Avi retreated to her room and stayed there for two-thirds of the day. It was enough to make Luna worry, so she knocked at the door, but when no answer came, she had to open the door, just a little.

  Avi was lying on her left side and hugged her plush bunny, with her vacant stare directed at the wall.

  “Can I sit here?” - Luna asked as she approached

  “Do whatever you want.” - Avi said, indifferent.

  Luna sat next to Avi's feet, on the edge of the bed, and gave her time to think, but it didn't seem to change anything.

  “Are you hungry?” - Luna asked.

  “Not a bit.”

  “Okay.” - Luna said and continued their silence, at least until she asked. - “Is something on your mind?”

  “Yes, our journey.”

  “Do you want it to continue?”

  Avi hugged her plushie tighter, she had doubts. - “I do, but I'm scared.”

  “Of?”

  “Of making another irreversible mistake.”

  “...but what if by waiting here, we lose a chance to do something good?”

  “I understand what you're implying, but I can't forgive myself... my needless curiosity.”

  “Okay, so how about simply flying somewhere desolate, to see something beautiful?”

  “I... I'm not sure.” - Avi looked at Luna. - “Can you give me a bit more time?”

  “Of course, do rest.”

  ---

  I drowned once more and knew that nothing would ever change. The same coldness, the same choking feeling. Torn apart, until there is nothing, not even bones. My hand reached out, pointlessly... so why did I still feel that I'm here? Without anyone, without anything. Sinking deeper... and deeper...

  ---

  “Good morning, Avi.” - Luna gently smiled at her friend, who walked to the bridge, still in pajamas, slippers, and a bad mood. Avi appeared low on rest.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Hi, Luna.” - Avi wiped her groggy eyes, then sat in front of the map. - “Where next?”

  “How about the third planet in this system? It has an asteroid belt and atypical forms of landscape.”

  “Sounds... adequate.” - Avi said without enthusiasm.

  Luna turned into a sphere and leaped to the steering platform, then activated the engine and short-jumped to the ring of celestial debris. Avi involuntarily looked outside, gazing at the milky rocks that surrounded a planet of the same color.

  Luna skillfully weaved between the obstacles, at the same time pushing their smaller pieces away with the ship's energy shield, then she landed on the cloudless planet and turned back to her human form.

  Her eyes examined Avi from head to toe. - “I suggest taking your suit.”

  “I will walk like this, I don't plan a long walk.”

  Luna acknowledged her request and offered Avi her hand to safely lead her outside. Soon, they both were gazing at the horizon of the endless white, cut only by the asteroid belt.

  “Where are the landscapes that you spoke of?” - Avi asked as she took a look around.

  “Not too far, let's walk.”

  Hand in hand, they walked in silence, to the sun's orange light.

  “Isn't it peaceful here?” - Luna asked. - “It helps relax, let the mind rest.”

  “Sorry, I don't feel anything like that.” - Avi said with a depressed expression.

  It made Luna sad, and she didn't know what to say. She wanted her old Avi to be back, and she felt her heart aching, unlike anything she had experienced up to this point. For now, she found a drop of happiness in the fact that she could hold Avi's hand.

  After climbing the hills of white chalk, the sun cast its warm light on Avi, blinding her slightly.

  When Avi moved her arm to shield her eyes, she noticed a new landscape, and her mouth opened. - “Where... are we?”

  Below the hills, there were perfect circles of fluorescent, turquoise liquid. The entire area was riddled with these ponds, and small crystals, the size of a grape, hovered in the vacuum around them

  “A static anomaly of ordered forces.”

  “Luna, that says nothing.” - Avi cautiously started to walk down, and Luna followed.

  “The ordered forces are one of the eight fundamental forces of the universe. The static anomaly, in this case, is an immutable object that seemingly defies the laws of physics.”

  “I didn't think that stuff like this could be found as part of nature. Is it the same as your levitating gear?”

  “A very good observation. It's similar.”

  Avi approached the crystal, and when she lightly tapped it with her hand, it produced a piano-like sound. The water in the pond rippled, forming annular waves. When the tune traveled to the other crystals, they started vibrating and their sounds mixed together in a harmonious melody.

  Avi took a step back, forgetting her bad mood for a moment, and listened in awe until the mineral formation quieted down.

  “Luna... the universe was hiding its secrets from us all this time, and humanity never had a chance to unravel them...”

  “Avi, as the last human in the stars, you are carrying their hopes.”

  “My purpose...”

  “Don't forget it.” - Luna said, then moved a crystal closer to the pond, then repeated it for the other few.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Creating something special.”

  When Luna relocated the last crystal, she guided Avi's hand there, so she could tap it again, and a new, angelic, and serene melody played.

  “I called it 'Pulse'.” - Luna explained. - “It's my way to express what I feel when I hold your hand.”

  “Luna...” - Avi's heart beat faster. - “...thanks.”