© Sandra Corton 2015

Chapter 8 - Between truth and oblivion

The saying 'coming back down to earth' had never been so literal for me as when we landed back in Ty's yard. Everything felt quite surreal and dreamy to me. It was as though our trip to the stars had been all in my imagination. I did actually pinch myself at least once when we were speeding past Jupiter. Ty had laughed and assured me that it was all real.

"How did you do that without anyone noticing?" I asked as Ty opened the door for me to step out. I only asked because people walking along our street had not even blinked at our out of this world arrival.

"Cloaking device." Ty smirked at me in this all knowing way.

"Oh yes that should have been so obvious to me." I replied sarcastically.

I looked around me and realised that the sun was beginning its descent. I couldn't believe that we had been away all day. I then considered that we had been touring our solar system, so of course that took time.

"Is it the same day as we left?" I asked Ty who nodded. "Wow I still can't believe we did all that in a few hours."

"Was it a good date Jillybean?" Ty faced me and pulled me into his arms.

"Yes." I whispered, enjoying being close to him.

"Should we go and do something more earthly now?" He sounded amused as he nuzzled his chin on top of my head.

"Zytar! Look at what you are doing in the public eye." Terri called out aghast as she rushed out to us.

"We are not on Xyllenion." Ty said on a sigh.

"Look I'm fine with you touching inside the house but this is too much. You should still respect our customs." Terri sounded frustrated but I could detect a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Terrilian that is enough." Ty switched to his Xicnon language as he tucked me closer to him.

"That is not allowed!" Terri stared at our embrace.

"We are on earth where this is completely normal." Ty snapped back.

"I know." Terri's shoulders slumped. "I fear for you Zytar, you are forgetting our ways." She said softly before heading back into their home.

"What if she's right?" I said into the silence that overtook us then. "What if I'm corrupting you with my life?" I finished thoughtfully and Ty snorted.

"I'm simply adapting to my new life, that's all." Ty assured me.

"But soon you're going home." My voice was stark as I tried to pull away from him.

He looked at me firmly and clasped my hand before I could back any further away. His other hand came to tip my chin up so I had to look in his eyes. He appeared both resigned but still hopeful, his grey eyes warming my soul.

"I am leaving soon, I can't stop that. I haven't forgotten the Xyllenion way, like Terrilian thinks. I know what is allowed and what is not. You haven't corrupted me Jillybean, you couldn't even if you tried. I am perhaps being a little earthly in the way I'm acting but right now, I don't care." He told me before leaning in to gently kiss my lips.

"Okay." I said rather dubiously.

"You have to understand that Terrilian is jealous of what we have. I'm sure if her Mamishxan was human then she would be doing exactly what I'm doing." He told me with a soft smile.

"I see your point." I decided then to change this topic into one I was much more curious to have an answer to. "How did you create illusions of kissing and making out when you don't kiss let alone touch?" I asked curiously and Ty swung our hands together.

"Promise not to laugh?" He winced a little and a slight flush filled his cheeks.

"I can't wait to hear this answer." I sent him one of his smirks.

"Terrilian and I, we watched a lot of your romantic films to understand what you would most want. I then recreated the images in my mind." He told me and I had to bite my tongue not to laugh out loud. Just imagining him watching films to understand our intimacy was both funny and completely adorable.

"I see. You sure learned a lot from simply watching." I mused thinking back over every kiss we had ever shared. He leaned down to kiss me lightly again and I revelled in those delicious lips on mine.

"Maybe I'm just a natural born, great kisser." He whispered against my lips and I definitely wasn't arguing that point. He was the best kisser ever, for a guy that had never kissed anyone but me.

"Hmm perhaps you are." I murmured, taking a deep breath of his delicious scent.

"So what do you want to do now?" He asked as he pressed his forehead against mine.

"Haven't a clue, maybe catch a movie." I joked, wondering if I should drag him to the latest romantic film that had been released. "I insist on one thing though."

"And what is that sweet Jilly?" He asked, his grey eyes filled with mirth.

"We're taking my car." I told him and his chuckle rumbled between us.

"Whatever you want Jillybean."

We were sitting in my car when Ty sent me a long sigh. I knew it wasn't the flashiest, or the most beautiful car but it was safe, which was important to me. I glanced at him to see his fingers trailing over the dash. He was somewhere between being filled with wonder and disgust. I sent him a firm look which only made him sigh again.

"What is the problem?" I asked when Ty just continued to huff his outrage.

"This is not at all a safe vehicle for travel." He told me with deep concern.

"Ty, I've been driving this same car for years. I used to drive it to school for pity's sake. You never seemed too concerned then." I grumbled as I went to put the key into the ignition.

"Only because I couldn't say anything."

"This is perfectly safe." I patted the steering wheel and he rolled his eyes.

"Could I suggest an alternate vehicle?" He asked me hopefully.

"I really don't think your spaceship is going to be much of a help." I told him dryly and he laughed uproariously at my suggestion.

"That wasn't going to be the vehicle of choice." He replied drolly as he got out of the car before I even turned the engine over.

"Then what?" I put my keys back in my purse and hopped out of the car to ask him.

"It's a secret." He whispered as he sent me this cute little wink.

He crooked a finger at me as he headed towards his old shed in the backyard that appeared rather worse for wear. He opened the rickety door and I sent him a dubious look. There couldn't be anything in here that was either secretive or special.

Of course the alien had a shock waiting for me didn't he? I was starting to think that he got a kick out of trying to surprise me. So it was not a ratty, dilapidated shed full of junk and mice. Instead it led into a strange, underground cave full of rather expensive cars that seemed in all states of repair. Different makes and models stood shining against the lights he had switched on.

He went straight over to a sleek black car. He opened the passenger door and gestured me inside. I sat on the leather bucket seat, quite bemused, wondering what he could possible come up with next.

"Do you have a problem with a girl driving?" I asked as he sat in the driver's seat.

"I'm not being sexist Jilly. That car of yours is ridiculous. I'd let you drive this but it's a lot more powerful than anything your world has ever produced." He explained.

"So you have a secret car passion then?" I asked with a raised brow.

"No not at all, I just like to tinker. My passion is all saved for you." His heated words had my face fiery in under a second. "Seatbelt on."

I had nothing to say in reply as he leaned across the console towards me. A finger stroked along my cheek as he smiled. I hadn't even realised that he had once again done my seatbelt up. He had this way about him that swept everything else in the world away, except for him.

"Don't worry Jillybean, you're safe with me." He assured me though I wasn't sure why.

A second later as we went flying out of his driveway and down the street, I didn't feel safe at all. We were going faster than any car as we zoomed through traffic.

It was as though the car itself had the utmost intelligence and was driving itself. Dodging and weaving through a traffic snarl became a breeze.

I didn't feel a single movement as I would in an ordinary car. I stared out the windows, my eyes wide. Occasionally I flinched as we barely missed a truck or car. I spared a glance to Ty who seemed relaxed and to be completely enjoying himself.

In a blink we were out of our town and going down a road that I didn't even recognise. Before long we were heading into a small city that I knew was nowhere near our town.

"So should I ask where we are going first or should I ask about the very powerful car." I found Ty grinning with exuberance at me.

"I'm used to moving around fast so I simply modified this a little." Ty answered with a casual shrug as he patted the dash lovingly.

"A little?" I replied doubtfully.

"Maybe a lot then." He sent me a sheepish look.

"And we are going?" I questioned curiously.

"To see a movie as suggested." Ty turned his focus back to the road and I let him.

His driving was both terrifying and amazingly skilful. I wanted to demand that he slow down but I didn't think this car was modified to include the word slow. Normal, average human speed seemed rather impossible.

"Here we are." He said a moment later.

I glanced out the window and saw a quite ancient looking movie theatre. It had the grace of being built with loving care but the dilapidation of age. I wondered whether Ty had been here before when he looked at it with such nostalgia in his eyes.

"So what do you think?" He turned to me seeming keen for an answer.

"I'm not even sure where I am." I said simply, looking around eagerly but I caught Ty's face fall. "I'm not saying it's bad." I quickly added.

"We came here when our family were still with us. I haven't been back since. It certainly hasn't survived well has it?" He looked towards the building.

"Not really."

"Would you like to go somewhere else?" He asked sounding rather disappointed.

"No, show me around." I said as I went to open my door.

Before I could, Ty was there pulling the door open for me and gallantly offering me his hand. I was taken aback by how casual he was with holding my hands and touching me. After all, from what Terri and Ty had told me, this was a big taboo for them.

"Isn't this uncomfortable for you?" I asked Ty, even as I grasped his hand and let him pull me up.

"It would be if your heart was in your palm too. It would mean that we were melding all the time. Seeing as your heart is in your chest, this is a lot less intimate." He told me as his large fingers engulfed mine.

"So if you put your palm over where my heart is..." I trailed off feeling embarrassed that I had asked such a thing.

"Then we would end up melding." He said simply.

He pulled me to him then and into the shadow of the nearby building. He quite deliberately placed his hand beneath my shirt. He slid upward until his hand was just under my breast, his fingers slipping easily under my bra. Desire pounded through me as my heart raced. I was in a spinning vortex of pleasure that I never wanted to see the end of.

"That's what it would be like if your heart was in your palm too." Ty's husky words made me shiver as he slowly lowered his hand down onto my ribs.

"I can now see why holding hands would be such a bad thing." I said on a huge exclamation of breath.

"Are you okay?" He asked peering closely at me.

"That is really powerful isn't it?" My voice was still rather shaky.

"Yes it always is. Melding is not like the relations that you have, where disappointment is often the key component. We do not meld to procreate either. It is more a way to bond Mamishxan's together." He told me as he adjusted my shirt and led us back to the front of the building.

"Dare I ask how your end up with children then?" I enquired bluntly as he led me into what would have been a lavish foyer for a grand theatre in its day.

"We are never children. We do not grow or age. We simply appear one day to a family who take us in. They become our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles etcetera." Ty informed me as we ventured to look at the movies playing.

"That is very strange." I admitted and he simply smiled.

"No stranger than growing a baby in your stomach. It took us a while to understand that you go through life cycles that we have never had. We had assumed that the children of the world were simply a different species for quite a time. We of course were wrong. Watching you grow and change was utterly fascinating Jillybean." He informed me as he stroked a finger down my cheek.

"I'm glad that I was such an interesting science experiment." I said dryly and he frowned.

"You have always been more than that and you know it." Ty chided me.

"I know." I replied softly, finding that I believed my words thoroughly.

"So what would you like to watch?"

We ended up having not much choice in movies. There was only a thriller which I refused to see or a romantic drama on at the time we arrived. We bought popcorn, chocolates and drinks, which was of course only for my consumption,  though Ty said he enjoyed the smell.  We then made our way to our allotted theatre. The seats were old but surprisingly comfortable and I enjoyed the ambience of the old place.

"What did you see when you first came here?" I asked as we organised our food where we wanted it.

"A silent movie actually. I can't think of what it was called now." Ty tapped his cheek engrossed in his thoughts.

"You are so old." I blurted out before slapping my hands over my mouth.

"And don't you forget it." He told me with a grin, his grey eyes gleaming. Not for the first time that day did I wonder why I could now look him in the eye without losing my focus to him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can." He let out a small chuckle. "You're been throwing questions at me all day, 'Miss I don't want alien talk on our date'."

"Okay yeah I failed at that didn't I?" I said ruefully. "I just want to know why I can look you in the eye properly now without feeling all weird." I deliberately looked at the movie screen then and nowhere near Ty.

"We completed our beginning meld." He said as though that explained everything.

"Meaning?"

"I told you when Mamishxan's first meet they stare at each other. That is the beginning meld. Normally it only takes a short time but ours took years because you refused to look at me. It only initiated when you became a teenager." He explained and I felt a little ashamed of my earlier apprehension of looking at Ty.

"I see, thanks that makes more sense now." I went quiet as the previews started.

I wasn't sure how the old theatre kept alive when we were the only ones in there watching the movie. I was pretty happy about it though. I revelled in the dark, intimate theatre as Ty kissed and touched me frequently. It felt like our own special little world that we were secluded in and loving.

The ending of the movie though was poignant and perhaps opened up a subject that we had been deliberately avoiding. The couple involved were separated, to never see each other again. That hit me hard, knowing that Ty was leaving soon too.

The credits rolled and I just couldn't move. This movie had so many questions fumbling through my mind. I had no idea whether I dared to ask any of them.

"Why can't I come with you?" I asked outright making Ty sigh. "You said that outside the dome is oxygen rich so why couldn't I live out there? Then at least we'd be together." I blurted out, embarrassing myself again.

"There's a few reasons." Ty said his face downcast.

"Then explain it to me." I said as Ty stood and grabbed our rubbish.

"I will, let's just get out of here first."

He gestured to the exit so I headed out in the balmy, summer night air to the car. Ty grabbed my hand and led me to a nearby park instead. We sat on a picnic bench with the crickets and cicadas chirping to fill the night air.

"If I could take you with me, I would Jillybean." He said as he brushed my hair back from my face.

"Explain." I said and it came out rather rough.

"Firstly, I don't know if you would survive the trip. Our ship only pumps Xenon around with the least amount of oxygen available. You would die from that. Secondly, we don't just live in domes to hold the Xenon we need to survive. We live there for our protection." He flinched then, appearing quite fearful and said nothing more.

"Protection?" I asked uncertain of where he was going with this.

"The plants outside the domes that produce the Xenon for us to survive are deadly. They are Xycan eating machines. I would never risk sending you outside for a breath of oxygen when they're are killer plants that would devour you in an instant." He told me, his voice deadly serious.

"So that's it? We have no hope or future." I whispered sadly.

"It certainly appears rather grim but I promise you Jilly, that as soon as I can return here to you, I will. We will come up with some way that we can be together. I refuse to give up what we have." He sounded so emotional that tears filled my eyes at his declaration.

We were in this together and that in a way made me feel stronger. Whatever happened we would make it through this. We would find a way to be together and happy. No matter what, I wasn't going to let go of him easily.