slides against mine. I feel so cherished, he kisses me like I am something precious and adored. He softly kisses the corner of my mouth one last time and pulls away.
Reeling, he turns my head back toward the view and whispers, “You don’t want to miss this.”
I peel my eyes away from him and a few feet in front of us I see something drifting across the ground. A round ball with hundreds of flat petals rolls across the grass. It looks like the wind is blowing it away, but there is no movement in the air. Variegated petals in reds, pinks, and oranges tipped with silver move slowly in front of us. Each layer flops over the other as the flower moves toward its target. It approaches another flower. The blossom finally reaches the other flower and theydelicately touch. The petals slowly tangle and move over each other. The moving flower rolls completely over the stationary one and then after a brief hesitation keeps moving.
Once again, I’m spellbound. I had given up the hope of experiencing this. I blindly grab for Aro, unable to look away from the view. He has given me the most incredible gift. I can happily go back to Earth when this is all over, with no regrets about missing this incredible place. Before I came here, my goal was to document the planet and use this experience to solidify my career. Now all I can think of is the overwhelming gratitude I have for being right here. Every time someone asks me about j’Tilak, I will think of tonight.
A sobering thought crosses my mind: someday Aro will just be a memory.
We sit in complete silence for hours watching the sky and field in front of us. He anticipates all of my needs. When I’m hungry, he hands me a protein bar. When I shiver from the cold, he tucks me into a blanket he has in his pack. An unfamiliar sense of serenity takes over.
Memories from last night come back. I’d watched myself with neutral curiosity, completely detached from any emotions or judgement. The more I think about it, the visions take on a meaning that settles deep into me. A knowing outside of language works into my very DNA. I’m cracked open and put back together. I feel peaceful at the sense that a small, bruised part of me is finally restored. I felt healed when I looked down at the scar on my hand. The harder I would try for something, the farther it would get from me. How I felt aligned when I let go.
“You thinking about last night again?” Aro whispers, pulling me closer to lean against his chest.
I turn my head to look back at him. “How’d you know?”
“Lots of deep sighing and you’re not squealing at the little flowers anymore.”
“I don’t squeal,” I clarify with mock seriousness. “I was thinking about last night. I’m still trying to figure it out. I feel different today than yesterday. Something shifted.” I struggle to find the right words to describe my state of mind.
“I loved watching you in the water. You were stunning, floating there all serene and peaceful. How was it for you?” he asks, his armstightening around me. I feel safe and warm, like I’m in an alternate reality where nothing could ever go wrong.
“It felt like something inside of me that’s been holding me back is finally starting to let go. Speaking these words out loud exposes a vulnerability I really struggle to show others.
“Let’s stay here forever,” I joke.
“Don’t tempt me.” He sounds completely serious. Aro leans in for another kiss. I want to give myself over to him completely. He holds onto my bottom lip, gently tugging before ending it far too soon. I stay still for as long as possible, rooting myself to this spot. Locking away this memory for safekeeping.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of a lumen’entem flower unfurling its petals. That doesn’t make sense. “What is that flower doing?” I think out loud.
“It’s getting ready to move, just like all the others,” Aro responds without realizing what makes the lumen’entem odd to me.
“It’s opening its petals at night! Of course! Its roots are too fragile to be exposed to the suns.” Aro doesn’t seem to pick up on the significance. “I’ve got to get to the lab.”
* * *
The primary sun peeks out on the horizon. Gray lights up the sky followed shortly by a bright red glow. He doesn’t say anything. Instead he squeezes me a little tighter, acknowledging what I told him. I wish I had the courage to tell him how transformed I am. That for the first time in my life I don’t feel like I am broken, or that something is wrong with me. I want to tell him that I still have work to do—that there are parts of me that I resented and that are now fully fused with who I am. That I can coexist with those feelings and memories—they're a part of the whole. I’m proud of myself that I am willing to even consider voicing this to him someday. I sit with these thoughts a while longer as the bright light spreads across the horizon.
We walk side by side back to the dome. The trip back goes quickly. Even though I’m excited about this breakthrough, I’m also not ready to leave this beautiful place. Aro breaks the silence. “I’m not sure if we’ll have the chance to sneak out again.” He says what I’m alreadythinking. Tonight was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’ll probably never experience this again.
The dome comes into view and Aro holds my hand again. “I don’t think I could ever get enough of this place,” I say as I look over at him trying to get my smile to reach up to my eyes. I am eternally grateful to him. Something I could only describe as grief takes over.
36
Aro
Elowen trails behind while I move strategically through the trees, carefully avoiding the sentinel bots. I pull her close a few times under the guise of avoiding detection, but it’s just an excuse to feel her against me.
She looks radiant, the early morning light reflecting gold off her dark hair. Her eyes wide and bright, not missing a single detail around us. I don’t like the feeling of going back to reality. Everything else ceased to exist for a few short hours. I’m greedy. I want more time with just us two. When we get back to the dome, I’ll have to share her with the world again. For tonight, she’s mine and it’s been the best night of my life.
We circle around the outside of the dome, approaching through a blind spot in the security feed. When we get to the outer wall, we press our backs against it again and sidestep our way to the cargo bay. The hatch is still open from when we left hours ago. I’m surprised to see it’s still open—I had programmed it to close behind us when we left.
I step into the cargo bay first and look around. Not seeing anyone I pull Elowen in behind me. We retrace our steps through the rows of porters. Right as I reach for the door sensor, I hear someone clear their throat behind us.
I spin around and pull Elowen behind my back, blocking her from view. Maak is leaning against a container watching us. I breathe a heavy sigh of relief at the sight of him.
