Sunrise

When I woke up, the weather had finally calmed down. While there were still some dark clouds overhead, the rain had stopped. Now, the few remaining drops of dew and rain glittered with the golden light of sunrise. I stretched, and got up.

The air was slightly chilly, just enough to wake me up while I could still stay comfortable. Emelyse was already up, curled up on a corner of the bed, watching her device. When she noticed me watching her, she looked up at me.

"Good morning, Toma."

"Morning, Em." I stretched. "Should I make some coffee?"

"That sounds good."

She went back to her little device, reading numbers and signs I couldn't interpret. I shook my head, and got to work.

When the sweet aroma of coffee finally seeped through the air, I took another look outside.

The power lines were intact, just like Lottie. And according to the route, we would get to our destination sometime today. For a moment, I just mentally checked that off my list, before I stopped.

I was so close to the end. We had managed to get through everything together: Emelyse, Lottie, and me. And now that poor pod would be recycled?

There was a strange sadness inside of me. I didn't want to let go of Lottie. But this was why I was here, right? The journey didn't make sense if I didn't get rid of Lottie. I wouldn't even be able to stem the portal cost for such a large vehicle. If I wanted to keep her, I would have to make that trip back, just as long as it took for me to get here.

No. I couldn't turn back. But that didn't help with the sadness, either.

"Toma? Are you ready?"

"Hn?"

I turned around. Em was already sitting at our little kitchen corner, waiting for me. I smiled at her. "How about we eat outside? It looks like the weather is perfect."

"That sounds like a reasonable choice." She nodded, and started collecting the hover cushions.

I quickly, but gently, stopped the pod before helping her.

The air outside was fresh and rich, with the smell of wet soil and tree sap. Somewhere, birds sang their song, and insects danced through the air. A few robots were recharging in a cluster on a tree. It calmed me down, more than anything else on this day.

"Here you go."

Em gave me my big mug, filled to the brim with sweet, creamy coffee, and I inhaled the aroma. That alone made me wake up more, and helped me appreciate everything around me.

"It's nice, isn't it," I mused.

"What I've seen of Terra is nice, I have to agree."

I looked up at the sky. Now it was drenched in a deep, saturated blue, contrasting the fluffy clouds.

"So, what will you do once we're there?"

"They will find me."

"Huh."

So I would lose not only Lottie, but Em as well. That stung even more. While the last few days with her felt like an eternity, it was also much too short - there was still so much I wanted to know, wanted to learn, wanted to experience with her. Was this friendship doomed to fail?

Just for a moment, I felt the urge to push her away. Hurt her before she could hurt me. I was good at getting angry. But I inhaled deeply, sipped my coffee, and wrestled down that feeling.

"I will miss you," I said instead.

"But why?" She tilted her head. "We can still talk."

"We can? But you're royalty, right? Don't you have-"

"Yes." She interrupted me with a gentle smile on her face. "But remember, I am here for research purposes, and to strengthen Kanda's bonds with Terra. I think having a Terran friend is one of the strongest bonds I'll be able to forge."

"Right." I smiled at her. "I'm glad I can call you my friend."

"I understand, for I feel the same." She smiled back, and sipped her coffee.

For a moment, there was a pleasant silence between us, where we simply enjoyed each other's company, and our breakfast. Everything had calmed down, and it felt great to savor just how far we had come.

There was so much we had done. So many things that I had never tried before in my life. So many people, experiences, food. Thinking back to it, the holo experiences just didn't hold up to these new memories. Maybe they would fade with time, but right now, I was just so glad to have made them.

I closed my eyes, and just thought back on the last few days. I hadn't been on my journey for that long, and yet, every day was filled with heaps of memories - of the people I met, of the food I tasted, of the cities and bots I saw. What felt like a horrible, slow task before I started my journey had turned into an adventure that was over far too soon.

I would never be able to repeat this. There, the sadness washed over me again, making it difficult to savor my coffee. While I wasn't going to be able to repeat this journey, there were many others I could go on. Maybe I could ask my friends for the next time - plan with them, instead of against them. Maybe Em could visit me. Maybe I could learn to travel on my own.

Whatever the future had in store for me, I was at a point now where I was filled with hope, instead of dread, when I looked toward that light. I could do it. I would find my happiness, even if I had to leave all of this behind.

"And I'm glad for you, Lottie," I mumbled.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Toma!"

"You're too loud." I smiled at the horrible, orange pod.

I would miss it. More than I ever thought I would. Just thinking about it left a hole in my chest.