Chapter 23

We were walking to the airlock, discussing the final details of our mission, when Eva stopped and looked at me.

“Be careful, Rea”, she said softly.

“It will be fine”, I reassured her.

She tried to smile, and her hand brushed against mine for a moment.

“Let’s go.”

We walked into the airlock and put on our suits.

“I could repaint your nails if you want,when we are back”, she said without looking at me.

I was surprised by her thought process. I expected her to be going through the pre-flight checklists in her mind right now, not thinking about such unrelated things. According to my database, though, it was a pretty common reaction for humans exposed to stress. My quick analysis of her heartbeat confirmed it. I smiled and put my hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Eva. We will be fine. You landed the shuttle on Pluto. A deep space flight is much easier than that.”

She blushed, and I noticed a slight increase in her heartbeat. I gently squeezed her shoulder, trying to make her feel safe and relaxed.

“You can do it.”

She looked away and, after cross-checking all the systems, we walked into the shuttle. I sat down, and together we went through the pre-flight checklists. She seemed a bit nervous and glanced at me from time to time, but I didn't worry too much about it. Most of the flight would be flown by the autopilot, so her nervousness would have a minimal impact on our mission, and in the worst-case scenario, I could take over the flying and execute the docking procedures.

We launched without any issues, but despite my initial assessment, it didn’t put Eva at ease as I had expected it would. Still, in the 22-hour flight that lay ahead of us, she would relax, I thought. We had a 97% chance of arriving at the meeting point without an issue. I would stay in contact with the station, and Amin would keep me updated on the position.

“Get some rest, I will wake you up when our scanners detect them.”

She shook her head and chuckled,

“I am not like you, I cannot just switch off my systems.”

We sat in silence and watched the dark, empty space through the window. It was unusual for us not to have anything to speak about, but according to my system, it was Eva’s stress that caused her to be like this. With an 87% chance to be correct, I didn’t count it as an anomaly, and I relaxed my systems.

Lost in the void of space

between the fading stars

I whispered the words that suddenly flooded my systems. They were similar to those I had learned listening to the old Persian poems Amin sang, but these words were mine. So, is this how I feel?

But why?

I tried to understand the meaning of those words, but my systems couldn’t deliver any definitive answer. As much as I was disappointed by this fact, it also made me happy. I couldn’t understand the meaning of the poems written by Nizami or Saadi either, yet they stirred something in me in the same way as these words did. I wondered if I would be able to finish my poem and get some insights into why I felt like this.

“What are you thinking about?” Eva asked, looking at me.

For a few moments, I didn't know how to answer and stayed silent. My thoughts were so unorganised and different from what I normally thought when she asked me that question.

“Persian poetry”, I said finally, when my systems managed to categorise all my thoughts under one label.

“Really?”

She looked surprised, and I nodded.

“So this is what you do with Amin. I always wondered what you two do in the shuttle.”

She looked down.

“I could ask him if you can come and listen.”

“No, I don’t understand a word”, she smiled and took a deep breath, and I could see how her body relaxed in the seat.

“I could translate some for you, they are really beautiful.”

“Sure”, she nodded. “We have time.”

“19 hours”.

I smiled and tried to decide which poem I should choose first. I considered starting with Rumi, assuming she would at least be slightly familiar with him, but as I looked at the soft smile that appeared on her face, I whispered the words that flooded my systems.

Lost in the void of space

between the fading stars

That shone so brightly

when your smile lightened the sky