Artificial Heart

22

Prisha crept down the hall. Moonlight bounced against the couch and T.V. A clock ticked. Her phone felt heavy in her pocket and slid up and down against her thigh. Quietly, the front door clicked shut behind her.

Prisha rubbed the back of her neck as the prickling intensified. She wondered where Alf was going to pick her up. She didn't know the place. There was a park towards the left but she was drawn to somewhere to her right. The full moon lit up the night, swallowing up the stars around it.

She kept an eye on her surroundings, jumping at a sudden bark from a dog. She looked across her shoulder at the squealing of tires in the distance. Her footsteps were too loud.

It wasn't far.

She walked through a grassy thoroughfare between two large homes before finding herself at the top of a slope. Down below was what must be a lake. It was surrounded by trees. She could hear the croaking of innumerable frogs.

She turned, catching movement in the corner of her eye. Her heart leapt. The shimmering! Like winking diamonds against the moonlight. It spread and widened and shot outwards, transforming into the ship. Lights blinked. Metal gleamed. A hum made the air vibrate. A square of darkness opened up like a mouth, the ramp lowering to the ground like a tongue.

Prisha was running. Running towards the excitement ahead, running away from the fear behind. She glanced over her shoulder, momentarily terrified that someone was chasing her.

The ramp thudded beneath her footsteps.

Only when the ramp had closed securely behind her did she relax. Her heart raced, her skin prickled, thoughts of all that had happened at their last meeting heated up every cell of her body. She watched as he controlled the ship, studying his broad shoulders and the way his space suit clung to his muscular figure. She'd touched that. She'd had that. She'd kissed it and stroked it and loved it.

Her hands twitched.

As they traversed the deep, dark sky Prisha tried to speak but his name kept catching in her throat. She tried to get up close to him but her feet wouldn't move. Men could act strangely sometimes after intimacy, she'd come to learn. He hadn't looked at her yet.

Then his hands fell away from the controls and he turned. One glance in his eyes and Prisha knew that nothing had changed. A pleasant ping between her hipbones, a swoop in her guts, and Alf was catching her in his arms as she crashed into him.

Prisha's fingers bunched tightly into the material of his suit as she pressed her face hard into his chest. 'I wish you wouldn't go.'

'I am sorry.'

'It hurts, Alf. I miss you too much.'

'I have missed you too.'

Prisha looked up at him with a smile, chin pressed to his chest. Then she frowned. 'What's wrong? You look worried.'

'I am in trouble. Command is getting suspicious.'

'S-suspicious? How?'

'I have been to your planet too many times. My excuses are unacceptable.'

'What does that mean?' But she already knew. She already knew.

'This must be my last contact.'

'No!' Prisha tightened her grip, as much to clutch onto him as to steady herself. It felt like the floor was shaking. 'You can't do that! You can't leave! Not yet! Not after ... everything.' Her throat swelled up. Wet heat rushed to her eyes.

'I must. For me. For you.' He grabbed her arms, as though to pull her away. But he didn't, clutching her just as tightly as she was clutching him. His brown eye looked deeply into hers. 'I am sorry.'