~Keith~
Side by side, we look at the vast graveyard extending in front of us. Dozens of trees are scattered around, making the place more lively than it has any right to be. It reminds me of those times after my father's death where I visited his grave. It never felt real-as if he was going to pop up besides me. But as the years went by, the idea of him being six feet under ground began to seem like there was never a time when he wasn't in the ground.
Besides me, Lizzy takes a shaky breath in and mumbles something in Spanish. Red is hidden in the garden behind us among the towering trees; despite the precaution, there is no one here this early in the morning.
"Right," She says, her head lifts up and she gets the soon-becoming familiar determined look. "I can do this."
We walk for a few minutes; all the while, I keep looking at her expecting her to break into tears. But her face is stony. Expressionless.
Finally, we reach the graves.
Norma Gomez Halliway. 1976- 2040.
Jacob Halliway. 1970- 2037.
"Hola Mama. Papa. Ya regresé -" Her voice breaks and she turns to looks at me, her eyes swimming in unshed tears. "Can you-I, um, need to be alone. Please."
I nod and start walking towards the shade of a tree that's far away to give her privacy. I'm tempted to call Shiro again just so I could take my eyes off of her defeated form but in the end, I decide against it. I sit against the tree and look around wondering how it must be to look at this world from half a century-old perspective.
The cars driving on the road must be new to her, right? The Treaty of the United Nations happened fifteen years ago-something she will definitively need to know if she decides to stay here. I make a mental note to explain to her recent world history.
What if she decides to leave with us?
It hits me that she still has that choice. I try to imagine her living in the castle and fail. Suddenly, I start to second guess myself. What if she dies because of an attack on the castle. She could get captured again by the Galra. A fate worse than death for her. I close my eyes and sigh.
Enough, Keith. Stop overthinking it.
I force myself to think of something else.
I must have dozed off because suddenly, I'm jerked awake by someone nudging my foot. Lizzy stands starting solemnly at me.
"I want to go to your planet." She says.
I stand up. "Look, Lizzy, I know that I said that but it was a bad idea. The risks. We aren't just space travelers. We fight and destroy enemies with the good chance that we might get killed ourselves. It's safer here. Do you really want to risk getting captured by the Galra again?" She winces but doesn't back down.
"Does it matter?" I'm taken aback by the bitterness in her voice. "Keith, my family is dead. Gone. My friends have gone all with their lives; they won't even remember me. There's nothing for me here."
Irrational anger fills me and I try to swallow it. "You can make a life here."
"I could make a life over there."
"This is the place you've been wanting to come back to."
"I wanted to come back to my parents. But you don't always get what you want, Keith."
This girl is infuriating. I bite down the urge to tell her something I know I'll regret.
"You said I get to decide and I have. I want to go to Arus." She juts her chin out.
"And then what?" I ask, my voice calm.
"And then... and then something. I don't know. But I wouldn't know either if I stayed on Earth." Suddenly she finds the grass to be the most interesting thing. "I can't stay here. Too much has changed; I don't think I'll never fit in, not that I did the first time around but at least I had people who loved me. Now..."
She looks so miserable that I suddenly hate myself for making her feel that way.
"Fine." I surprise myself as the word slips out. But then nod. It's her choice. "You can come."