Page 87 of Homebound
Without answering, Simon set his feet down and carefully rose to his full height. He must be six-six if not taller. She was of average height, yet she felt like a gnome standing next to him.
Moving around her imperiously as if he was the lord and she was his servant, he proceeded out of his cell and settled into the chair. He hadn’t uttered a word.
They got into the elevator.
The closeness of the cabin made it difficult not to scrutinize his appearance. He looked a little tired but overall much, much better than he used to. Still pale and thin but no longer gaunt.
The sun came out in full force that day but failed to penetrate winter chill. The weather was bitingly cold and the air was so clear it sang in the complete absence of wind. The patches of dirty gray snow on the ground were interspersed with ice, and the ice crystals sparkled in the sun adding some cheer to the dreary landscape of urban decay.
Reaching Simon’s favorite spot behind the charred ruins of the church, Gemma stopped. The darkened wall had absorbed some sunlight, enough to make a slight difference in temperature.
In the distance, at the docks, Gemma could see a light cargo shuttle sitting in position on the west-most launchpad. Thanks to the clear sunlight, today she could discern every little detail, up to and including the seam of the sealed door and decorative elements above the conical hull.
Simon hadn’t attempted to leave the chair, and Gemma wondered how badly the altercation with the Perali had set him back, healthwise. He was especially pensive today. She gave him space and remained silent standing still by the side of his chair with her eyes, and her mind, drifting in pleasant nothingness.
A sharp whine rent the air signaling an all-clear from the control tower and steam intermixed with exhaust fanned from underneath the shuttle in great rolling clouds.
“I think it’s going to take off,” Gemma remarked.
“Hmm,” Simon remained indifferent.
Minutes were leisurely ticking by, and they stayed as they were, watching the show, with him sitting in his wheelchair and her standing behind.
A muffled roar reached them from the launch pad and the ground beneath their feet reverberated.
“What’s happening? It is alright?” she asked.
“Yes. Auxiliary power units are on. Testing the boosters.” He sounded sure.
“How do you know?”
“I’ve launched off before,” he answered laconically, observing the shuttle with detachment.
“Oh. Of course.”
Gemma looked at him askance. She knew so little about Simon. She had so many questions to ask.
“Do you think of home, Simon?”
He was silent for so long that she didn’t think he’d reply.
“I do,” he finally said, and she thought,How informative.
“Do you miss it?”
“Miss it? You think like a human,” he scoffed.
“But of course. And youmustmiss it. I can’t imagine you not to.”
“I don’t belong here. On Enzomorra, life is custom made for my kind. We’ve made it uniquely ours, generation by generation. I can survive on any habitable planet, but Enzomorra is where Rix belong. Does it answer your question?”
She thought about it. “I guess.”
“Guessing is what gets you in trouble, Gemma,” he was chiding her and it made her a little angry.
“You leave me no choice! It’s impossible to have a conversation with you. I ask you all those things and you never give straight answers. I want to know more about you, yet you only share crumbs of your life with me. Why?”
As usual, he was in no rush to answer, and suddenly she knew.
