Page 54 of Alien Burn
There was an empty field waiting for a message.
She wrote that she would be busy for the next few days. Read it. Deleted it.
Then she wrote something smaller, which somehow took more courage.
I liked talking to you too.
She sent it before she could turn it into an apology.
The answer came while she was still staring at the screen.
I'm glad. How is your hand?
Better. They changed the dressing.
Where are you?
Her stomach tightened.
A second message arrived.
I'm near the medical rooms. I have a few minutes before my transport, if you'd like company.
Sereya let out a breath.
She told him where she was.
When he appeared at the end of the gallery, he had changed into a dark jacket and was looking at the signs above the doors. He passed the turning once, stopped, and came back.
Sereya laughed before he reached her.
“You live here.”
“I stay here. An important distinction.”
“You were going the wrong way.”
“For a very short distance.”
He stopped beside the bench. She moved the comm from the empty space, and he sat.
“Good news?” he asked, looking at her wrist.
“Yes. I don't need to go back unless it gets worse.”
“And the jaw?”
She touched the fading graze. “Apparently my face will survive.”
He smiled. “I'm relieved.”
She looked at him a moment longer than she ought to have.
This was the other voice. She had not imagined it.
“What is it?” he asked.
Sereya folded her hands, careful of the dressing.
