starpeople

8- Pink Dinner

James poured some water he has stashed away into a handmade stone bowl and boiled something in it, it almost looked like a frog.

When he handed me a bowl of boiled frog things I tried not to grimace at the smell. James shrugged at the look on my face and downed a few, barely chewing. The sound they made when he crunched his teeth down was far from appetizing. 

I looked at the small pink froggie thing and slowly put it into my mouth. It tasted slimy and there's no other way to put this- absolutely awful. It was bitter like a lemon and my face contorted in pain with the taste. I was so hungry that I downed the entire bowl. Food, no matter how awful, was still food.

"Aren't colored frogs poisonous?" I exclaimed suddenly.

"Yes," he laughed, "good thing these aren't frogs."

I sighed and tried to ignore the wave of nausea that washed over me.   

When the water cooled James poured it into two more bowls and gestured for me to drink up. "It's best not to waste," he smiled.

Again, I tried not to grimace and failed. The water tasted more like slime than the earth's water.

***

I lay in James' bed and wondered what exactly he was thinking. Did he worry about the deadly animals living right outside his door? It was probably normal for him by now, he didn't ever seem to be afraid.

I thought of Alexander and his haste to explore the planet. It was like transporting back in time to the Jurassic period being on Exion. There were giant creatures waiting to eat you and no civilization whatsoever. There might have been tribes of the legendary 'natives' that James kept talking about. 

"Stop thinking about what's out there and go to sleep," James mumbled.

"I can't," I answered softly.

He turned and looked at me, I could just barely see the outline of his head in the light from the moons peaking out in between the woven grass. His brown eyes glistened slightly as he spoke, "What good will it do worrying about the things that live outside? You may aswell worry about the things living on the next planet over."

I sighed because of how right he was. I wished that I could ignore the things outside, but I naturally worried about everything. It had kept me alive so far, I'd stayed behind beside the ship while Alexander left his worries behind and ran to the ocean.

"I wish I could turn off my worries like you do," I muttered.

"I don't turn off my worries," he smiled, "I just learn to know what's worth worrying about."

I shook my head. How was that possible? How could anyone tell the difference? I worried about everything no matter what it was.

He touched my hand softly beneath the blanket, the first time we'd touched since he saved me from the pink beach. "You'll learn." It was like he'd read my mind.   

"Like you?" I was crying, why did I always cry? 

"Not like me Lara, I hope no one will ever have to be like me."

"You're okay for a hermit," I laughed. He let out and long breath and relaxed into the blanket. His hand was still on mine so I clutched it harder. 

He looked over at me slowly and I saw the tears on his face shine as he moved. 

"James?" He let out a sob, a sob that represented six years of lonely hope. Six years of never seeing another human face.

"It's awful," he cried.

I pulled him into my arms and held him while he was cried, and he held me back because we were the only two people on the planet. We literally only had each other, two perfect strangers forced together by the same awful event.

"You're not alone anymore," I whispered. I hoped that would be true.