The oddity, seeming to have settled down a bit, nodded at that. “My name is Tow… from the lineage of Pon. You can call me Tow, if you like.”
Cuddy stared at Tow for a long time. First of all, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure that what he was seeing was real. Second, how could a ghost even speak to him? He said, “I didn’t think ghosts could talk.”
Tow pondered that one over. “I am not a ghost, Cuddy.”
“Are you a person… like me?”
Tow shook his head no.
“Where are you from?”
Tow seemed to find that funny, because he smiled then looked upward, pointing to the sky.
Cuddy said, “An alien? Are you funnin’ with me… because of my disability? My accident?”
“No Cuddy, I would not do that.”
“Can I take you to meet my Momma? She’s not far…”
“No, Cuddy. I do not want to be discovered… or found. Your presence here changes things. It puts me in danger.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I am too.”
Cuddy nervously played with the twig for a while then looked over at Tow. “Where do you live? Do you have a house? Maybe underground… or up in a tree?”
Again smiling, Tow said, “I live in a spacecraft. One that has traveled many many miles before landing here on your world.”
Cuddy’s eyes went wide. “A spaceship? Seriously? Where is it? Can you show me?”
“Maybe later, but Cuddy… remember, I do not want to be found. If you told anyone, even your Momma, it would be very bad for me. People here would not understand.”
“People don’t understand me, either,” Cuddy said. “Do people make fun of you, Tow? Do they say mean things? Laugh at you?”
“No, not for a long time. You see… I’m all alone now.”
Tow’s mind raced. He’d been reckless—reckless and selfish—jeopardizing the entire mission by his lackadaisical response to news of the approaching Howsh. The lack of pressure he’d placed on the AI orb to get the various ship systems up and running, so he could get the ship’s propulsion system again operational. And now he knew why. He didn’t want to leave this place. He wanted to stay—to simply give up—and become part of this world. Find his own unique place here amongst the white-tailed deer, the fox, and even the strange humans. But that would not be possible. Could never be possible. Looking across at the strange humanoid, with the childlike mind, he knew that.
Tow coughed, then coughed again. His chest burned somewhere deep within. Coughing again into his open palm, he studied the phlegm, noting its bluish mucous. Inexplicably, the time clock had started: the Dirth. Suddenly, he’d become symptomatic, with mere weeks to live. No, he would never reach Primara now—that was a certainty. Tow’s mind turned to Soweng—as it often did when he was faced with his own mortality. Oddly enough, he found himself strangely at peace. Soon he would be with her again. Or would he? He was the last of his kind, the last Pashier. With his demise, who would add his essence to the heritage pod? For that matter, who would deliver the heritage pod to Primara?
With finite resolution, Tow’s eyes settled onto Cuddy’s inquiring face. There was much work to do and little time to do it in.
The human spoke again, “Are you… are you an angel?”
“No, Cuddy, I am not. But what I can be is your friend.”
Chapter 10
They walked together in the forest. Birds sang their musical tweets and hidden insects chirped in unison.
Cuddy pointed. “That’s a squirrel… up there on the tree branch. Do you have squirrels where you come from?”
“Something similar… called yeemics,” Tow said, watching the small rodent scurry up the tree to a higher branch. He found the human to be both earnest and likable, and wondered if he’d ever encountered another being so void of malice—such a genuinely good soul. But he would have to tread carefully here. Push too hard and he’d alienate the simpleton—jeopardize not only himself, but all Pashier to a bleak fate. He thought about the word… fate. What he was contemplating would dramatically alter the life of this young savage. Would it be for the better? There was no clear answer to that. His life would become far more complicated, that was for certain.
Cuddy stopped in his tracks with an audible inhalation of breath, spotting the Evermore up ahead, nestled in the clearing.
“A spaceship!”
“That is right, Cuddy. It is called the Evermore.”
“You were telling the truth! And it’s so… big!”
Tow watched Cuddy grow somewhat hesitant to move closer.
“Perhaps this is close enough,” Tow said. “If you are scared that’s perfectly fine, Cuddy.”
“I’m not scared. I’m…”
“It’s all right, Cuddy. You are looking at something, I suspect, no one else on your world has ever seen. It is okay to be overwhelmed. Now could be the time for you to return home.” Tow inwardly hoped the human would rebuff the suggestion.
“Maybe you’re right. I am kinda getting hungry.”
“Yes… good idea. I’m going to have my lunch, as well,” Tow said. An AI-derived suggestion informed him the humanoid would be inclined to stay if a certain type food was offered him. “I will be having grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Have you heard of such a meal… here on Earth, Cuddy?”
Cuddy looked at Tow with astonishment. “That’s my very favorite. Momma makes the best grilled cheeses. Do you want to come over to my house for lunch?”
“No, Cuddy. As I told you before, no one can know of my existence here. It would be dangerous for me.”
Cuddy’s expression relayed the fact that he’d forgotten that but now remembered. “Can I eat lunch with you… in your spaceship?”
“Well, I don’t know. I guess that will be all right.”
Tow set upon the AI orb the task of configuring the galley food replicator for making the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. A meal that sounded ghastly to the alien—but seemed a small price to pay.
As they approached, the side hatchway slid open then disappeared into the hull as the gangway extended outward toward them. This was a crucial point—the human could decide to reconsider entering the alien ship.
Tow said, “I hope you don’t mind. The way I make a grilled cheese is with strips of cooked bacon. Have you ever tried that, Cuddy?”
Again, Cuddy’s eyes went wide.
Cuddy followed the glowing white figure up the angled plank, noticing for the first time the alien limped. Stepping inside, Cuddy hesitated—finding it hard to take everything in at once. The spaceship’s futuristic interior was different from any he’d seen on TV, or in space movies, but then again there was some similarity. It was very spacious. He wondered how it could be so much bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outer. He also wondered if he should leave right now, as Momma would probably disapprove of him being here.
“I wish Rufus was here to see this,” Cuddy said, as he panned the space before him. A myriad of soft blinking lights glowed, and much of the spaceship’s interior seemed to be made of chrome and glass. What looked like floating television screens hovered in the air, and everything was so clean. Self-consciously, he glanced down at his mud-caked Keds.
“They are fine, Cuddy. Your soiled shoes will not be a problem. Come this way… lunch is ready. I hope you like vanilla ice cream, too; it is my favorite dessert,” Tow casually added.