I keep finding myself daydreaming about how my first meeting with J will go. Will we hug? Will talking be as easy as emailing is, or will it be really awkward?
Today is the two-month anniversary of the last time I heard from Earth. It’s possible – maybe even likely – that J and I are the only two human beings left in the entire universe. Earth could have blown itself up, destroying every single life form on the planet, and we would have no idea.
Even if we did, there’s nothing that we could do about it. We would just have to … keep going. The idea is almost freeing.
Ever since I lost contact with Earth, J’s messages have become so precious. It started out as a nice bonus on top of Molly’s audio clips, but now we send each other emails daily, and his messages are the highlight of my day. Seeing a new message from him makes my pulse jump in excitement.
At least something good has come from the war. It’s brought us closer together.
DAYS UNTIL THE ETERNITY ARRIVES:
292
From: The Eternity Sent: 08/02/2066
To: The Infinity Received: 09/05/2067
Romy,
What do you do every day on your spaceship? I’ve only been here for seven months and I’ve already done nearly everything from my list of things I’ve wanted to do for years, which is basically:
? Sleep
? Game for 10 hours straight
? Practice juggling
? Manage to deadlift 200 kg, finally
? Run 18 km at a 5-minute pace
The only thing I haven’t managed to do is learn to juggle, which I’ve decided – after a few attempts – was a terrible idea, and something no sane person should ever try. I keep dropping the balls everywhere and setting off the ship’s impact alarms. I think I’m too clumsy for hobbies that involve throwing objects around at high speed.
It’s a shame, because I’ve wanted to learn to juggle since I was in college. Once, I was talking to a girl in my class and I bragged that I could do it. My roommate was listening and he called me on it, and told me to prove it. I ended up giving myself a black eye. Obviously, the girl didn’t give me her number.
I got my revenge on my roommate, though. I used to pull lots of pranks. I was always covering the toilet seat in cling wrap or ordering a dozen pizzas to be delivered to people who hadn’t ordered them. I definitely made my friend regret the juggling incident.
It was funny at the time, but looking back now, it’s just embarrassing. I was awful when I was eighteen.
To get back to the point: I’ve checked everything off my to-do list. Now I’m kind of lying around aimlessly, which is fine, I guess. I wasn’t expecting endless entertainment or anything. I know I’m not going to be waiting for nearly as long as you’ve been. A couple of years is nothing compared with a lifetime!
J
From: The Infinity Sent: 09/05/2067
To: The Eternity Predicted date of receipt: 25/07/2067
Good morning J,
I can’t believe you’re already bored. You’ve got a hard few years ahead of you! Not that I can talk. You’re basically the most interesting thing in my life, especially now you’ve sent me the rest of the Loch & Ness episodes. (Please say you’ve started watching it? Because that series finale! I really need to discuss it with you!) And like I said, you really remind me of Jayden. It’s funny how similar you two are. It’s such a coincidence.
I learnt to juggle when I was ten. It’s manageable if you start with two balls and build up. I should try it again some time so I can give you tips.
I love that you pulled pranks at university. That’s really cute.
My dad always used to tell me stories about his time at university. He was British, and he studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was headhunted by NASA. My mother was American, and he met her in the orientation sessions at NASA. But before they met, when he was studying, I think he had a lot of girlfriends. His stories always had different girls in them.
I think you would’ve liked my dad. I wish you could have met him.
I’d like to have wild stories about my university days to tell my kids, someday. I’d like to have any anecdotes at all, actually. I used to wish that if I ever fell for someone, it would start with a funny little meetcute that would make a nice story.
Obviously that’s not going to happen, seeing as I have literally no dating prospects at all, living in the endless vacuum of space, but I was a delusional kid. I had a lot of imagination.
R
DAYS UNTIL THE ETERNITY ARRIVES:
274
From: The Eternity Sent: 04/04/2066
To: The Infinity Received: 27/05/2067
Romy,
I’m really surprised by how much I miss Earth. I didn’t expect it to be so bad, because when I was on Earth I spent every day desperate to just start the mission already.
I have nothing to be anything but happy about, but I keep getting these horrible pangs in my gut out of nowhere. Every time, it takes me a while to realize that it’s because I’m homesick. I just want to be outside.
I never knew how much I need the sky, or the ground, or wind.
Here are the things I miss most about home, now I’ve been away for nearly ten months:
? Walking aimlessly in any direction I want and never running up against a wall or circling back on myself
? The texture of wood (everything here is made of plastic or metal, or plastic-coated metal)
? Real, paper books, with pages and ink, and spines that you can crack
? Hot baths
? The smell of perfume in a girl’s hair
? Everything about girls in general: their laughs, and smiles, and soft skin, and – OK, I’m officially censoring myself with this one. Sorry.
? Dogs
? Sitting at a bar with condensation from a cold glass dripping over my fingers
? Getting properly, seriously drunk. I’ve had to find all these new ways to relax without beer.
? The sound of rain against the windowpanes in the morning, when you just wake up and know you don’t have to get up for at least an hour
? Birdsong
I can’t stop thinking about taking you to Earth, even though that’s never going to happen. I’d love to watch your face the first time you saw snow, or stroked a kitten. It’s like I’m understanding everything differently now because I’m looking at it from your perspective. I want to see your reaction to everything, from the rare to the commonplace.
I’m really enjoying writing to you, Romy. I’ve never had a penpal before. I had a girlfriend in college who used to make me write her during the holidays – but I think that was just so she could show off to her friends about the letters her boyfriend had sent her. She never wrote back.
J x
From: The Infinity Sent: 27/05/2067
To: The Eternity Predicted date of receipt: 05/08/2067
Attachment: Relaxation-tapes.mp3 [4 MB]
J,
I wish I really could visit Earth with you. That sounds heavenly. Obviously I’ve never been to Earth, so I can’t tell you what I miss, but I can tell you what I want to experience the most:
? Group hugs with friends
? Narrowly avoiding being run over by traffic on a New York street
? Popcorn and Slush Puppies at the cinema
? Candles! What are they about?