I finally decided to wander back home. I was purely exhausted from all the walking I had done through the city for the past day. I needed rest, recuperation, and rejuvenation. The three R’s that I tried to live by in order to improve my quality of life. It was easy for me to remember that way. I hoped Cindy would be willing to forgive me and hear me out for leaving her alone once again.

When I entered the palace doors, all was quiet, and there were no lights on. I decided not to disturb Cindy if she had already fallen asleep, so I stayed downstairs in one of the guest suites. My head hit the pillow and I zonked out, fully clothed.

I woke up sometime in the early morning because the sun was peeking through the shut drapes on the windows. I massaged my throbbing head and rubbed my tired eyes. I walked upstairs to see if Cindy was still asleep. When I got to my bedroom, panic set in as I noticed that she was not in the room, and the sheets did not look slept in. I called out her name, running from room to room. I came up empty everywhere I went.

Before I become too frantic, I thought that she might just be with Drozalia or perhaps wandering the palace grounds. She liked to explore and be outdoors, it wasn’t too farfetched to believe.

I ran back upstairs just in case she had left any clues behind for me. I had a gut feeling gnawing at me that I needed to go back in the bedroom one more time before I went outside of the palace walls to extend my search. A destructive worry was ripping me apart as I began to notice none of her belongings were in the room anymore. I couldn’t find her suitcase either.

My eyes searched around and then I saw something, an envelope on the nightstand. My feet felt like lead balloons and my throat was dry as I walked slowly over and sat on the edge of the bed. I tore open the envelope frantically and scanned each word, each line of Cindy’s ink tore at my soul. She was leaving, and I had ruined everything.

At the end of the letter, she had let me know she was going to find a hotel in the city to stay in overnight before she decided how to leave the planet. Without thinking, I raced downstairs and out the door and got into my car. My wheels spun and I left the palace in a wake of dust as I sped off toward the center of the city. I was bound and determined to find Cindy.

Every fiber of my body was ready to convince her to stay with me. I had no idea why Drozalia had placed those lies in Cindy’s mind and I was raging mad. I didn’t have time to deal with Drozalia at the moment though. Finding Cindy and telling her the truth was my first mission. I would confront Drozalia only after I had fixed this current issue. I only wished she hadn’t meddled in business she had no reason tampering with.

After an extended search, fate brought me to Cindy. I caught a glimpse of her having coffee outside of a quaint little shop that served various blends of drinks and scone type desserts. I approached her carefully, as not to make her skittish and run away from me.

“Cindy,” I went up to her with my arms raised, letting her know by my gesture that I meant no harm to her and that I only wanted to talk. “I have an idea. Please go back to the island with me. I promise I will explain everything once we are there.” I patted myself down so that she could see I had no weapons.

She looked at me warily but I could see a glimmer in her eye that led me to believe she was willing to break down her barriers and follow me. I had kept the island without destroying it because that is where I had intended to marry her before everything went wrong.

“Just hear me out,” I pleaded with my arms still raised slightly. I stood next to her but didn’t attempt to sit down just yet. “We had a great time on the island; you felt a solace and peacefulness there. If you allow me to bring you back to where you feel most comfortable on Cardalph, I can explain everything. Drozalia has been lying to you.” At that statement, a little glimpse of recognition dawned on Cindy’s face. My heart leaped in my chest.

“Okay, I will go back to the island with you to give you a chance to explain, but only under one condition. If I still want to go home after we discuss our issues, then you have to let me.” She looked at me with a hard expression, but I could still see the soft and melty side of her escaping through the shadows.

“Yes, of course, you have my word. Thank you so much for allowing me a second chance.” I leaned in to hug her but she remained stiff and didn’t hug me back. Even still, I had a hard time containing my excitement that I had found her against all the odds stacked against us.

* * *

Later that evening, we arrived at the island but I couldn’t help but feel the wedge of distance between us. I tried to assist Cindy from out of the shuttle, but she wouldn’t take my hand and tried to be independent as we walked toward the same beach house where we had first met and connected.

I refused to release the glimmer of hope I held, that she would come around and that we would be able to rekindle that first spark we had for one another. “Cindy, let me show you something,” I took her hand and to my surprise, she allowed me to walk her out to the back deck.

The moon and the stars shined brightly and gave us a spectacular view of the open universe. I wanted Cindy to understand how lucky we were to have found each other across the galaxy. It wasn’t every day that species from different planets were able to come together and find love.

I sat down on one of my porch swings. “Please sit. Join me out here. I have so much to show you and explain if you are willing to give me the chance.”

“I’m here aren’t I?” Cindy’s voice was curt, but she sat down beside me regardless of how she felt emotionally toward me at the moment. I was prepared and determined to change her mind tonight.

I whipped out a transceiver that I had been holding in my pocket. It was a handheld device my father had used to keep tabs on the other planets as well as to document events that happened on them. A few months before he died, he had given me the password.

In retrospect, I thought that he must have expected the battle with the Daklins would claim his life at some point. I hated that ominous feeling that the same fate might swallow me as well one day, so I wanted to live life to the fullest and count each breath I took as a blessing. Cindy was the best place to start fresh for me. Even though I was gaining more support and respect with the people on Cardalph, I still had a long way to go in reshaping my image.

I handed Cindy the device. “This is a transceiver.” She took it from me, feeling it’s smooth round surface. It was the same shape as a baseball, only slightly larger. It was a dark metallic color, and in the center was a screen.

Cindy looked up at me, curiously. “What’s a transceiver?” She glanced back down at the screen and touched it lightly.

“This is a device that my father used to record life on other planets. It connects to a base and a satellite back at the palace.” I gave her a shy smile, hoping this would be a good way to engage her into opening back up to me.

“What’s the little screen for?” She began to rock us back and forth on the swing. I turned the screen on, and it started to glow a bright blue color, bringing more light to the dark porch.

“Let me show you how it works.” I carefully took the transceiver back from her and hit play right in the place I had wanted the recording to show.

“That looks like Earth!” Cindy exclaimed and pointed to the screen.

“Yes, it is Earth. It was a riot in Los Angeles. People there were disgruntled over taxes that the mayor had spiked. This was probably forty years ago.”

Cindy questioned me. “I don’t understand. Why do you have a video of something that happened so long ago and not on Cardalph?”

“Because I wanted to show you what happens next.” I pointed to the left side of the screen. “You see that man? That was my father’s best friend. He went to Earth and helped to stop the riot before it got out of control.”

“Oh, because you guys are able to shift yourselves to appear like another species,” Cindy whispered, the light bulb dawning in her mind.

“Exactly,” I whispered back, thankful that she was not only willing to listen but to also understand.

I showed her how people on Earth have not only tried to destroy one another but their own planet with pollution and litter. I showed her dozens of examples of how the people of Cardalph took care of the planet they lived on and tried to do the best they could to keep peace and eliminate threats within the galaxy.

“Humans have no idea how good they have it, and Cardalph is part of that reason.” I nodded at her and shrugged humbly.

Cindy looked up at me as if she were pondering a thought on the edge of her mind.

“You know, I have the best example of how humans are cruel.” She took the transceiver back from me and stared at it.

“What’s that, sweetie?” I took a strand of her brown hair off her face and waited for her to explain.

“My own family turned their back on me. They wouldn’t take me in; they refused to help me in my darkest hour.” She laughed mockingly. “My parents even went as far as to tell me I was the reason that it didn’t work out with Todd. They actually told me it was my fault.” At this statement, she broke. Heavy tears flooded and poured from her eyes, and I could see the weight of the world she had been carrying reflected in them.

I pulled her close to me, burrowed her into my arm where she shook with her sobs. I held her there until she finally had exhausted all the tears she had left. She pulled up and looked at me with wet eyelashes and sad eyes. “I’ve been through a lot. I don’t want to take any chances to screw my life up anymore. I have nowhere else to go, nowhere else to turn to. You’re my last chance.”

“You can trust me, Cindy. Your life will be magical if you just allow me to show you and prove it to you. I’m already working overtime trying to do the same thing for the people of my planet.

“There’s just one thing I really want from you.” Cindy sat up straight and looked me in the eyes.

“What’s that?” I took her hand and stroked it with my thumb.

“I want to see the true Togtulir. I want to see what you really look like. Don’t hide from me anymore, and I promise I won’t hide from you either. If this relationship is going to work, it needs to be free of judgment, and it starts now.”