Then, I took Maia’s hand. “I wish you to meet someone who enjoys poetry as much as you do. Ryee, Maff lands!”

“Adia, how do you know—” but, she smiled. Her green eyes opened wide.

Ryee startled and smiled, big. “Maff, come to us!”

A tiny man jumped from a portal. “Fa! I heard King Theaspaura! I am very happy for you!” He bounced into Ryee’s arms.

I took his crescentshaped hand. His feet reminded me of elves, which amused him. "Pleased to meet, Bae!“

He jumped to my arms. I kissed his fuzzy, round head. He had black breathing tubes that crossed it in an x. They twisted together. “My appearance is not disturbing?”

“No. Will you meet my sister Maia? She enjoys poetry.” I shared a memory of how they fell in love, with both of them.

He jumped down and bowed low. Took her hand. “How shall I call you, Madame Rayaline?”

She giggled. “You may call me Maia. How old are you, if I am not rude to ask you?”

“I am 20. Fa found me as a child of 10. Zbbat attacked Colony Beautiful. My people left, and I was not with them because I liked to search for minerals. He and his friend M’Naga saved Ye~ and Areon because of their bravery. M’Naga is well with weapons, and killed enough Zbbat that they left!” He shivered.

Ryee put a blanket on him. “Bae, perhaps you should change the subject.”

“I tell Maia about me, that she does not think me a child.”

She held his hand in both of hers. “I should not have thought that.”

He showed her the A’laf Colony above us on the moon, A’laf. Once, his people died when a stranger came to them. They had to sacrifice 20 each year to meet a ship. If too many of the 20 traders died and they could not finish, they had to wait another year for supplies.

But when his people came to Fhiah to move to this moon, a trader tried to heal the people around him, and nearly died. Lut ported him to Healer’s Chambers, and all these years later, he is still there. I thought of him, and he appeared in a mud puddle.

Lut startled. “Bae, nae be frightened—” He ran to him.

The man rubbed an eye. Put a hand down. Smiled. “Water. Warm. I went to A’laf. O!” His blue eyes filled.

Maff jumped in the water, without splashing him. “Ba, you were frightened. You thought my people died, but no one died, because of your healing! Healers learned how to help them. See them now.”

He giggled. We felt thousands of minds! Ryee felt very happy. Pas spoke to a healer about Maff and they worried he would die if he did not go back to his people.

Another healer helped him, and he was able to go to Sigan Mas, the very first A’laf who survived to travel. Because he did, others tried the treatment, and people they thought dead were able to wake up!

Lut’s son looked around. “Fa? You are older.” His eyes filled.

“O, I am older, but healthy. Ne fear. You nae spoke, all these years, and I missed your voice! Happiness, that you may speak to me! Feel you unwell?”

“Nae! Is this a festival? Where are my bae and sae? And, Mea?”

Pirad led a woman to the marsh. “Luparsen? O, Lut—”

“Do not fear. I can make him younger for you. Healers bring your other children—”

“My other children!” Lut fainted! His wife cried, but Pirad put her arms around him. She was a blueskinned Zheien, and young! How would I feel, to wake from stasis and my love is old? But Pirad can reclone them, as he did us. Healers came to take them into a tunnel near us.

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Maff came back to Maia. “Will they be all right?”

“They will be fine. Pirad will help all. He can make your parents younger also, if they wish.” He took her hands.

Papa startled. “He can? How?”

Maff waved up screens of chemical formulae that I barely understood. Papa and Mama struggled to understand them, as well, but Maff seemed to know the process.

He described how Ryee and I were recloned. Shared this from my point of view, Ryee’s, Ryee’s parents’, and many others’. My parents were terrified and fascinated all at sames! So was Maia.

Maff would need to be recloned, because for his species, 25 is as old as a Zheien of 200, or an Areonian of 125!

Bakers carried trays of pastries. All of ours were sweet ones. A child his size carried a tray of tiny cups with liquids to Maff. “Oh, ea yeo! Wish you to try, Maia?”

He held out a gray one and she took a sip. “Wunderbar!”

Maff also sipped on it with one of his breathing tubes. The other one bent into a heart shape.

My sister noticed this and blushed! “You are romantic.”

He knelt and recited a poem. She enjoyed that very much! Then she recited the one that I remembered her reciting, and it was just as funny! The title was “When Will You Go Away?”, a poem she wrote about Ossy Koch.

When will you go away?

You came to see me yesterday

And I expect you more today

Do you ever work? Oh, my!

If I ever have a day

In which your face, no words to say,

Is absent from my holos to play,

And gone from the walks, and flowers so gay,

So I can have peace and walks in May,

And months and years without your stay,

Then I will be happy, so happy, oh, yay!

People gathered, and laughed at her comic gestures! Very melodramatic, like an opera I saw once in Kleideu.

“Now I can rewrite it to ‘When Will You Come Today?’” She bowed. He giggled.

Ryee thought of romantic poetry and I enjoyed the warmth of his hand. I kept my touch light so if emotion rose too much, he could pull his fingers away. Our families moved with us through many scientific displays, which interested all. Ao~ and Huih stood by one, and we joined them.

Several scientists explained a project to help healers. Cell structures made puzzles. People tried to solve a bit of the puzzle in bright colors and shapes. I reached out, and some felt warm, some felt cold. But one had a musical tone. I slid that one around until I found another musical tone. Grouped ones that made beautiful harmonies on the inside.

Ryee was able to match the ones that felt warm. Mama worked on the ones that felt cold. Papa had an idea and moved all of our warm pieces around my musical ones. Aronna touched one of the leftover ones and slid it between a musical one and a warm one. The whole puzzle came together.

One of the scientists ported away. Others hugged us. A lady stood in the middle of us. “We saved a child in this! Eae yeo!” The names of all who participated showed. Aronna’s showed in Areonian, and she jumped up and down excitedly. “I helped! I helped, Adia!”

I picked her up. “Yes, you did! Oh, I will miss you!” Tears stung my eyes.

“Where are you going? You are not staying on Ye~?” She looked around and her blond waves fell off her shoulders.

“Ryee and I must go to Earth soon. Maff and Maia are going with us.”

Maia gasped. “I cannot—”

Maff took her hand. “Please come. I shall protect you. Are you afraid to travel with us? Many will be on my fa’s ship.”

“Many?” Her green eyes opened wide.

“Fa will need diplomats to write treaties, and he also needs info scientists to write many progs. People new to the Alliance, new to the Unified, need to be safe. You write safety progs.”

She looked down. “My sister nearly died because I did not keep her safe.”

I hugged her. “It is not your fault that Ossy tampered with the prog! He wanted to steal my research and put his name on it! Your work is good.”

Maff held her hand against his face.

A group of Kleideu musicians came through, playing instruments and dancing. We all looked up. Maia smiled.

“Do you wish to dance with me?”

Maia looked at Maff, a head shorter than her. But, she nodded.

He waved, and he stood on stilts. They danced a polka. He was quite skilled!

Ryee took my hand, and we also danced to it. Oh, I felt sheer happiness! Papa and Mama danced and a containment kept Beth safe without jostling her too much. The sand was very soft, so even a polka was gentle.

Vonn scooped Aronna up on one arm, and had E~Janne on his other! Ryee’s sa enjoyed being bounced as he danced. Aronna giggled and sang along.