To the Sky, a Journey through Love and Hope

The night sky was a magnificent canvas of pinpricks of light, and the moon was full, illuminating the land around them in a soft white glow.

Vethal and Vikram stood on their porch, holding each other close. They were both dressed in their finest clothes, Vethal in her wedding dress, Vikram in his traditional dress. Their friends and neighbors had gathered around them, all looking up at the sky with curious expressions.

"The stars are so bright tonight," Vikram said as he stared at the sky.

"Yes, they are," Vethal agreed. "I'm so glad we got to see them again before you leave."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to see anything like this again," Vikram admitted. "Not even if I go back to Earth."

"I know," she said, squeezing him tighter. "I just wish... that you could stay here with me."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I have to go. It's my duty."

"No, it's not!" she protested. "You're not leaving for your duty! You're leaving because you want to go! You're leaving to chase some dream you've had since you were a kid! You're leaving because you're scared! You're afraid of missing out on something, and you're afraid of living in this place with me and our little house and our farm, making love and having babies with me when you could be doing whatever the fuck you want in space! This is more than a duty! This is true freedom! True freedom is to choose what you want to do with your life, and you're choosing to throw it away!"

"What would you have me do then, Vethal? Stay here? With this family I can never have? You know as well as I do that I won't be able to have children with you. I'm infertile. And you know as well as I do that I can't stay on this farm forever! I would go crazy! Look at you! You're so beautiful and wonderful, and you're trapped here, in this small village, with your parents and your brother, and your friends, and me, when you could be so much more! I can't do that to you! This isn't right! It's not fair to you!"

"It's not fair to you, either!" she cried. "You have so much potential! So much to offer! You're going to waste it all! You're going to give up everything for some pipe dream that may or may not work! You don't even know if you'll make it there! You don't even know if you'll be able to get back!"

"I will!" Vikram insisted. "I have the money for the ship, and I have the connections to get a job there. I'll be fine!"

"So you're willing to just leave everything behind to go who knows where? You're willing to give up on everything and everyone you care about, including me?"

"Yes!" he said. "I am! I'm sick of this place, and this life, and all of these people who can't understand how I feel. This is my chance to start over, and I will take it. And you should too! You should go and travel, and see the world, and meet new people and learn new things, and live the life you've always wanted! You're a smart and beautiful woman. You don't need me to stay here with you. I'm sure you can find someone else who will be willing to stay with you."

"And what if I don't want someone else?" she asked. "What if I only want you?"

"Then I guess you'll have to wait for me," he said softly. "Someday, we'll see each other again. We'll be together again, and we'll build a life together. And it will be wonderful. I promise."

"You don't know that," she said. "You don't know that you'll see me again. You don't know that you'll make it."

"I do," he said. "I know I will. I just have to believe."

"I don't want you to go," she sobbed. "I don't want to lose you!"

"You won't," he promised. "We'll see each other again. I promise."

They held each other close, their tears mixing as they clung to each other.

"It's time," one of the villagers said. "You have to go."

"I don't want to," she sobbed.

"I have to," he said. "I have to save them. I have to save us."

"Who?" she asked. "Who do you have to save?"

"All of us," he said. "All of us in this village. All of us in Africa, and all of us on Earth. We all deserve better than this. We all deserve to live free and happy lives. We all deserve to be saved. And I'm the only one who can. I'm the only one who can leave this life behind and go out into the stars and try to save us all. I'm the only one who can make a difference. And I want to. I want to make a difference. I want to find a better life for everyone. I want to discover new worlds, and meet alien creatures, and make friends with them, and learn from them. I want to make a home for myself out there. I want to have the kind of family I never had here. And I need you in that family. I need you by my side. I need you to share my dreams with me. I need you to hold me and love me and support me. I need you to be there for me. To make me stronger. To make me feel safe. I need you to believe in me."

"I do believe in you," she sobbed. "I believe in you so hard. I love you so much. And I don't want to lose you. I don't want to be alone again."

"You won't be," he promised. "I'll always be with you."

He kissed her, pressing his lips against hers. Then he took her hand, and led her down the stairs of her porch, past their friends and neighbors, past their home, and towards the waiting spacecraft.