imagine being rocky and grace and knowing your whole life that nobody quite Gets you in the way you wish they did. and then you meet this creature from outerspace and he's so different from you in every way but he somehow fills in every gap in your soul. he has the information you need, he has the sense of humor you didn't know you had in you, he's excited about you and everything about you because the differences are what MAKES it exciting, and you feel the same way back at him. imagine you're rocky and you have this precious laptop cradled in protective life support and you think, "well, this is it. this is all i have left of him." and imagine you're grace and you look at the xenonite habitat littered around your ship and you think, "well, this is it. this is all I have left of him." and you (rocky and grace both) watch the fading readout showing the distance growing between you, until it all goes wrong. and then you (rocky) asume you'll die here, alone and afraid and unsure anybody will ever save your planet. and you (grace) have to decide if this time you'll be brave enough to set off on a journey knowing there's no way home.
and in the end, the two of you (rocky and grace both) get to spend more time you didn't think you'd have knowing and understanding. you learn the languages fully. you pick up quirks and habits and pieces of culture. and even when the happy ending is provided for you (grace) and there's a shot at making it back to your planet, you aren't even sure you want to take it. because you (grace) love this life, this weird, alien, unimaginable life that you've gotten to build. and you (rocky) hesitate to offer but you know you have to. because you (rocky) love grace an unimaginable amount in an unimaginable way. but you (rocky and grace both) get to make that choice together, this time. it isn't an impossible choice. and if you want to stay together, here on Erid, you (rocky and grace both) can make that choice guilt-free and happy.
