Astra & Astronaut

Why Justify?

Astra jolted up from Maria's bed, still processing the shock of her nightmare. She was hyperventilating and cold beads of sweat glided on her cheek, her heart couldn't stop beating. Astra put a trembling hand on her chest and squeezed it where her heart should be in hopes of calming down. This was her first nap in years, yet it had to end in a nightmare, a nightmare of her vivid death. Astra hugged her knees and shut her eyes, she rocked herself back and forth and it did the job of slowly calming herself down.

The door creaked open, and Maria entered the room "Is everything fine?"

"Mn, yes." Replied Astra, knowing well that she just had the most traumatizing sleep of her life, she silently swore to herself that she would never sleep ever again.

Maria knew she was lying, but she had a hunch that these matters weren't hers to carelessly dwell on. She searched through her clothes drawer, while Astra was still helplessly hugging her knees. Maria pulled out 2 T-shirts from the drawer, one had the logo of the spaceship's name on it and the other was a slightly oversized and airy shirt, Maria put the airy T-shirt on the bed and faced the wall while she put on the T-shirt with the spaceship's logo on it.

"You can wear the shirt on the bed, and come to the dining table later, while we still have some extra rations," said Maria and she pulled on her shirt so that it fit better on her

Maria headed towards the door until she felt a tug on her shirt, it was Astra "Sorry but, what's happening in this spaceship?"

"One of the main engines broke down so now, we're stuck. We have done everything we could, so now we have to wait for a new command to come in"

Astra let go of Maria's shirt and said, "Thank you."

She knew that grabbing someone's shirt wasn't the most respectful thing to do, but to her, it was important to know why this spaceship was stuck in the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as her domain. Astra put on the shirt shortly after Maria left the room, the oversized tee hung loosely on her shoulders, the feeling felt familiar yet alien, like most things.

Astra briskly paced out of Maria's room, to start her grand search in locating the dining room where her food was said to be. Turn after turn, Astra almost got lost while wandering in the massive labyrinth of a spaceship. But alas, she reached the dining table where a small bottle of water and a small box of a pre-prepared meal were patiently waiting to be eaten by Astra. She sat on one of the stools, then she slowly peeled open the metallic wrap that was written 'FISH AND VEGETABLE' in marker. The fish was steamed and the vegetables had some light sauce on them, it had been so long since Astra had eaten anything, mostly because she didn't feel a need to eat, sleep or drink. She held the utensils that were neatly placed for her and took a bite of fish, the taste was perfect for her standards and she couldn't stop taking in more spoonfuls of fish, she missed the feeling of chewing something in her mouth and she missed the excitement of trying new delicacies. Astra let the fishy flavours settle in her mouth, but nothing could be sweeter than the commander's presence. Astra let her dreams and pleasant taste take her away, a first-class arrival on cloud 9! Completely unbeknownst to the very same commander behind her, Maria crossed her arms, softly chuckling at Astra snickering at herself in the most awkward way possible.

Astra felt slender fingers over her shoulders as Maria leaned closer "Your head far up in the clouds for you not to notice me behind you"

Astra's face flushed pink like the sky on Mars though Maria was oblivious that she was the problem.

Maria felt that Astra's cheeks started to get warmer hence, she decided to make the atmosphere a little less tense for the both of them "How is the food? "

Astra gave a content nod while trying to ignore the fact that her face was only getting hotter and not the other way around.

Maria patted her head, saying "Good to hear" before leaving Astra to her own devices.