Galina in Zero-Gravity: A Scientific Romance

"How are you feeling?"

I turn my head to look at Anton. He is his usual self - calm, composed, and neatly dressed. I smile at him. "Fine."

"You were amazing," he says as he reaches towards me, placing his hand on my upper arm. His fingers are cold against my skin. I shiver despite myself. "I never knew you had it in you."

"Neither did I," I say with a laugh as I shake my head. "Honestly, that was the most exciting thing that's happened to me in years." I pause for a moment. "Maybe ever."

Anton's expression hardens slightly. He removes his hand from my arm and fiddles with the edge of his shirt collar. "Do you regret what we did?"

"No," I reply immediately, shaking my head again as I try to fix my hair back into place. "Why would I? It was an incredible experience - something I'll remember until the day I die."

"Good," Anton says with a nod of his head before looking away from me and staring at the floor of our compartment. The zero-gravity is disorienting; if not for the straps holding us in place, we would float around aimlessly like balloons with loose strings. The only light inside the compartment is coming from the window that allows us to see the stars whizz by without any movement from us whatsoever. I wonder how long we've been floating like this - hours? Days? Years? The thought is terrifyingly exhilarating in a way that almost makes me feel like giggling uncontrollably like a little girl.

"What do we do now?" I ask softly, my voice barely audible over the hum of the engine under our feet.

Anton turns to face me again with a frown on his face, looking sadder than usual if possible. "I'm sorry, Galina... But there's nothing we can do now." He pauses for a moment before continuing, his voice cracking slightly as he speaks, "I have to report your findings back to Earth."

My heart sinks in my chest at those words and bile rises up in my throat from within me, leaving an acidic taste behind in my mouth as its presence becomes known to me for only a few brief moments before fading away once again. My eyes start to tear up as the reality of what has happened starts sinking deeper into my consciousness, causing everything else around me to become blurry and fuzzy until all I can see clearly is Anton's face one meter away from mine, staring at me with sorrowful eyes and lips trembling as if he wants to say something but cannot bring himself to utter even one word out loud, like he is trying his best to hold back tears or perhaps laughter - or both - at the same time.