There was searing light everywhere, it burned though Kemm's closed eyes like the sun itself was pouring into his skull. Then he woke up and realized that it was just a dream… or maybe not.

The Matriarch was busy in her garden and paid Kemm no mind as he picked himself up off the grass and tried to make sense of what he had seen. Even now the details were drifting away until all that was left was a feeling, a feeling of incredible sadness and loss. But underneath it all he had felt at peace, like a long rest after a hard day's work.

He noticed a small human, probably a child, walking behind the Matriarch holding a small basket. It had an unruly mop of black hair that stuck up in the back and the uncertain gait of a toddler not quite used to standing upright yet. It giggled in pure joy as the Matriarch placed the occasional fruit into the basket.

Seeing young children was odd to Kemm since Limissians guarded their young and kept them hidden away until they were old enough to fend for themselves. Maybe humans were different.

"I see you're awake." Called the Matriarch, noticing his gaze. "I'm almost done here, I'll be right with you once Ebrum and I finish this row."

Ebrum didn't feel like waiting and stumbled over to greet his new friend. He set down his basket and raised his arms out towards Kemm. "Up!" He demanded, standing on his tippy toes. "Up! Up!"

"He wants you to lift him up." Said the Matriarch as she walked over to join them. "It's fine, I know you won't hurt him."

"Up!" Repeated Ebrum.

Awkwardly Kemm lifted the child until they were face to face. It was surprisingly heavy for how small it was. Ebrum giggled and wriggled. "Higher!" He demanded.

"Oh you want to go higher?" Asked the Matriarch, taking the child from Kemm as if it weighed nothing. "Perhaps we should go flying then. Ready for liftoff?"

Kemm watched as the Matriarch ran through the garden making zooming noises with her mouth. Ebrum screamed, which frightened Kemm until he realized that the child was expressing joy.

What strange creatures, Kemm thought. They bare their teeth when they're happy and scream when they're excited. He knew then that even if he lived to see eighty seasons he would never truly understand humans.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He sat down on the bench and watched for a while, secretly jealous that he had never felt that kind of unconditional love from his own family. His father had always been cold and distant and his mother hadn't been much better before the sickness took her.

Would he be like them? He wondered. Or would he be like this human playing mad games in the garden. He hoped he would love his children the way she obviously did, but feared that maybe he didn't have it in him.

Personal connections had always been hard for Kemm. It was like a part of him had been left out when he was born and he didn't know how to make up for the deficiency.

"Why the long face?" Asked the Matriarch as she sat down next to him. Ebrum had gotten distracted by some kind of flying bug and was chasing it around the garden. "You seem sad."

"Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking that humans are very different from Limissians." Kemm said.

"Some are, some aren't. We're fairly diverse as a species." She took a breath. "I love Ebrum but that child can play for hours and hours. I sincerely hope that he never grows out of it."

"How old is he?" Kemm asked, not sure if that was a rude question or not.

The Matriarch did some mental math. "Birthdays are hard to figure out once relativity gets involved. I think he's about four years old, subjectively speaking."

The translation software in Kemm's head did the conversion for him and he furrowed his brow in confusion. There was no way such a small child could be sixteen seasons old, that would make him Kemm's age. Unless of course it wasn't a glitch and humans were just built differently.

"How long do your people live?" He asked incredulously.

The Matriarch shrugged. "Nobody knows. We reach maturity at around twenty years and after that it's all up to fate."

Kemm looked out in wonder at Ebrum. When he was old and dying this child would just be reaching adulthood. He turned to the Matriarch. "How old are you?"

"I feel quite young and that's all that matters." Replied the Matriarch, putting an end to that line of questioning. "I assume that you came here to talk to me about acid beasts, not the quirks of human biology."

There it was, the thing he had been avoiding. He looked at the Matriarch for a moment, trying to gauge her mood. "We need those acid beasts."

"Do you really?" She countered. "I think they've suffered enough."

Kemm started to say something about how suffering wasn't important, then stopped himself. "My uncle promised the nano-crystals to a buyer in exchange for farming equipment."

The Matriarch shook her head. "Your uncle was a fucking idiot. Come with me." Then without a word she scooped up Ebrum and walked toward a doorway which appeared out of nowhere.

There was no feeling of traveling or distance, he just stepped through and he was back on the ship like he never had left.

Kemm followed behind the Matriarch not knowing what to expect. She wove her way through the ship's passages without hesitation and came to a stop outside his father's quarters.

"I'm going to put an end to this stupidity right now before it snowballs into something beyond our control." She said as she knocked on the door.