Worlds Apart

It was slow going towards the top, but when I reached it, I was able to look into another valley very similar to the one that I had just left. However, it was not that which caught my eye. No, in the sky was a faint white crescent, barely visible against the deep blue. The sight of it caused me to weep, half in anger, half in sorrow. Somewhere on it was my wife, dead yet not dead, alive yet not alive.

The pain within me was so great that I fell to my knees. It was doing me no good, but I remained there staring at the crescent. Then, I raised my fist in a challenge.

"I swear that I will reach you and rescue Maria if it is the last thing that I ever do. And God help you if she is dead." Then I collapsed on the ground.

One month later. Life is harsh. The lifeboat has only limited supplies so I have to forage far and wide for food. However, whenever the moon rises then I stop and go to the top of a hill and sit and wait. If he is around, then Arnie joins me and places one metallic appendage on my shoulder, but I really don’t really notice it. Instead, my gaze is drawn to the light above me circling the heavens.

My vigil continues as long as it majestically traces a path across the sky before setting. Somewhere on its surface is Maria. Perhaps, her pod is lying in state on a crater-studded plain. On the other hand, it could be sheltered within a tomb-like valley. It doesn’t really matter. Where ever it is there too is my heart, my soul, my all.

A rescue ship will come, may be today, maybe not for years. Nevertheless, one will come and then we two will be together again. Until then, she is up there. I am down here. Worlds apart.