Lise was waiting for them in a cozy living room just off from the kitchen. Arrayed around her was a beautiful china pot that smelled like it was brewing tea, a tray of crackers and cookies, and a selection of sliced meats for the crackers.
“Babushka,” Bear began. “You didn’t need to do all this.”
“Nonsense, Mishka. I haven’t seen you in ages, and we have guests. It is a special occasion! I have my little boy back!” Lise looked so happy at Bear being home – with a friend no less – that she was grinning from ear to ear. “The last time I heard from you was when you left the scout service, Mishka. What has been happening since then? Why didn’t you visit?”
Bear hung his head, and looked ashamed. “I… I didn’t visit because of bad memories. Of Sorcha. I thought if I would stay away, it would hurt less. I was wrong. I am sorry, babushka.”
Lise nodded, and put her hand on her grandson’s knee. “Mishka, you know I love you?”
“Da.” Bear replied.
“You have to let this go. Sorcha died. It is not healthy to dwell on this so long.”
“Da. I know.” Bear nodded. “I have come to say goodbye and try to move on. I am also very sorry I did not visit earlier.”
Lise smiled sadly. “I figured you had your reasons for staying away. I missed you.”
“I missed you too, babushka. I promise, I will not stay away for so long again.” Bear’s eyes were glistening with emotion, and his voice was a bit hoarse. It was an emotional moment for him.
Sarah gave the two a moment, and put her hand on Bear’s shoulder. “If you need some moral support, I’ll go with you tomorrow to her grave.”
Bear nodded his thanks. “Da, that would be good.”
“Thank you for helping my little Mishka, Sarah.” Lise told Sarah. “This must be strange for you, looking so much like Sorcha.”
“It is, and it isn’t.” Sarah began. “I actually chose to look this way through biosculpt – but I honestly had no idea of what Sorcha looked like before I settled on this form. It’s a giant fluke, really – but this is what I feel is the real me. Bear and I have talked, and he knows I’m not Sorcha – and really, we’ve become good friends I think. In fact, I really like all the crew – Hortencia and Drago both.”
“Oh – Drago said he kept his promise.” Bear interjected. “What promise was that?”
Lise smiled. “To bring you home safe to me.”
Bear just smiled, and held his grandma’s hands in his large paws. “I have gift for you, babushka. I will be right back.”
Bear quickly got up, and headed to his room.
While Bear was gone, Lise continued chatting with Sarah. “Drago was always one of Bears best friends. Oh my, I remember a lot of the trouble those two got into when they were younger. Have they grown out of it at all?”
Sarah laughed. “Not really. We sometimes join them in their craziness, but we do all right.” Sarah smiled back at Lise. “Bear and the crew of the Fortune’s Favor has been great helping me adjust to this new world.”
“New world?” Lise asked.
“Yeah.” Sarah replied, and began to tell the tale of her rescue – as John Kerrigan – on the wreck of the Hyperion, and her subsequent addition to the crew. She told of adventuring in sims with Bear, and learning to pilot from him as well as taking the course in interstellar trade to help out the crew, During her tale, Bear returned with his bulging duffel bag.
“Babushka, she is right about how our fortunes have improved.” Bear began. “I have gift for you.” He unzipped the duffel bag, revealing its contents – hundreds of credit chips in varying denominations. “There is 200,000 credits, babushka. I know things have been tight in the past. I want to help, if I can.”
Lise smiled, and laughed. “Oh Mishka, thank you! But I have new for you too! Three months ago I won the Burston Lottery! I have more than enough money for whatever I need. In fact, if you had arrived a week later, I would not have been here! I have a cruise leaving in three days, and it goes all the way to the southern continent and back. It’s my first vacation ever!”
Bear seemed almost poleaxed. “Then… Then there is nothing I can do to help?” He looked almost stricken.
Lise shook her head. “No, my silly boy. You being here is perfect! You and your friends could come with me, and share in my good fortune. We could spend time together for the cruise, and you can tell me all about your adventures while we sail. I miss you, Mishka. Please come with me?”
Bear looked a Sarah, who gave him the “thumbs up” signal. He turned back to Lise. “I will have to check with Drago. He may have plans.”
“Well, he and that girl of his are welcome if they want to.” Lise replied. “After all, he’s practically family.”
After that was settled, Bear, Sarah and Lise settled down to talking and catching up, and Bear finally relaxed. The afternoon passed, and soon, Lise cleaned up the dishes, and began to prepare dinner.
“Sarah, would you give me a hand in the kitchen, if you could?”
“Sure, Lise.” Sarah rose to go help out. “Bear, maybe you should put those credits away. If your grandma doesn’t need them, the ship surely will in time.”
“Da.” Bear replied. “If my babushka gets too nosy, please let me know.”
“She’ll be fine.” Sarah laughed. “I love her already.”
Bear smiled broadly. “Good. I will be back soon. I should call Drago and Hortencia and see if they want to come with us. What was ships name again?”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Your babushka called it ‘The Southern Cross’ – it’s a Cruise ship departing from Whelan in three days.”
“Thanks.” Bear turned and headed to his room, so Sarah headed to the kitchen to see what she could do to help Lise.
* * *
“So what did you need me for, Lise?” Sarah asked.
“Well, I was going to prepare some dinner for us, and I thought it might be nice to talk privately for a little bit.” Lise took some dough out from the refrigerator, and started to roll it out. “I thought you and Mishka might like a nice home cooked meal, after eating all that shipboard food.”
“Thank you!” Sarah replied. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Can you make salad?”
“Sure.” Sarah went to the fridge and gathered some ingredients – a tub of field greens, some vegetables that looked sort of like cucumbers and tomatoes, and some sprouty things that looked tasty. She tried one, and it had a good crunch and a light peppery taste. It would work fine.
“So what did you want to talk about, Lise?” Sarah asked as she assembled the salad.
“I was just wondering how close the two of you are?” Lise kept rolling the dough out until it was very thin, and then retrieved a bowl of meat and vegetable paste or stuffing, and began laying out dollops of the filling on the dough.
“That’s a little complicated, I think. I know we’re friends, and I know Bear is very attracted to me – he’s told me as much. I like him – but I haven’t figured out what I’m looking for, or what I need, and I’m taking things really slow. Really, at the moment we’re just friends – although I suspect he’d like us to be more.” Sarah chopped up some of the tomatoes and put them in a bowl with the greens, and started working on the cucumbers and sprouts. “I think it’s more complicated because I look so much like Sorcha. I hope saying goodbye gives him some closure. Were they very close?”
“Yes, Sarah. I really thought that they would be married – Bear doted on Sorcha. He loved that girl with all his heart. When he left for the scout academy after her death, I honestly thought I’d never see him again. It’s so good that he’s home.” Lise took a moment to wipe a few tears from her eyes. “Things have been very lonely since he’s been gone, and I’ve done as well as I can, but it felt like I lost a child, like I lost his mother and father. Do I have you to thank for bringing him home?”
“Maybe a little. Not completely, no.” Sarah replied. “It was a decision he came to, but I suspect we helped him make it together – myself, Drago and Hortencia.”
“Well, gods bless you then, girl.” Lise replied. “Thank you.”
Sarah nodded, a bit uncomfortable about the level of emotion in the room, and tried to change the topic. “What are you making, ma’am?”
“One of Mishka’s childhood favorites – fried pierogies with carmelized onions and a nice rich gravy. It’s one of Burston’s ethnic foods, and I suspect he hasn’t had it much since he’s left. I wanted to spoil him a little.”
Sarah grinned. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”
The two ladies worked on the dinner and salad for a few moments more before Bear returned, looking cheerful. “I just talked to Drago and Hortencia. They would love to come on a cruise with us. It is all arranged – we will pick them up on way to port. I just have one question… How are we paying for cruise?”
“I am, silly.” Lise replied. “I pay for the cruise, and in return I get you for two weeks without any chance of you leaving…” She cackled evilly and clutched at Bear with her hands like talons… “There will be no escape!”
Bear laughed, and wrapped his grandmother in a hug. “You are the best babushka ever.”
Lise hugged him back. “I know.”
* * *
The next day, Bear and Sarah left his grandmother’s house to drive to the cemetery. They both decided it was time for Bear to say goodbye, and Sarah had noticed he’d been nervous – or at least a bit stressed – most of the morning.
“It’ll be okay, Bear.” Sarah said, trying to lift her friends mood.
“Da, I know. Is just stressful. Babushka did not help with the photos from last night!” Bear groused.
“But they were adorable!” Sarah smiled. “The one of you as a little baby on the bearskin rug was super-cute! You look just like your dad too!”
“I think she just wanted to embarrass me.” Bear replied, now smiling a bit.
“Maybe that was payback for being away so long?” Sarah wondered.
“Maybe. I think it was because I brought a pretty girl home with me.”
Sarah smiled at that. She was still getting used to being called a girl, and she liked the idea of being called pretty a lot. It made her feel good inside. “Flattery works.”
“Is not flattery, if it is true. You are very pretty. Is fact.”
Sarah nodded her thanks, and rolled down the window to let the air blow through her hair as they drove. It was another sunny pleasant day on Burston – the entire planet was ideal for growing crops and raising herds of anything that could feed on the many tall grasses growing here. She had even seen a Shrrk farm on the way to Orwell, and thought it looked very similar to a cattle farm on old Terra – from the vids – she’d never actually seen one in person. Earths industrial metroplex didn’t have any green spaces left by the time the Hyperion left Earth, and most people lived on foodstuffs created from algae and artificial biomass that was supposed to taste like meat used to. If it did, no one could tell – there were no herds of food animals left. All that remained were sperm and ova banks for the animals to be bred in vitro once the various colony ships left earth for their new homes. It was nice to see that Burston was a long way from becoming like Earth… or should she call it ‘Earth that was?’
The aircar moved smoothly into the graveyard, and down the narrow lanes threading between the gravestones and markers. Bear obviously knew where he was going, and so Sarah just waited until he was ready to talk. She held a bouquet of red flowers that looked an awful lot like earth roses – something Bear wanted to bring to say goodbye.
Soon, they reached their destination, and Bear turned off the engine, allowing it to settle down to the laneway. Bear steeled himself, and got out of the car, followed by Sarah with the bouquet.
“You going to be okay, Bear?” Sarah asked quietly.
“Da.” Bear replied, smiling sadly. “I will be okay.”
He offered his hand to Sarah, who took it, and he led her through the markers to a gravestone with a large reddish stone marker. The stone was almost like pink quartz, polished to a sheen, and inscribed with Sorcha Alexandra Varoslav’s birthdate and death, and the phrase “Taken too soon.”
Bear let go of Sarah’s hand – and gently took the bouquet from her grasp. “Sorcha, I have been gone too long.” He began. “I miss you every day, and I mourn your laughter was taken from us when it was. I loved you with all my heart, and I still do.” He paused. “But I have to say goodbye now. I have to put down the burden of your death, and move forward. I will never forget you, or our time together, but I cannot keep you with me, and I cannot join you. I hope you find peace one day, as I am trying to.”
He paused a bit, and motioned towards Sarah. “This is Sarah – a good friend of mine. I want you to know she is not replacing you; she is helping me say goodbye. You and she may look alike, but you are as different inside as night and day. Where you needed to be protected, she is strong. Where you wanted to build a home, she wants to travel and explore. I will never forget you, my Sorcha, my little flower. Rest in peace, and goodbye.”
As Bear ended his speech, he set down the bouquet on the grass covering Sorcha’s grave, and hung his head in remembrance for a few moments. It seemed like a great weight lifted from his shoulders – and when he raised his head, Sarah could see he stood with more purpose, and less grief weighing him down.
“That must have been hard.” She said, taking his hand again and giving it a squeeze.
Bear nodded. “It was. But it needed to be said. It was hard to write, but I think I did good job.”
“The words were perfect, Bear. They sounded beautiful. I’m sure they were fine.”
“Thank you.” Bear looked down at Sarah’s hand clasped in his, and smiled. “Shall we go back to the house? Or do you want to do something else? We have time to do whatever you want.”
Sarah thought about his question a bit. “Are there any places you want to show me, you know – from your misspent youth with Drago?”
“Da!” Bear smiled, and together they headed back to the car, still holding hands.