When Sara became aware of her surroundings, she confused to why she was in a white room, in fact, everything in the room was white, even the floor. How did she get here, did Paul call the paramedics and she was now in a hospital? Remembering the blood running down her face, she touched her head to feel for the bandage, but nothing was there. Why didn’t she have some sort of bandage as Paul had shot her in the head?

She felt no pain or any other kind of distress, just at peace and relaxed, which made her think that she was dead and this was a waiting room for heaven. Slowly, she became aware of voices approaching the door and held her breath, wondering what to expect.

The door opened gradually, and a man and woman entered the room, each dressed in all white. The man wore a lab coat, a shirt, a pair of pants and white shoes. The woman was wearing a knee length white dress and white, low-heeled shoes. This must definitely be heaven, with all this white everywhere around her.

“Oh good, you are awake. You’ve been asleep for two hours and we were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up. I’m Dr. Dave Miller, and this is my nurse and wife, Tammy.” He smiled at her and motioned for Sara to sit up. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions for us. First, let me assure you that you aren’t in any danger. No one here is going to harm you.”

“I was shot, but I don’t feel a wound. How can that be?” Sara asked quietly, as she frowned in confusion. “Did I dream it?” A faint touch of hysteria was in her voice.

“No, you didn’t dream being shot. You are not going to understand all of what I am about to tell you, but like I said before, you aren’t in any danger. Do you remember seeing a bright light just before you were shot?” Dr. Miller asked her.

Sara nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“That was our spaceship transport system locking onto your location. After the gun went off, we transported you to onto our ship, and using one of our special medical procedures, we repaired the damage to your head. That’s why you won’t feel a wound. It is as though you were never shot.”

The doctor smiled as if this explained it all. “You are aboard our spaceship, and we want you to come with us to live on our planet. We will be picking up a few more passengers from Earth before we leave for Zodar, which is the name of our planet. It will take us two weeks to get there from here because we are from a different galaxy from yours.”

Sara continued to stare at him, confused if she was truly awake or not.

“Our mission is to take women home with us to help repopulate our planet, as every few years, our planet is hit with an epidemic, which affects only the native females of our population. However, not all the females are affected by this epidemic at the same time. Fortunately, we have found out that for some reason, women from Earth are immune to this horrible disease. We are now in the process of bringing more women from your planet to our home. We especially want those who have children or who are pregnant, women who are without any family to miss them. If anyone we take doesn’t want to go, we simply erase their memory of us and send them back to Earth. They’re never the wiser, because we return them to Earth at the exact moment, we had initially transported them. We know you are divorced, pregnant, and have no other family living. Just tell us what you want to do. Are you going to Zodar with us or going back to Earth?”

Sara laughed, “What kind of joke is this?” She looked back and forth between the couple in front of her for reassurance that this was a joke.

Tammy walked over to her, took hold of her hand, and looked at Sara with a serious expression. “Sara, this is no joke. This is real to us because it is life-or-death trip for our planet. This mission is important to Zodar, as we need Earthlings to help us continue life on our planet. It’s time for us to finish retrieving additional people and get home to our people, so we need your decision as soon as possible.”

Sara positive this was a dream, decided she might as well try to enjoy it and see where it went from here. “How did you decide to pick me as one of your passengers?”

Dave bought out a book, which looked just like a typical photo album. When Sara opened it up, she saw it started with her baby pictures. Her whole life was in these pictures, every special occasion was recorded here: pictures of her first tooth, first step, her first date, and even her first car. Her graduation pictures from high school and college, her wedding photos, pictures of her parents and both brothers were also in the album. These pictures brought back so many wonderful memories, Sara didn’t seem to feel the wetness on her cheeks as her tears ran down her the side of her face. She slowly touched a picture of her with her parents from her wedding, it seemed so long ago, but she still missed her family a lot.

Tammy handed Sara a tissue. “Sara, we have been watching you since birth. We do this with all females on Earth, so we know if someone is a potential candidate for our transfer program. As soon as the divorce was final, a red flag went up on your computer file, and your name was added to the list for this trip. This has been our best trip this year, as we are bringing over one hundred females back to Zodar. Today is our last day on Earth and have twenty weddings scheduled again today, that is, if every woman says yes about going with us to Zodar.”

“So, let’s say all this is really happening. What comes next? What will I do on your planet?” She questioned them.

Dave closed the photo album, set it on the bedside table, and then picked up a second album. When he opened the album there were pictures of a young boy, as he turned the pages, the boy grew into a man. He was tall and slender, with light reddish hair and hazel eyes and was extremely good-looking. There were pictures of him with his family as he grew, and he too had wedding pictures. The last picture showed him with his wife, his son, who looked to be about a year old and daughter who looked to be about three years old.

“Sara, this is Travis McBride and he will be your new husband. Like on Earth, you can work outside the home at different types of jobs or be a stay-at-home mom. It will be between you and Travis; we haven’t any say in the matter.”

The doctor watched Sara’s expression as he told her this information. The room became dreadfully quiet, it was as if the doctor and his wife were holding their breath, waiting for Sara’s decision.

She looked back at the picture of Travis with his family, realizing if this man needed a wife, something terrible had happened to his first one. Not looking at the couple before her, she asked softly. “What happened to Travis’ wife?”

“His wife and daughter died in the last epidemic.”

Her eyes jerked up from the photo album to the two in front of her. “Oh, how horrible it must have been for him.” Feeling bad for the man’s loss, she changed the subject. “Were you two matched like this?”

Tammy smiled, “Yes, we have been together for five years now and I have never been sorry with my decision to marry Dave. I lived in Boston and just lost my parents in a plane accident. Dave was chosen for me; we now have a four-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy at home waiting for our return. Sometimes, just like on Earth, marriages don’t work out and then new matches will be made for each person.”

Sara nodded at her comment.

“You must know that if you decide to marry Travis, no matter if you stay married or not, you can’t ever return to Earth to live. Never! No matter what situation arises, no one is allowed to return to Earth, as Zodar will become your home. Our goal is to produce a new race, one that will be immune to the epidemic.”

She seemed to accept his words.

“It will take a few more trips like this one before we won’t have to recruit people from Earth. Each couple is asked to produce at least two offspring, but since you will have a female child from your previous marriage, you just need to have one more child, but can have more children if you want. We need your answer right away, because in an hour we will be leaving Earth’s orbit to start for home.”

Sara felt overwhelmed by she’d heard. “How do you know I’m going to have girl?” she asked as her hand rested on her belly.

Dave winked and said. “We have our ways.”

Sara just stared at him, as all he’d told her was like something out of a science fiction book or movie, as things like this just didn’t happen in real life. Could this be real or was it just a dream? If it was a dream, it was an incredibly realistic one. Yes, this was most definitely a dream, the best one she ever had in her entire life. No, she must be in a coma and this was what was going through her mind. Wow, this would be a great plot for a movie, she thought to herself.

Oh, what the hell, I will go for this new life. What do I have to lose anyway? Mrs. Miller told her rematches could be made if necessary. Marriage could be great with the right man. Her parents had a great marriage, theirs was nothing like the one she and Paul had. Sara smiled at the two of them. “Yes, I will go with you. When do I get to meet Travis and when is the wedding taking place?” she asked excitedly.

Dave and Tammy each took one of Sara’s hands in theirs and in unison they both said, “Now!” Sara was afraid of what exactly they meant by that comment.

Dave excused himself and quietly left the room as Tammy went to the closet and brought out the most beautiful white wedding dress Sara had ever seen in her life. She got out of bed and walked towards the dress, slowly reaching out to touch it, she smiled as the satin material of the dress felt so silky and smooth against her hand.

“Go ahead and put the dress on Sara,” Tammy said as she hands her the dress.

Sara removed her clothes, took the dress off the hanger, and put it on, fitting her perfectly. It made her think that it had been made specifically for her, which surprised her. The neckline was slightly scooped, with short sleeves, the hem barely touched the floor in front, and there was a small train in the back. Seeing a pair of shoes, Sara slipped her feet into the white low-heeled pumps, which also were a perfect fit.

Tammy came up behind Sara to zip up the dress and put the veil on Sara’s head, and then pulled Sara towards the mirror. When she looked at herself in the mirror, Sara was shocked at what she saw looking back at her. Was that really her in that mirror? Tears sprained from her eyes and ran down Sara’s cheek.

Tammy handed Sara another tissue. “My dear, what’s wrong? Don’t you like the dress?”

Sara smiled, “Oh yes! The dress is beautiful. When I was married the first time, I didn’t have a wedding gown, I bought a formal at a secondhand store. It was pretty, but definitely not the same as this gown, as this dress makes me feel like a princess.”

Tammy smiled at Sara’s words.

“It’s like I’m someone special, not just plain old Sara.” She told Tammy as she twirled around in a circle. “Thank you for the dress, it means a lot to me. Where did it come from? Was it made just for me? How did they know my size?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“We transported a dress and a pair of your shoes, took the measurements and returned them before you knew they were gone. The dress is yours to keep, the seamstress on board ship made it, and she and her workers make all the dresses,” Tammy told her.

A knock on the door made Sara jump, putting her hand on her chest, she felt her heart pounding is surprise at the sound. When Tammy opened the door, Sara couldn’t see who it was, but heard Dr. Miller tell his wife it was time but wasn’t sure what Dr. Miller meant by that comment.

When Tammy closed the door, she looked back at Sara.

“So, when is the wedding to take place?” Sara asked her, never expecting what Tammy was about to tell her.

Tammy smiled, and then looked at her watch. “Your wedding is to start in fifteen minutes.”

Sara’s mouth actually dropped open, as this was all happening too fast for her; she wasn’t ready to get married today. Sara frowned at the very thought of marrying a man she wasn’t going to meet until she was standing beside him at the altar, just the very thought twisted her heart. What would she do if she married another Paul?

Tammy saw Sara’s frown. “My dear, what’s wrong?”

“Tammy, I’m not ready for the wedding to be today,” Sara told her in an exasperated voice. “I thought I would get to meet Travis and have time to become acquainted with him before the wedding. What if we find out we don’t even like each other? There I’ll be, millions of miles from my home on a strange planet, not knowing anyone and stuck in a bad marriage again.”

Sara pulled off her veil, and then kicked her shoes off. “Tammy, help me out of this dress, I’ve changed my mind. I want to go home and forget this ever happened, as I feel too rushed. Before I take my wedding vows, there should be at least some form of courtship, at least an introduction to the man who will be my husband for the rest of my life.”

She fought to get the zipper to work. “I just can’t do this, I’m not ready to get remarried so soon.” Sara refused to meet Tammy’s eyes because she was afraid of what she would see there, as she knew she had disappointed Tammy. “I’m so sorry that I’ve let you down.” Sara began to cry.

Tammy pulled Sara to the chair. “Sara, sit down, and relax. Try taking some deep breaths. Maybe that will help to calm you down. The reason the wedding is so fast is that there isn’t enough time for a courtship, everyone needs to be married before we start for home. There isn’t enough room to house all the men and women separately. There are also some of the women’s children and their siblings on board who must have rooms as well. That’s why the weddings are so soon. Zodar is different from your planet, by the fact that all couples are married before they live together. Sex is the same way. Marriage comes first. Their religion isn’t much different from some of ours, they too believe in God.”

“But what happens if we aren’t compatible?” The thought of Paul made her shiver.

Tammy already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. “How long did you know your first husband? Would you say the two of you were compatible?”

Sara shook her head to indicate a negative response. “At the beginning of our relationship I thought we were, but he changed after we were married. I always seemed to irritate Paul and never could do anything right in his eyes. By the way, what happened to Paul?” Sara asked in a soft whisper, as if she asked aloud Paul would somehow appear before her.

“He wasn’t hurt and is probably wondering what happened to you. All he saw was a bright light that blinded him for a moment and when he opened his eyes, you were gone. Why did you stay with him so long?” Tammy couldn’t understand why any woman would stay with an abusive man.

“I stayed with him because of my marriage vows; he was my husband for better or worse. I thought I was the cause of his violent ways.” Sara began wringing her hands together. “I prayed to God to show me a way out of my marriage. I felt it was what He did by Paul’s last attack, as it made me finally decide to get the hell out of my marriage.”

“Sara, you stay here for a moment. I have an idea, and I will be back as soon as I can.” Tammy said with excitement in her voice. “I’m going to will try to postpone the wedding for you, but I can’t promise you anything. Let me see what I can do.”

Tammy left, quietly closing the door behind her. Sara stood and looked in the mirror at herself. “I can’t do this, but how am I going to get home without ending back at the same place I was, with Paul trying to kill me?” She said to the mirror, then slowly crumbled into the nearby chair. About five minutes passed when Sara heard a loud knock. “Come in.”

Sara was just thinking that Tammy didn’t need to knock, when the door quickly opened, and a man walked into the room wearing a black tuxedo, looking as if he was ready for his wedding. Sara recognized Travis instantly from his photo album and she couldn’t believe he was even more handsome in person.

Sara tried to swallow but couldn’t because suddenly her mouth had become dry, as her heart was thumping, and she couldn’t seem to say a coherent word to this man. She just stared at him, as she couldn’t even remember his name, let alone hers.

He didn’t seem to be aware of Sara’s difficulties as he slowly walked over to her. “Hi, I’m Travis.” He held out his hand as if he was going to shake hands with her, but instead when his hand touched hers, he pulled her out of the chair, and she fell gracefully into his arms. Travis put his hand on the small of her back and gently pushed her closer against his body, putting his other hand on the back of her head, he slowly brought her lips to his.

His lips were warm and slightly moist as if he just licked them. He didn’t need to force her, as she was drawn to him like a moth to a light. It was as if Sara’s lips had a mind of their own, she couldn’t have stopped the kiss if her life depended on it. When Travis sensed her acceptance, he deepened the kiss, his tongue entered her mouth and their tongues danced the mating dance together.

Sara couldn’t think, as she hadn’t ever in all her life ever been kissed like this before. Never! Every part of her body was responding to this man’s kiss and was tingling all over. Her breathing increased, her heart was pounded wildly in her chest, she felt light-headed and weak all over and would have fallen if not for the fact Travis was holding her.

Paul’s kisses never stimulated her like this, never during their entire marriage. Travis was just kissing her, making her wondered what it must be like to make love to someone whose kisses were as breathtaking as his were. Sara was becoming sexually aroused, and all they were doing was kissing. She could hardly catch her breath, wondering if she was going to survive this kiss?

His hands never moved from her back, but Sara felt them tighten against her, pulling her closer to him, if that was even possible. She could feel his arousal against her body and her nipples were tingling against her bra. The fact she affected a total stranger to this extreme was even more stimulating to her.

As Travis ended the kiss, he took his right hand and touched her face. “Sara, you are so beautiful. Please don’t leave, I need you stay here with me. Let me tell you a story.”

She simply nodded.

“Do you recall the last picture in my photo album?” Travis’ voice broke slightly. “It was the picture of me with my wife and children. It was taken last year before my family was destroyed. My wife, Allie, and daughter, Jean died last year during the epidemic. Toby is two now, so he doesn’t really remember them, but still misses them both. I looked through dozens of candidate’s photo albums and as soon as I saw your picture, I knew I wanted you to be his mother.” He said in a firm voice.

“Toby is staying with my in-laws, the Hays’s, while I’m on this trip. He is close to both set of his grandparents and just so you know up-front, I want him to continue seeing his maternal grandparents, because it is important for Toby to know Allie’s parents as well as mine. I hope this won’t hurt you.”

Sara softly touch Travis’ arm, “I think that’s wonderful, as a child can’t ever have too much love.”

“Sara, you are the one I want to marry, I don’t want anyone else.” Travis’ sad eyes looked deeply into hers.

“I didn’t realize you personally picked me. I didn’t know how I was chosen, but why me?” She asked with bewilderment.

Travis smiled, “Because of the love that shines in your eyes for your family, your smile lights up your whole face. I need a mate as much as I need a mother for Toby.”

When a single tear from her eye rolled down Sara’s cheek, Travis took his finger and wiped the tear away.

“Oh, Travis, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone though, as I have lost all my family members, but none of them was a spouse or child. Yes, you are right, your son does need a mother, and we both need a spouse. Are you aware I’m four and a half months pregnant?” Sara looked down at her barely noticeable tummy and put her hands across the area in a protective manner. “Does that make any difference to you?”

“Yes, I know about the baby.” Travis puts his hand on top of hers. “That’s another reason I chose you. Your baby will be immune to our dreadful epidemic, so you’ll never have to experience the loss of a child because of the epidemic. I could try to postpone our wedding for a few more minutes to give you some more time. So, what is your answer going to be? Are you going to marry me or return to earth?” His held his breath, waiting for her response, but he let it out when she started shaking her head no. Was she saying no to the marrying part? Travis waited nervously, forcing himself to breath when he realized he was holding his breath again in anticipation of her answer. Would her answer be the right one or not?

Sara just stared at him as Travis spoke, not saying a word, then she started slowly shaking her head no.

“I wish you would reconsider and decide to marry me and become my wife and Toby’s mother.”

“I’m sorry. I really don’t think I can do this. Part of me wants to, really, but I’m just not ready to be married today. I don’t know you or anything about you.”

“That isn’t the answer I wanted to hear. Maybe I can persuade you to change your mind into marrying me.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that is possible.” She sadly told him, quickly looking away as she didn’t want to see Travis’ disappointment.

“Do you mind if I try?” he asked, hoping he could change her mind about marrying him.

“No, go ahead and try, but it won’t do you any good,” she insisted.

There was a knock at the door. Sara bid them to enter and Dr. Miller entered the room.

“Sara, are you sure about your final decision?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she said as she again wiped her tears way. “I’m ready to leave,” Sara replied, trying to sound more positive than she really felt.

She looked around the room one last time, making sure she had everything she needed, then giggled, as of course, she had everything she needed, because she hadn’t brought anything with her. She took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, feeling more certain this was the right thing to do.

Dr. Miller took Sara’s arm and led her out of the room. They slowly walk down the quiet corridor; so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. She felt her heart beating rapidly, her palms were sweaty, and her mouth was dry. Sara kept licking her lips, but they wouldn’t stay moistened. Sara kept telling herself she was making the right decision, as there wasn’t any turning back now.

If only she could see Travis once more, because words were left unsaid to each other, now it was too late. Sara stopped walking, thinking maybe it wasn’t too late, “Dr. Miller, could I see Travis just one more time before we go on? I need to talk to him just one more time.”

“I’m sorry Sara, you can’t. You made your decision and now there isn’t any time left to change it. Besides, they are waiting for you.”

They resumed walking, going passed several passageways, but Sara didn’t notice them, she just kept looking straight ahead with a sad expression on her face.

They stopped at some double doors. Dr. Miller let go of Sara’s arm and handed her a small box. “It’s our going away gift for you.”

She opened it up and acknowledged the gift. “Oh, thank you, it’s beautiful. How thoughtful of you.” Sara leaned over gave Dr. Miller a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you and Tammy for all you have done for me.”

Dr. Miller opened the doors and retook her arm. Music played softly throughout the room, a song she had heard many times before and was surprised by it. It made her feel more at ease with her situation as she walked through the open doorway and they continued their journey. As they walked, she looked around her and saw all the other occupants in the room turning to watch them.

She wondered what they were all thinking as most of them were dressed the same as she was. They too were ready for this same trip, as they’d made the same decision as she had regarding their lives. She felt better now, knowing others had also come to the same conclusion about marrying a total stranger, an alien, from another planet.

They stop walking and he gave her a kiss on her cheek, “I hope you aren’t ever sorry for your decision, and good luck with your future. Tammy and I wish you the best.”

Then Dr. Miller turned and walked away, and another man gently took her hand into his. “I’ll be helping you on the rest of your journey home,” he told her, tightening his grip on her hand.

She welcomed the feel of his hand on hers, so strong and reassuring. She smiled up at him and he smiled back, and soon she would be where she belonged.

* * *

While Sara made a life changing decision about marrying a stranger, Paul was recovering from the extreme bright light filling the night that blinded him for a few seconds. Once his eyes didn’t have spots in them any longer, he opened them, expecting to see Sara with him, but she was gone.

“Sara, where are you?” He really didn’t expect her to answer, but that didn’t stop him from calling out to her. “You better appear in front of me, or I will make sure you suffer a great deal of pain.”

He searched the area for an hour, but without any luck. He was puzzled what had happened, but never dreamed the light may have had something to do with her disappearance. He left the hillside and drove to her apartment.

He knocked on the door, but no one answered. It didn’t surprise him, but if she thought a door was going to prevent him from getting to her, she had another thing coming. Anger filled him. Not caring what the neighbors would do, he moved away from the door, then ran to it and broke it open, just like he’d seen police do on the television.

When he stepped into the living room, he just stood there is shock. He slowly turned his head around the room, but everything was gone. He rushed into her bedroom, and found it was empty as well. He felt like crying at realizing he wouldn’t ever see his child, as Sara had finally escaped from him.