Heart racing

Wednesday 2nd of May 3021

Today was Nyco’s last check-up to see how his back was doing. Nyco and the doctor called Amanda had gotten close to each other. Nyco was glad she was his doctor, she was really friendly and he liked hearing stories from Juliet and sharing his own.

Amanda was rubbing lotion on his back as Nyco ended one of his stories.

-... that was the first time I ever saw her angry. Emma and I were fighting… gosh… I can’t even remember why we were fighting. Anyway, the two of us were pulling each other's hair when Julie came stomping into the living room and grabbed us both by the ear. I thought she was going to pull it off, honestly. After that, Emma and I made a pact to never fight in front of her. If we got mad at each other we just went outside. The thing is that by the time we left the house we weren’t mad at each other. Hahahaha-, Nyco laughed remembering that story.

-Oh, she could stop a fight all right. At the Planet-Gazer’s headquarters nobody wanted to make her angry because first of all: she was too nice and it made you feel bad. And second of all: You did not want her angry, you really didn’t-, Amanda continued lowering Nyco’s shirt as she had finished putting the lotion.

-Yeah. She really had that contrast-, he smiled. The boy then thought that Emma probably got the trait of grabbing his ear from Julie. His smile quickly faded after remembering how he had hurt Emma.

-Well, all done. You are free to go. I’m afraid you got another scar for your collection.

-Hahaha, that’s ok-, the boy laughed. -I just hope I get another mission soon-.

Nyco wanted to leave Earth as soon as possible. Everything reminded him of Emma. Plus, Yve would tell Emma eventually that he was there. His friend texted him daily asking him if he had called Emma already. Nyco thanked his healing capabilities as Yve wasn’t expecting for him to heal so fast. She still thought he would stay longer at the hospital.

-Eager for another mission I see… Well, I did hear about one… But I’m not sure that I should tell you-, Amanda said hesitantly.

-What? What mission?-, asked Nyco with curiosity.

-I don’t know…

-Come ooon. I’m a Planet-Gazer. If I don’t go on missions why did I even train for years?

-... It’s a mission to go to the planet Nane Sarma… That’s…

-The planet where Julie died…-, finished Nyco.

It was a very dangerous planet. The frozen planet was the grave to many explorers. A normal person would try and avoid that godforsaken planet. But Nyco saw it as an opportunity to find Juliet’s body and finally bring it back. He at least had to try. For Juliet, for him… and especially for Emma.

-It’s very dangerous. I don’t think you…

-I’ll go. Please tell me how I can enlist-, the boy said.

The mission started the 10th of that same month. Nyco talked to Alan and begged him to help him go. He needed it. He still felt a bit of resentment towards Juliet for having kept his secret all those years. But that wasn’t important right then. The fact was that Juliet had cared for him even if for reasons he didn’t like. He owed it to her to let her body rest in peace where it belonged, in the Planet-Gazer’s cemetery where Emma could go and visit her.

Alan called him a few hours later and told him that they had accepted his application on one condition, Alan would also have to go and supervise him.

Apparently they were low on people volunteering and they really needed every voluntary possible.

When Silvy went to the hospital to pick him up, he told her about the mission. Nyco knew that Juliet was one of her mothers so he felt obliged to tell her. The Star-finder felt excited by the idea and shared Nyco’s plan of searching for the body. They would not mention it to anybody else just in case they had issues with their plan.

Nyco spent all day thinking that, as so many people had died on that frozen planet, he could definitely be the next one. It didn’t scare him as much as he thought it would, he was more focused on finding the body than thinking of any other possible outcome. But it did bother him that he may never see Emma again. That thing really scared him. Nyco had lived all his life believing in the afterlife but, what if he was wrong? What if he never saw Emma again?

He could not leave this life without talking to her one last time.

Emma was at home watching the TV. She had connected the 5-S to the screen and was rewatching one of her favorite experiences. It was the time Nyco and her went dancing on the moon. That recording had it all. The perfect song in the background, the fantastic view of Earth and the stars, Nyco dancing around on the Moon with her… It was perfect.

Watching those videos always gave her a bittersweet feeling. She loved seeing them but they obviously made her miss Nyco even more. She had to believe she would see him again, life just couldn’t be so cruel to keep them apart. Could it?

She felt the E-C buzzing on top of the sofa. Emma grabbed it without paying much attention to it. But when she saw his name, her eyes widened.

“Nyco! Nyco just texted me?!!”-, she heard herself scream.

-Hi. Do you still use the same portal that I have saved in my Warpy? Can I come over?-, said Nyco’s text. Emma could not believe it. He wanted to see her in that instant.

-Yes. I’m home right now-, she wrote back.

Emma had to take deep breaths in order to calm herself. She would finally see him after so many years. She had to read the message 4 times in order to believe it.

Five minutes later, her portal lit up. The boy she loved appeared right in front of her. She was speechless.

Nyco looked at Emma and felt his heart racing. She was as beautiful as he remembered.

-... Hi…-, the boy said, awkwardly.