Hope in the Unknown: Hi and Zandra's Space Odyssey

**The Lord of the Stars**

“There it is, my darling little world.” I said to her. “Our home.”

“It looks like a star in the sky.” She said as she looked at it through the window of my starship. “It... It's beautiful!”

I smiled. “That's what they call it, you know? The Lord of the Stars. The brightest star in their night sky. They say it's a sign of good fortune if you see it on your journey and that it takes care of its people.”

I turned back to look at her and saw her small hands covering her mouth as she gaped at the view. She was so cute and innocent, so young... And yet so smart and mature, too! I had fallen for her almost immediately when we met aboard my ship in orbit around Earth, but she had been in love since we first laid eyes on each other. At times I wished that I'd been as quick to fall for her as she had for me... But then again, maybe that would have made this whole situation even more difficult than it already was. After all, she'd been only twelve years old when we met... She wasn't supposed to fall for anybody yet! Not only that, but I was from an entire planet away from hers! I had ended up there by chance after a series of unfortunate events and I hadn't been able to go back ever since because no one could get my ship working again... So here we were, together on a journey across the stars and trying not to think about what would happen once we got back to our respective planets...

* * * * *

Zandra looked at me with big eyes as she took a step closer. “What will happen when we get there? When will we be getting back?” She asked with a troubled expression on her face as she bit down on her lower lip.

I sighed and took a step closer towards her as well until our bodies were practically touching each other. “I don't know, Zandra... Maybe never... Maybe tomorrow... Who knows?” I gently caressed her cheek with my right hand while using my left one to hold onto hers and pull it away from her lips until our eyes met again. “But whatever happens, wherever we end up, I'll make sure you're safe. You're going to be okay, Zandra, I promise you that. No matter what they might do to us or how long they keep us here, you're gonna be fine... Because I'll always be by your side whenever you need me and whenever you want me there with you, no matter how far apart we might be from each other in space or time or anything else for that matter! You just gotta remember that no matter what happens between now and the moment we leave this place behind us forever... You've got me as your friend and lover forever more! Okay?”

Zandra nodded vigorously before throwing herself into my arms and kissing me deeply with all the love she possibly could muster for me in that moment. My heart skipped a beat every single time she did something like that... Every touch she gave me was magical beyond belief! How was someone so young acting like such an adult?! Where did she learn these things?! It was like... It was like something out of a bizarre dream where some kind of strange magic took over someone's body while they weren't looking and it made them act completely different than they used to! She was acting just like an adult woman but still remained just as pure and innocent as any child should have been! It didn't make any sense whatsoever! But then again,... We didn't have much time left together before we'd have to part ways forever anyway so why did anything really need to make sense anymore? All that mattered now was the fact that before we parted ways forever she would know how much I loved her more than anything else in the world! How could I ever let her go...? Never! Never ever! Not until death came knocking at my door would I ever let my eyes off of Zandra's face even for an instant! Even if our love was scorned upon by everyone else in existence for being wrong or immoral or illegal or whatever other bullshit excuse anyone could come up with to take away our happiness from us,... We'd find a way past all those obstacles together regardless of what happened and keep loving each other forever no matter what anyone said or thought about us afterwards! No matter how hard it got... No matter how many times others tried to tear us apart out of fear or envy or whatever petty reasons they might have,... Nothing would stop me from loving her with all my heart and soul until our last day on this planet together came along! Because love is stronger than any laws or rules put into place by men who can barely understand love themselves because they're too caught up in their own lives trying to figure out what they want out of life instead of enjoying every single second they have left on this planet while they can still physically live on it without having their minds slowly crumble apart into nothingness by their own doing over time due to how stressed out they are about everything else instead of living life happily from one moment to the next without thinking about anything else but enjoying those moments for all that they were worth before death stole them away from them when least expected after all was said and done! Love is stronger than any other law put into place by man-made religions designed only to keep people stupidly trapped inside their doctrines filled with lies spoken by corrupt leaders who only need money and power above all else no matter what the cost is for others so long as those leaders can keep getting more money and power over those same people day after day after day until those leaders finally die off leaving behind nothing but godless mounds of dirt after rotting away inside those same fake doctrines created by greedy liars just like them who never cared about anything except making more money off of desperate worshippers paying off their sins by spending all their hard-earned money on useless stuff bought from places they owned while acting like everything they sold had some kind of special divine meaning attached to it when nothing really did except for the fact that selling them cheap junk made them rich beyond belief instead of allowing them to spend their money on things needed by real people who didn't want fake beliefs simply bought off with false promises meant only for stupid people who needed something bigger than themselves just so they could feel secure about life in general after losing everything else worth living for over time because no human being can possibly live forever unless dying peacefully during sleep instead wasting valuable time spent alive worrying about shit nobody should have had problems with anymore while living a normal life without having their minds controlled by money-grabbing dirtbags full of hatred towards God Himself simply because He wanted everyone outside His religion damned therefore leaving these evil-minded religious leaders no choice other than blaming Him alone because He knew better than anyone else that most people couldn't handle knowing deep down inside both mentally and spiritually speaking that God exists at all therefore making Him decide where everyone goes after death instead of letting every single person decide for themselves whether or not eternal damnation is worth suffering through endlessly throughout eternity suffering unspeakable pain daily at His hands despite never deserving any part of Him besides His love which He already gave freely without expecting anything in return except maybe some support during difficult times which nobody living inside earthly bodies ever gets unless from family members who doubt Him just like everyone else does which proves His point even more because why would He give free gifts based off faith alone if He didn't think anyone deserved them? Therefore forcing people into believing certain things certain ways simply because God knows better than everyone else including these false clerics who refuse to accept His true message simply because it means giving up control over people's lives therefore accepting less money when they desperately need more above all else simply because greed makes people blind sometimes otherwise nobody would have fallen prey to these lies if not for fear which forces everyone into believing things against reason simply because not doing so results in isolation leading nowhere but misery alongside loneliness similar inside physical churches owned by those same false prophets living fat off donations given willingly by worshipers who believe whatever needs paying attention towards is actually God talking directly through His representatives especially when nothing being said seems worth listening too either despite all being obviously false propaganda meant solely for making money off desperate believers whose faith has failed them miserably over time leading them into desperation which made them cling onto false beliefs bought off cheaply instead regardless how ridiculous these beliefs might seem at first blush then later creating new ones based also on lies suddenly invented exclusively for keeping believers trapped inside churches owned by these wicked clergymen making sure these poor souls never learn about true faith given freely by God Himself which isn't based off lies invented especially for profit purposes giving priests everywhere large sums cash easily earned through brainwashing vulnerable individuals into thinking superstitious fantasies are somehow real while threatening eternal hellfire awaiting everyone outside church walls unless they repent immediately while turning everything upside down denying themselves food water shelter clothing others basic necessities plus relationships sex family affection merely if outside church walls meaning also friends social status work education etc.. every day needing spiritual help believing modern myths pretending myths sold are real Truths therefore ignoring Eternal Life given freely via Jesus Christ our Savior Who died entirely paid sins committed during lifetime offering Eternal Life free Salvation Paradise Christ died paid return eternal punishment deserved countless billions suffer while those guilty continue enjoy sinful pleasures living carefree lives without worries even though God doesn't mind helping people avoid hellfire especially if willing