Victory Treasures

The light shone green and purple, and then red, pouring in through the windows. This was a big day and it was time for me to get up. Although we prepared the town square for the parade, there were still some last-minute things to take care of. Breathless, within moments I was running out to the street.

Mii-4 handed me some garlands as soon as she saw me. "You're late."

"Is he here yet?"

"No," she said slyly. "But he's been talking about you, from what I hear."

All three of my cheeks were flushed. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel when I'd see him later, as I anticipated I surely would. I haven't been this excited in a long time, nor this nervous. Our warriors were coming back after a valiant battle with Earth. We've won the war, and all of 7A32-Axia was preparing to give them a hero's welcome. The last time I saw him, he had promised me we'd go somewhere together. The next day, 807 hours later, he was drafted into the fight.

The city was jubilant, decorated in all kinds of colors. As more of us gathered outside, the parade began just in time for sunset. Our warriors carried with them things they brought back from Earth as we cried out their names. Still breathless.

Turns out our warriors brought a lot back-- much more than I anticipated. For years we secretly studied the Earth, many decades even. Some of our people went there and brought back the data once they'd absorbed its many languages. We don't have as much of a multitude of languages here on 7A32-Axia, but we do have tight networks and goals that brought us to this very moment. We've been on the ascendant for centuries, always looking to the stars. For so long, they didn't know about us, and we liked it that way.

And there he was, twilight shining on him with delicate finesse. All of his arms were out of his uniform, and I could spot him smiling as he looked around from his place on the float. We remained on the ground, throwing garlands at our heroes. I remained on the ground, hoping he'd see me.

He didn't. At least not yet. But later in the night, I felt a tug on my arm.

"Yovexia."

I turned around, my breath escaping me-- barely holding on to itself. "It's you."

"Come with me tonight. I have so much to share with you."

"You're not staying at the Leaders' Palace tonight?"

He smiled, that same smile I missed for so long. "Not if I have the pleasure of dining you."

He proceeded to take me to the Orbiter, a new restaurant that was built to celebrate this most recent victory. Once we had our seats, one of the aluminum wheels at the front brought us some glasses and set aside plates for us while we decided what we'd have.

He pulled out a bag. "Few things I want to show you," he smiled, presumably some of his victory treasures. The first thing out was some long cord, it looked a little primitive. ("Something called leather," he pointed out.) Next up was a vessel, some bottle that was dark on its coating.

"Merlot," he told me. He poured a glass for me, a beautiful dark red liquid. I've seen this before, but I've never had it. Apparently, it's a celebratory drink, something the Earthlings have had a lot when they're merry. I put my nose to the glass, a flurry of aroma rising. "Have it, it's actually quite fun."

We laughed, and he held my hand. He showed me how he shifted to looking like the Earthlings, before switching back to his normal self again. While he was in his brief metamorphosis before me, it was strange seeing his alter ego-- two arms at the sides of his chest, some bushy hair at the top of his head, still the same beautiful smile.

The others surrounding us would salute sometimes as they passed by, seeing some of his battle scars and the petals of the garlands around his chest. He took out some other items from the bag, including some paper leaflets and what looked like a still photo of some sort.

"Is this... is this you?" I asked, seeing his exact Earthling manifestation in the photo. Next to him was another Earthling, someone with longer hair coming from the head.

"Yes," he said, grabbing the photo and glancing at it wistfully before stashing it away.

"Who was the other Earthling in the photo? It looked beautiful."

"She was nobody."

"She?" I asked. "Who was she?"

He paused for a couple of beats, and exhaled. "I was married to her, Yovexia." Sensing the stillness in my cheeks, he continued. "I was gone for a long time. You have no idea what we went through."

We had learned in school about the Earthling custom of marriage. It was similar to our couple pairings here, and in many ways regarded as sacred.

"You were married to her...?"

"Yes." He poured himself another glass of this Merlot, and drank it quickly before exhaling again. "They normally say to savor the aroma of this stuff. Sip it slowly. Don't do what I did."

"Why did you get married?"

"Yovexia, I thought about you that whole time. I couldn't wait to come back and see you. You don't want to know the things that we saw."

I stared at the empty plates before us, as we hadn't received our meals yet. There was but a narrow path ahead, as I was feeling a little sorrow.

I looked at this man who I thought I knew, but in the end I was foolish. He was just like the rest of them. I didn't really know him like I thought I did. All those nights I thought about him pulled away for the battle just as we declared a few things to each other, I was pining for someone I hadn't even had dinner with yet. He's changed, sure. But I felt so tiny for assuming he wouldn't. It had been a long time, after all.

Some of the petals from his garland began falling off, slowly reaching the floor.

"Why did you want to see me tonight?"

He only looked at me in response, and held out his hand. I placed one of mine in his, though I hesitated.

There was a vortex coming up just ahead, one of our monthly swirls of dust and gases in accordance with one of our moons' orbits. The hum and celebratory atmosphere of the town was much quieter now as we slipped further into the night. Petals on the ground, windows starting to be shut around every building.

"I didn't love her, if that makes you feel better."

"In a weird way, that doesn't make me feel better."

Just at that moment, one of the other warriors walked in the Orbiter. Several others followed behind him, and the guests left at the restaurant all stood up in unison and shouted in praise. They spotted the man sitting across from me, and grabbed him in jubilation.

"You've gotta come with us! The night is just beginning," they begged, not noticing me for a few moments later. "Ah, hello," two of them nodded at me.

"What's going on boys?" he asked them.

"Party at the Leaders' Palace. They're waiting for you, they're waiting for all of us, actually."

One of the others chimed in. "Turns out there's some more treasures involved."

My date turned to me, trying to figure out what I was thinking. "Would you like to come with us Yovexia?"

"I think I'm okay," I said. "You should go, you still have the Warriors' Welcome waiting for you there."

We got in his pod for him to take me home, before he headed off to regroup with his crew at the Palace. Lot of thoughts in my head. He tried to reassure me that he will make it up to me in a few days, as he kissed my hand goodbye. I went back by the window where I started earlier, chasing the light of the vortex. I thought about how breathless I was earlier, and how tonight, I know so much and yet so little. The next morning, out in the distance, I was one of the members in charge of cleaning up the mess we decorated. News in the town emerged of the long, raucous night at the Palace on the hill as the stars looked on, both silent and loud.

I tried to remember the little details of the picture that he took with the Earthling girl. Though it was no longer in front of me and I only saw it for a few seconds before he took it away, I remember the relative beauty of the Earthling. He had one of his arms around her, both of them smiling. There was a bottle on a table in front of them. It looked an awful lot like the dark bottle of Merlot he brought back in his little war chest of a bag.

Later that evening after cleaning up sections of the streets, I went back inside to my little window. Peering out, I saw his pod up ahead, and watched it stop by my door.

It was him.

"Have you ever seen yourself as an Earthling before?"

"No," I exclaimed. "I've never had reason to. I didn't go there, like you did."

"I can make you one. No one has to see, it can just be between us."

He shifted me and gasped. "Just like I wanted," he said, in amazement. I ran to my reflection--I looked like the girl in the photo. I felt my face and looked down all around me, making sure it was me all the way to the floor. At first I was a little horrified, but intrigued.

Quickly turning behind me, I saw he shifted himself too... as he leaned in for a kiss.