Caleb lay prone on his cot in the dark barracks.  A little flashlight rested at his elbow, illuminating his journal.  He rubbed the flat end of a pencil tip over a blank page, revealing the imprint of the words he'd written to Zara.  He remembered most of them, but he wanted to be sure.  When he was finished, he copied the letter onto another page and pocketed the journal.  268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYf6jxpzp2

After hiking to the far north end of the base, he looked back at the victory party, now just a blanket of tiny lights and muffled sounds.  Then he considered the glimmering stars, stars thankfully at rest.  He gripped his photo tags in one hand, the medal on the other, and thought of the end of his letter.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVIUMCq0zm

He imagined a brilliant flow of yellow and red gas drifting before distant stars. The gas dissolved into the image of a spiral galaxy, a beautiful celestial flower in full bloom.  268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt98wXBgnVp

A comet trailing a brilliant ice blue tail streaks towards a dimming Earth.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TSaUDpbCv

Reeling from a burst of loss and longing, Caleb tore the medal from his neck and pitched it with all his might at the bright blue star that was to have been his home.268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPZn61SwPx

He watched the medal fall light-years short of Zara, but that didn't matter.  He whispered his promise:268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKACYDz2ds0

"The stars above, below, and between us will never shine brighter...as we drift away...into space."268Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduWuxQYjva