Going Home: See You Soon (5)
04 Jun 2023Vasil Vasilescu
Andrei and Ioana stood at the entrance to the main passenger terminal on Jaque’s Station, his left arm around her shoulders, her right arm around his waist. Arriving and departing tourists moved past us along the walkways in a steady flow of people common to passenger terminals.“It was great meeting you,” said Andrei. “Be sure to message us once you reach Emerald.”
“Oh, yes, please do,” said Ioana. “And come for visit you when you get back.” Something about the way Ioana smiled as she said this made me believe she genuinely meant it and that she was not saying it just to be polite.
I nodded, finding myself returning her smile. “I will, but it depends on how busy Octavia decides to keep me. You know how demanding she can be.”
Ioana laughed but Andrei's half-hearted smile betrayed his thoughts. More than anyone, a former slave knew all too well how difficult it was to meet Octavia's standards. Though Octavia had freed them and provided seed money for their restaurant, I wondered what pressure and influence she still exerted on her former culinary slaves. "Well, you'd better get going. You don't want to miss your flight and have to ride back with me. The closest thing the Always Lost has to a luxury stateroom is the spare parts cargo storage."
"We've slept in worse," said Andrei, shaking my hand. "Good luck, Vasil, and stay safe. We'll see you when you get home."
I watched them enter the terminal and board a mag tube for the luxury liner taking them back to Emerald. He called it home. To them Emerald was home, but not to me. Home to me was the Always Lost and the unimaginable solitude of the deep void. That is where I am most comfortable and most at peace, and what is home if it is not a place of peace and comfort?
In a few days I'd be leaving for Emerald and, in a way, leaving my home. I had no idea how long I would be away, or if I would ever return.