David lay in a bed, slowly opening his eyes. He saw several people standing around him. Oh my God! Who did he see? His "fiancée," with big beautiful eyes, a delicate nose, a small mouth, and brown hair. She had a petite figure and looked just like her. As he examined her closely, he noticed she had a pair of wings. The others around the bed also had wings. Am I in heaven? David wondered.

"You’ve finally woken up, that’s great! We found you in the lake and immediately rescued you. Unfortunately, we couldn’t save your two colleagues. You’ve been unconscious for a week, but you’ve made it!" the "fiancée" said to David.

What? I’m still alive? David thought. Who are you? Where am I? “I’m Tina, your attending doctor. This is Planet Gleamira,” the "fiancée" read David's thoughts and spoke again.

David was overjoyed. He sat up, exclaiming, "Aliens! I’ve finally found you! John, Philip, we’ve completed the mission! Wait a minute, did I just hear that my two colleagues didn’t make it? Where are John and Philip? I want to see them,” David said anxiously.

"Calm down! We’ve already buried them. Once you’re better, we’ll take you to see them," Tina said. David’s eyes welled up with tears, and then he began to cry loudly. Tina held David’s shoulder, gently comforting him, “It’s okay, don’t cry too much. What’s done is done.Your body is still weak; you need to rest and recover. You have to stay strong!" Somehow, Tina’s words managed to calm David, and he gradually regained his composure. Seeing that he had settled down, Tina spoke a few words in a language David didn’t understand to the surrounding aliens, instructing them to leave. She too prepared to go, but David quickly grabbed her hand.

"I have so many questions for you," he said.

Tina smiled and replied, "Tomorrow, alright? You just woke up today and need to rest. I’ll come see you tomorrow. If you need anything urgently, just press the red button." With that, she turned and left.

David was alone now. He looked around the room, noticing the high ceiling and how bright and clean everything was. The walls were a soft green, complementing the vibrant green grass outside the window. Beyond the window, there were beautiful trees, somewhat resembling willows from Earth, but in addition to fresh leaves, their branches were adorned with fruit the size of grapes. The fruit was rainbow-colored and sparkled brilliantly under the blue sky. "What a beautiful place," David thought as a wave of drowsiness washed over him, and he drifted off to sleep.

The next day, when David opened his eyes, Tina was already by his side. "You look much better than yesterday," she said with a smile. David tried to get out of bed and walk, but found that his left leg wouldn’t move. Tina quickly stopped him, saying, "Your left knee was shattered. You can’t walk on it yet. It’ll be about three months before you can try standing on it." She added, "You don’t need to get out of bed; you can take care of everything right here." Only then did David notice that he was lying on a special bed. Tina gestured for him to press the blue button, and when he did, a grooming device moved in front of him. There was an automatic opening beneath him for waste elimination, which was disposed of automatically. "So convenient," David thought.

"You people look a lot like us Earthlings, except you have a beautiful pair of wings," David remarked.

"Yes, there are many similarities between this planet and Earth," Tina replied.

"By the way, how did you learn Earth’s language?" David asked.

"Study. After receiving our mission and learning that you were from Earth, I quickly learned some Earth languages from our knowledge base so that I could communicate with you," Tina explained.

"You’re really smart!" David said.

"It’s not that I’m smart; we just have a great learning system. We have an educational system that allows us to learn anytime," Tina said proudly.

"You’re so young and already know so much. Can you tell me about your educational system?" David asked, intrigued.

"Sure. On our planet, we start formal education at the age of seven. After five years of basic education, we gain the ability to self-study and choose our professions. We also get a good sense of our strengths and interests. We then continue our studies in the knowledge base, combining them with our chosen professions. We can also find mentors at work to guide us. After about four years of this, we’re ready to start working. If we encounter any problems on the job, we can always return to the knowledge base to learn more—everything is there. I started working at sixteen, and I’ve been working for ten years now. I’m not that young anymore," Tina said with a laugh.

David fell silent, thinking about Earth’s education system. On Earth, a person has to go through primary school, middle school, and university, and may even pursue a master’s degree, a doctorate, and postdoctoral studies before finding a job. Much of the knowledge learned in school isn’t used at work, and sometimes, people have to study subjects they’re not interested in. If their job doesn’t match their field of study, it’s even worse. How much time, energy, and resources are wasted! "Your planet is so advanced. Earth should really learn from you," David said. As he spoke, a thought crossed his mind—he should document all the advanced aspects of Gleamira. Maybe one day he could return to Earth and share this knowledge with his home planet.

"Could you give me a notebook and a pen? I want to write down the advanced things here to tell people back on Earth. And could you tell me more about your planet in the future?" David asked.

"No problem. You just settle in and take your time getting to know everything here. I’ll answer any questions you have to the best of my ability," Tina said warmly. She was starting to have a good impression of David. This Earthling was quite remarkable, she thought. Despite being a patient, he was already thinking about how to serve his home planet and thinking about others.

Thus, Tina visited David every day to check on his condition and talk to him about life on Planet Gleamira. Sometimes, David would share stories about Earth. Their relationship gradually evolved from just physician and patient to close friends.

One day, three months later, Tina happily told David, "Your bones have healed; you can try standing on the ground now."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"That’s great!" David exclaimed. Tina unwrapped the bandages on his knee and, holding his arm, said, "Try to stand up." David slowly got out of bed and stood up.

"How does your leg feel?" Tina asked quickly.

"A bit numb, not much strength," David replied.

"That’s normal. Take it slow; with time, it will improve," Tina said, handing David a pair of crutches. "These will help you."

David took a step forward with the crutches, then a few more. "Not bad! That’s enough for today. Let’s get you back to bed to rest. You can do some knee-bending exercises while lying down. Take it slow," Tina said happily.

Each day, Tina helped David practice walking. He made quick progress, and after some time, David could walk quite a few steps with crutches.

One day, David asked Tina, "I’m feeling pretty good. Can I go outside for a walk?"

"Sure, but you shouldn’t go alone yet. I can accompany you," Tina said.

"Alright, let’s go," David said excitedly.

David and Tina went outside. The scenery was breathtaking—vivid green grass, trees laden with colorful fruit, a blue lake where white swans swam leisurely, and distant mountains shrouded in mist. The air was fresh, and the weather was warm. "Is it spring now? The weather is always mild, not too hot," David asked.

"What’s spring?" Tina asked, puzzled.

"It’s the season when the weather is mild, and nature comes back to life," David explained.

Tina thought for a moment and then laughed, "I remember now. You Earthlings have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. But on Gleamira, it’s always like this—only the season you call spring. Our planet orbits our ‘sun’ in a circular path, so we only have one season. And since our distance from our ‘sun’ is just right, not too close or too far, the temperature is always mild—just like your Earth’s spring."

"That’s wonderful! No need for air conditioning or heating. How comfortable! But on Earth, winter brings snow. After a heavy snowfall, everything is covered in white—it’s quite beautiful," David said wistfully.

"Yes, I read in the knowledge base that Earth’s snow scenery is indeed beautiful," Tina agreed.

David fell silent, a bit homesick. He wondered how his parents and brother were doing. Tina, sensing his thoughts, comforted him, "Are you missing home? Don’t dwell on it too much. You love it here, don’t you? And you still need to learn all the advanced things here so that you can bring them back to Earth one day."

"Would you like to try our rainbow fruit?" Tina asked, picking a few from the rainbow tree and handing them to David.

David peeled the fruit, revealing a translucent flesh inside with a small seed. He popped it into his mouth; it was sweet and had a hint of banana flavor. "Delicious! This fruit is as tasty as it is beautiful," David said, making Tina smile.

"By the way, once you can walk on your own, we’re planning to throw you a welcome party to officially welcome you, our distant guest," Tina said.

David was deeply touched. He had arrived on this planet with nothing, and yet its people had saved his life, healed his injuries, and treated him as a guest and friend. "Thank you, thank you so much. I’ve caused you so much trouble!" David said gratefully.

"No need to thank us. It’s what we should have done," Tina replied. "That’s enough activity for today. Shall we head back?" Tina suggested.

"Alright," David agreed, and they returned to the house together.

David practiced walking diligently every day, and within a month, he could walk without crutches. Tina was overjoyed and gave him a big hug! “I’ll inform the government officials tomorrow that you’ve recovered, so they can arrange your welcome party as soon as possible,” Tina said.

A few days later, Tina excitedly approached David and said, “The welcome party for you will start soon. Can you come with me now?”

“No problem, I’ll go with you now,” David said happily. He followed Tina down a long corridor to the airstrip, where a plane was waiting.

“Is it far? Do we need to fly?” David asked.

“Yes, we’ll fly, but it’s not far,” Tina replied. She motioned for David to board the plane, then took the pilot’s seat.

“Is this your plane?” David asked.

“No, the government rented this small plane to pick you up. On Gleamira, no one owns a plane. We have wings,” Tina said with a smile.

“You usually fly with your wings to and from work? What if it rains heavily or you have to carry heavy objects?” David was curious and eager to learn everything about Gleamira.

Tina understood David’s curiosity. As she flew, she patiently explained, “Alright, let me tell you about the transportation here. We generally walk indoors, and if we wear energy-storing shoes, we can store energy as we walk.” Tina pointed to her shoes.

“I want energy-storing shoes too,” David said eagerly.

“Alright, I’ll take you to buy a pair. When we go out or to work, we try to fly with our wings or walk, which is good exercise and environmentally friendly. If it rains heavily, we take the shuttle along the transit lines. If we need to transport goods, we rent a plane. If we travel far or across the ocean, we take large passenger planes or ships. Understand?” Tina explained.

“You don’t have cars?” David asked.

“Cars? You mean the machines that move on the ground on Earth? No, we don’t need cars,” Tina replied. David fell silent, reflecting on how families on Earth often own several cars, sometimes only carrying one person at a time. Some people even own boats and planes that they rarely use. What a waste! The utilization of items is too low. He realized how Gleamira, despite being so wealthy, encourages everyone to exercise, generate energy, and use resources efficiently without waste. This is something Earthlings should learn from.

After a short while, they arrived at their destination. Before them was a wide, single-story building with a high roof. The walls were covered in ivy, with small leaves and purple flowers growing on the vines. It was simple and beautiful!

“This is a government office,” Tina said as she led David into a meeting room. Inside, David saw an oval conference table in the center of the room, with chairs around it, all occupied by people from Gleamira, except for two empty seats. In front of each seat on the table was a plate of rainbow fruit and a glass of water. A large screen was embedded in one wall, and flowers were arranged along the edges of the room.

One person stood up and said, “Hello, David Yang, welcome!” Then, applause broke out, and everyone else stood up and clapped along.

“Please, take a seat,” the person said. David, Tina, and everyone else sat down. The person spoke again in Gleamira’s language, addressing Tina.

Tina translated for David, “He said he only knows a few words of Earth’s language and asked me to help translate for everyone.”

The person spoke again, and Tina translated, “He said he’s a government official in charge of extraterrestrial affairs, and his name is Moda.”

“Hello, Moda. Thank you! Thank you for your people’s warm hospitality,” David said. Tina translated.

Moda introduced the other people around the table, and Tina translated, “This is the head of the Finance Department, this is the head of the Labor Department, this is the head of the Housing Department, and so on. This is a reporter, and the others are welcome representatives from various regions.” David nodded and greeted each one.

Moda continued, “David, you are brave and wise. You risked your life to leave your Earthly home and explore the universe in search of extraterrestrial beings. You are a hero among Earthlings.” Tina admired David as she translated.

“You’re too kind. It was my duty,” David quickly replied. Tina translated.

“Tell us about your journey in search of extraterrestrial beings,” Moda requested. Tina translated, and David briefly shared the story of how he and John Phillips had traveled in a spaceship for four years, how they found nothing on the planet Gliese 581c, and how their spaceship later had an accident. Tina translated the story.

“That’s incredible! Did you know, we have sent people to the solar system, but we didn’t land on Earth? We follow a policy of non-interference in extraterrestrial affairs unless we are invited. We wouldn’t land on Earth without an invitation. But your arrival has opened a good beginning for our interaction with Earthlings,” Moda said, and Tina translated.

“David, do you have any requests?” Moda asked, and Tina translated.

“I want to work. I want to learn your language and study the advanced things here,” David eagerly replied. Tina translated.

“That’s great!” Moda said. He then whispered with the other department heads for a while. Tina explained to David, “They’re discussing your arrangements.”

Moda spoke again, “We can arrange for you to work out in the fitness energy room, attend classes at a foundational school, and you can also input information about Earth into our knowledge base to expand our knowledge system. Or you can learn any knowledge you want from the knowledge base.” Tina translated, and David nodded, then asked, “What is fitness energy?”

“It’s a place where you can exercise, like running, weightlifting, arm training, and so on, and generate electricity at the same time,” Tina explained.

“You need a guide or mentor,” Moda said.

“I’ll be his guide and mentor,” Tina volunteered after translating.

“Alright, let’s leave it at that. David, if you need anything in the future, you can come to me directly or relay it through Tina,” Moda said happily. Tina translated.

“Thank you so much!” David said, shaking Moda’s hand firmly. Tina translated. David then shook hands with everyone else, expressing his gratitude and farewells, before following Tina out of the room.

Tina brought David back to the hospital. “You must be tired today. Rest well, and I’ll come to see you tomorrow,” she said, then left.

David lay in bed, thinking about how he was about to live independently on an alien planet, and he couldn’t help but feel excited.