“Song?”

  “Would you prefer the version of our house with a garden where there was a place for a bonfire, or the latter one, where we had our special spot?”

  “I cannot decide. You liked both, you told me at the end. That both versions were good.”

  “Mhm.”

  Taj noticed how he sounded and snorted.

  “O? Song, I have created two greenhouses. I only recently got back into taking care of plants. I didn’t think about it before because I can’t take anything with me to Gates anyway. But one day it occurred to me that, after all, we have our house.”

  “I can buy flowers and bring them here.”

  “That is what I have been doing recently.”

  “I created greenhouses and started mutating a new version of sweet pea. Maybe something will come of it. We will see.”

  “Song?”

  “I know that you would laugh. I can’t handle the pipes. I don’t want to connect our house to the entire system in the Empire. But to complete that myself, I don’t know how. I understand the schematics; I understand the materials when I read them. But how can I create it with energy? I won’t hire anyone to do it for me because I would rather not let a stranger in here. You have to come back quickly and make these pipes.”

  “One more thing. I did it. I added a room to the house. I hope it doesn’t ruin the composition too much; it is a room with a floor for dancing.”

  “That is what you always wanted for me—a place to dance in the house. But Song. I did something you wouldn’t believe could happen.”

  “This will surprise you. I had to specially order it.”

  “It makes me laugh because it is a little indecent.”

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  “What I learned to dance, I won’t show it to anyone, of course.”

  “Song, when I think about it, it is very indecent.”

  “So, there is a room, there is a pole, and I can pole dance.”

  “You will be pleased, o, you will be.”

  Taj laughed.

  He was sitting at a simple table by the lake.

  The water shimmered in the sun.

  He reached for the cup, smelled the contents, and put it down.

  “Amazing fragrance. Look. I recreated the cups, the tiny ones you laughed at.”

  “Lukai would probably collapse if he knew for what I used my creation split. Amusing cups. This is what I did.”

  Taj started laughing loudly.

  “Song, when you get back, I will tell you about everyone. Some people have already left. However, I have one significant person you truly must meet.”

  “Luna. You will like her; you really will. She is a chubby little shrimp. Amazing.”

  “Her husband, the Leader of the Empire, is an interesting person. A bit like Wei, but still not. I wonder what you would say. Of course, I will tell you about Lukai too.”

  “There is also my coworker; sometimes he reminds me of you. But only sometimes; you were different, after all. He likes pre-ACD machines; maybe that is why I sometimes think of you when we talk. Avery, you will meet him too.”

  “If I can get to Planet Three, there is a boy there. I really want to find him. I hope he is alive. His name is Tian. I worry whether he survived, he and his family.”

  “Song?”

  “I think I found your family. Some of them survived. There is a similarity, although there aren’t many clues in Gates. I think they have private archives; potentially there would be some photos. It is from a long time ago; only family mementos would help me confirm it. If it turns out that Gabi is your great-great-relative, that would be amazing.”

  “I will check.”

  Taj looked at the lake.

  He was still smiling. After a moment, he started laughing.

  “We used to sit by the lake, like I am doing now. Once, you wanted me to experience this at least once in my life—to get drunk once. I was always detoxifying myself.”

  “I drank some sweet sticky stuff, your favorite. I got drunk, and what?”

  “I got the hiccups.”

  “How you laughed then—it scared me—and what? The hiccups went away like a dream.”

  “Amazing how funny that was.”

  “I don’t know why it just occurred to me now.”

  “… Song, I know.”

  “I know that you are gone and that I might fail. As I told you, both solutions are good.”

  “There is a horizon; there is something on it; that is where I am heading.”

  “Nobody told me to, Song. What I do is not out of guilt or obligation. I am waiting for you because I love you.”

  “I don’t have to. I want to.”

  “Song?”

  “As for practical things, I started learning to paint. I always wanted to learn it, but I put it off. So, after how long? It is better not to count the years, but Song? I am learning to paint. Look what I painted today…”

  “Amazing, no?”

  Taj snorted with laughter.

  “I know, I know. Horrible.”