Volume 6: Gamma-11, Chapter 6.11

We traveled for about 30 hours in that desert before night fell, but night on Congoren was different from any other planet I’d been on yet. Technically, Congoren was in a binary star system, although the second star was much farther away and several degrees smaller than the primary star in the center of the solar system. As such, it prevented the planet from experiencing true night, and instead their night seemed more like dusk or dawn, still with plenty of light in the sky.

Thankfully it cooled down quite a bit, but it didn’t get cold like a desert night back on Earth—it was surprisingly pleasant.

Following along with the gojen tradition, when a clan turned in for the night they would loop their traveling line into a big circle with a fire in the center and tents and bedrolls all around it without doubling up on any layers; the point was for everyone in the clan to be able to see each other at night around the fire without anyone obscuring or blocking their view of another person.

We all had a meal together from the supplies we brought from

The Judicator

, some synthesized food that was made to look and taste like regular gojen food to help us get used to it. Honestly it was rather pungent, didn’t look pleasant at all, but was surprisingly tasty; their meats looked like weird yellow jelly livers, and their fruits and vegetables were all some variety of cactus or succulent, and instead of bread they just had dried out chips or crackers, and yet it was all surprisingly hearty.

We all ate in one large group around the fire, as was tradition, sharing shallow stories to keep us entertained—a mess of noise since everyone was using the translators now with that weirdly garbled language, but I was still able to understand it thanks to the sci-fi magic that automatically translated it for me. It was a little jarring at first, hearing words you didn’t really understand but had the right words in your ears constantly, but eventually you got used to it.

Crisson told us we still had about 10 hours of travel left before we’d make it to the central settlement tomorrow, but for now we were clear to take it easy for the night, even though nights weren’t very long on Congoren, just eight hours. The schedule didn’t make any sense to me at all until I found out the gojens didn’t view things in day or night, there was just bright light and gentle light; they were people who moved constantly and only rested when they were weary, so they didn’t have hours of operation or anything. They were active all the time until they needed a break, and they’d take it whenever—day, night, or anywhere in between. It was all quite simple really.

The officers in our party went over some mission parameters with the agents, the researchers went to sleep right after the hard journey, meanwhile the soldiers pulled out some ball and decided to play with it around the fire. They asked me if I wanted to join, but I told them I was going to sleep soon, and I’d play with them another time.

However, instead of getting into bed, I jumped into my cart and deactivated the disguise on Eve’s containment unit.

The moment she could see me clearly and I could see her, Eve’s smile lit up brilliantly, and she started trilling at me a mile a minute in that nonsense language of hers—just like she used to back on Earth in her child-form.

She was still in that weird leathery cocoon that took up most of the containment cell, and she pulled back her arm from earlier so just her head was exposed once more.

Before she could talk my ear off, I held up a hand to stop her chittering.

I pulled my translator back so she could hear me speak Common, “I have no idea what you’re saying, and honestly I don’t even know how much you understand me now, but I have to tell you something.” I said seriously, and Eve calmed down quickly and nodded for me to continue.

I took in a deep breath, then let it out twice as slow, “Ever since you were contained in that horrible inhibitor field, things have been bad between us. Being unable to touch has caused a weird rift, and it’s only gotten worse as things happened while we were on missions and shit.” I started ticking off fingers, “First on Vyrane you were weirdly distant while trying to hold onto your limited void energy, sleeping all the while. Then we had a brief few days where things were okay again, only for you to get stranded out in void space, so forget being distant, we were fully separated for several cycles at that point. Then we were finally reunited, and we had like, what, a couple hours where we could talk normally? A few days maybe? You told me we needed to keep our distance from each other then, and I respected your wishes, but then you continued to withdraw into yourself—forget physical distance, you became mentally and emotionally distant until you turned into this weirdly silent statue, watching me all the while.” I gestured towards her, “And now this? You’ve regressed into some primitive form like you were back on Earth, trilling that musical nonsense language at me.” I sighed and shook my head, then pressed my forehead against the barrier to her cell.

Eve cocked her head to the side while watching me, as though curious what I was saying—like she didn’t fully comprehend it.

I took in another deep breath, then pulled back to look at her, “I know it sounds like I’m unloading on you, and I understand you’ve been going through your own shit, but I just needed to tell you what all I’ve been dealing with too.” I let out one final sigh, ready to make my big reveal, “And yet despite all that shit, despite the isolation and frustration, I want you to know I’ll always love you, and I’m going to stay by your side through all this nonsense and I’ll do whatever I can to get you through it, okay?” My face was a resolute mask of determination then, and I looked deep in Eve’s glowing yellow eyes, “I love you Eve, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Eve’s face still looked like she was confused and didn’t fully understand what I was saying, but it looked like realization flashed behind her eyes briefly—then it was gone. She opened her mouth and just held it like that for a few moments, as though she thought that was all she needed to make words come out.

I quirked up an eyebrow, “Yeah, do you want to say something?” I pressed.

Eve nodded and opened her mouth again, and I could see that flash of understanding pass her eyes again, but this time it seemed to stick around.

“Adam…” She said simply it that elegant, girly voice of hers.

My eyes grew wide, and I couldn’t help as a huge smile spread on my face, “Yeah, yeah that’s right Evie, I’m Adam.”

Eve smiled too, “Adam…Eve…”

My heart felt like it was soaring, and I wondered if it was going to just be a simple matter of teaching Eve to talk again so we could work on getting her back to normal together.

“Right, I’m Adam and you’re Eve—

my

Eve.” I insisted.

Eve nodded again, “Eve love Adam.” She said as though it was an absolute fact.

It was wild how such simple language could make me feel so good; we’d spent hours whispering sweet nothings to each other way back when, and yet those three broken words barely strung together sounded like music to my ears.

I nodded along, “I know you do, and I love you.” I held my free hand up on the barrier, “Talk to me more—tell me what I have to do to help restore you.”

Eve shook her head slowly, “No, Adam…”

I cocked my head to the side, and I felt my newfound fire deflate a little, “No? No what? I don’t understand.”

“Eve love Adam, Adam love Eve.” She insisted.

I was getting a little frustrated then, wishing I could make more sense of what she was trying to convey, “I know, we love each other, so what can we do so we can be together again—get you back to normal?”

Eve sighed a trilled a little grumble of frustration, “No, not together…”

My heart fully dropped then, feeling like it was plunged into ice water, “What do you mean not together?”

Part of Eve’s leathery cocoon opened so she could release her arm, and she gestured to herself, “Eve not here…”

I was more than confused then—nonsense words speaking in riddles or some shit.

“What do you mean you’re not here? You’re right there in front of me.” I said.

Eve shook her head again, then pointed to herself, “Eve not here.” She pointed towards me—over my heart, “Eve there.”

Eve was in my heart? Was she speaking metaphorically—trying to be romantic, like she belonged in my heart or some shit?

I sighed then, “Eve, what the hell are you talking about?” I pressed.

Eve growled in frustration, then started trilling angrily at me.

“Eve there! Eve there!” She insisted.

I figured I wasn’t going to get much more out of her tonight, so I would take the few words I got out of her now as a small victory and hopefully get her to talk more tomorrow, “Right right, you’re there in my heart.” I nodded along.

Eve seemed irritated I was being so dismissive, and she continued to trill at me in an angry musical tone. She pulled her hand back inside her cocoon and continued grumbling to herself and seemed to sink down into the cocoon more, looking almost like she was pulling some blankets tighter around her to sulk.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute and ridiculous she was being, “I still have no idea what you’re saying, but I love you anyways.”

Eve’s trilling paused as she hissed at me, then looked away in an angry huff, “Eve loves Adam…” She grumbled, then refused to look at me anymore—as though upset with me.

I had no idea what was going on, but at least Eve was talking to me a little bit now.

I decided I really was going to turn in for the night then, and rather than place my bedroll on the ground in the ring with all the others, I set it up in the cart so I was next to Eve’s containment unit.

Obviously I didn’t understand what Eve was trying to say—if she was really trying to say anything rather than just string a few familiar words together. But forgetting the little frustration I felt in failing to communicate properly with her, I had another realization then.

I made a vow to Eve I wouldn’t leave her side, and I’d already promised myself I would keep fighting for Eve so we’d have our forever together, and yet I had to wonder

why

I was so insistent on fighting for Eve—so desperate to work through these issues so we could be together again.

Almana back on Vyrane said she pitied me, that Eve and I didn’t have a real relationship—that it wasn’t love that bound us together.

Honestly, maybe I had to accept it wasn’t love—maybe it was something I couldn’t comprehend, something ethereal or even primordial. I’d thought before whatever bound Eve and I together might be more on the Predazoan side of things rather than what human couples would share—something immortal, transcending time and space and all that nonsense.

In talking with Eve now—or not talking, or at least not understanding, I still felt a fiery love in my heart for her that burned in my core.

Normal couples spent time together, they would talk and touch and fall in love. But here I was unable to talk or touch my Eve, and yet my love for her was stronger than ever—fiercely protective in a way I hadn’t felt since our time on Earth when Eve seemed more vulnerable.

The love I felt for Eve was beyond all reasoning and it honestly didn’t make any sense, and I should probably be feeling bad or neglected now, instead I felt a deep, fiery passion burning within me to keep protecting what we had.

I loved Eve in my soul to the point it defied all logic and reason.

Sure I was still frustrated with how we’d been separated, and yeah it sucked we couldn’t properly communicate, but Eve had blessed me with a bond that went beyond love—went beyond mortal comprehension, and it healed me of all my previous doubts, and I knew in that moment I was happy just to be there with my Eve, even if we couldn’t speak to each other.

I hoped one day I would be able to understand this bond we shared, to be able to give it a proper name since love wasn’t enough to describe it, but for now I was happy to feel the burning in my soul that gave my life its purpose, that filled me with a reason to wake up in the morning, all for the hope to see Eve smile one more time.

None of it made any sense, but I felt like maybe I did understand a little of what she was saying then; Eve was inside me, in my heart and in my soul, and no matter what might happen between us, no matter what forces would oppose us, nothing and nobody could ever weaken our bond, and I knew what I felt for Eve would only continue to grow, and I was sure it would last for all eternity.