Tika found herself unable to sleep.

Often she found herself unable to sleep, especially when there were things in her mind. And right now, she was thinking about her life on Mothership Velrakis.

Two weeks had passed since Tika and her colleagues arrived at Mothership Velrakis, and Tika really enjoyed the experience. There were a lot of things to see and to learn while she was in the Mothership. She even had the chance to try the spaceship simulation that Velrakis-Aran pilots were using. It was difficult at first, but Tika was nothing but determined to learn.

And that was her problem right now, wasn’t it? Everything was so new and interesting, and she wanted to learn everything — despite knowing how impossible it was. Her time on the Mothership was limited; a couple years was nothing but a blink of an eye.

Tika rolled on her bed and stared at the ceiling. In the end, she gave up trying to get some sleep and quietly padded out of her bedroom.

In the living room, she found Varka sitting all on their own. They were reading something in a tablet on their hand. When Tika approached them, Varka turned toward her, their gaze soft. Tika felt her face heat up, but she slid into the sofa across to them.

“Can’t sleep?” Varka asked.

Tika shook her head quietly, before turning to watch the night view of Velrakaris on the window. Beams of light lit up the buildings, and small shuttles flitted around. In the distance, the lights glimmered like multicolored stars.

A city that never sleeps, Tika thought. Just like the megapolitan cities on Earth, Velrakaris too never slept.

“Time goes so fast in Velrakis”, Tika said, breaking the silence. “There are so many things to see and to learn. It feels like such a waste to sleep.”

“You need your rest”, Varka returned, and Tika was surprised to find unmasked concern in their voice.

“I mean, you’re right…” Tika said with a sigh.

Comfortable silence fell between them once again, like a sheet of warm blanket. Tika found she enjoyed the silence.

“If you can’t sleep”, Varka said all of a sudden. “Perhaps you would like to see Velrakaris at night?”

“Now?” Tika asked, turning to Varka.

Varka nodded.

“I’ll grab my jacket”, Tika said, feeling excitement bloom inside her chest. She got up from the sofa and padded back to her own room, grabbing her jacket and her shoes. Once she was done, she returned to the living room, where Varka was already waiting for her by the door.

Instead of walking to the train station that they always used, Varka guided Tika into a hallway that she had never seen before. It took them to a small door, which led them into a beautiful garden. Various trees with white leaves and multicolored bushes grew by the footpath. Tika followed Varka, before the two of them reached the edge of the garden. A solid wall blocked their path.

“A dead end?” asked Tika.

Instead of answering, Varka tapped their fingers to the wall in a rhythmical pattern, before a hole formed in the wall. Immediately, wind swept Tika’s hair, and she cried out in surprise.

She forgot that the Royal Palace was flying above Velrakaris.

“Come”, Varka said, offering their hand. Tika stared at them as if they had lost their mind.

“How are we supposed to get down?!” she cried out.

“Do you trust me?” Varka asked instead, smiling cryptically.

“I mean, I trust you, but—” Tika’s words were cut off short as Varka pulled her close and they jumped.

Immediately, the gravity pulled them down. Tika screamed and slung her arms around Varka’s shoulders tightly. Dimly, she could feel their arms around her waist, holding her protectively.

And then something was happening. Tika dared herself to open her eyes, and she realized that they were no longer falling. Instead, the two of them weaved their way in the air, circling around the jutting skyscrapers

“Wh—? H-how?” Tika managed to say. She still couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Flying boots”, Varka said with a smile. Tika glanced downward and saw purple light glowed on Varka’s shoes — but then she saw how high above they were from the surface below, she went back to hide her face in the crook of Varka’s neck.

Eventually, they landed on a park, not too far from the Royal Palace. 

“You— Ugh! I can’t—!” Tika couldn’t even finish her sentence. She could feel just how weak and shaky her legs were, and she could only cling to Varka for dear life.

“Forgive me. I had thought that you would have enjoyed it”, Varka said, though they didn’t sound sorry somewhat.

Tika wanted to smack them in the face, but in the end she decided not to. Whatever the reason, she knew that Varka didn’t mean to hurt her. They were even right in their assumption — that Tika indeed would have liked it, if only Varka had warned her beforehand. What they were doing was no different to action sports, something that she often enjoyed.

She took a deep breath and said, “Next time, give a girl a warning. I seriously thought we would fall to our death, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.”

“Next time?” Varka teased with a smirk. Tika released her death grip on their shoulder just to punch them on the shoulder, which only made them laugh.

As Varka began to walk, Tika followed. Water canals gurgled next to the footpath, and oddly shaped plants of various colors grew in abundance. Flower shrubs and trees were arranged beautifully on the park, and lights hung from the tree branches, illuminating their path.

As they walked through the park, Tika realized that they were not the only people there. Various beings walked around them, and they did not seem to care about Tika and Varka. Some of them walked leisurely, while the others walked with purpose int heir steps. Somewhat, it made Tika feel more at ease.

“Where are we now?” Tika asked after awhile.

“A park, not too far from the Botanical Garden and the Great Museum”, Varka answered. Tika looked ahead, and they were right — she could see a familiar building stood not too far away. “I heard that you want to visit the Great Museum again, so… well…”

Oh, Tika thought. It was true that she wanted to visit the Great Museum again, after she and her colleagues visited it two weeks ago. However, their busy schedule didn’t allow them to revisit the Great Museum. Such a pity, especially since there were a lot of things that Tika wanted to learn from it.

Tika didn’t know what to say, so instead she asked, “The museum is open at night?”

“Of course not”, Varka answered, laughing. “But that’s one of the perks being the Emperor’s progeny and a Velrakis-Aran member.”

Which meant, they knew they had a privilege and they were not ashamed to use it. Tika wasn’t sure if it was right, but well… It wasn’t like she was complaining. If night time was the only time she could visit the museum, then so be it.

“You guys have a botanical garden too?” Tika asked as they crossed a curved bridge.

“Oh yes, Velrakaris Botanical Garden”, Varka answered, as they pointed at a dome-shaped building across the street from the Great Museum. “The Botanical Garden is best to be visited at night.”

“Why?” Tika asked.

“What if you see it for yourself?” Varka asked back.

Tika fell silent. On one hand, she wanted to visit the Great Museum again, to see and learn new things that she had no chance to. On the other hand, she was curious about what Varka said.

She had never visited a botanical garden in her life, mostly because she had no interest in plants. Plants were plants… they were not as interesting as a whole universe that spread over her head. But this was not Earth plants, and from what she saw at a glance, the plants on Velrakis looked wildly different than plants on Earth.

“Okay, you got me curious”, Tika said. “Can we go to the Botanical Garden instead?”

“Of course”, Varka answered. “Please follow me.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach the Velrakaris Botanical Garden… which actually looked more like a forest instead of a botanical garden. The dome-shaped building was only one part of it, and there were more smaller domes surrounding it.

As they entered the Botanical Garden, tall trees with trunks shaped like a bottle loomed above them, making Tika crane her neck to see its treetops. Here, the lights were dimmer, making the garden look even more mystical and mysterious.

“Come”, Varka said, as they guided Tika into a wide footpath. Water canals gurgled all around, and the sound made her less jittery somewhat. More relaxed.

At first, the plants lining the footpath looked ordinary. Sure, their colors were different than earth plants, but Tika had yet to understand why Varka said that the Botanical Garden was best visited at night. But the deeper they walked, bugs like fireflies floated all around, glimmering like multicolored starbursts, creating a sight that made Tika feel like she was in a dream. Blue met with pink, and green met with purple. It was mesmerizing to watch.

One of the bugs landed on Varka’s outstretched finger, and they showed it to Tika. “Look.”

That bug was unlike a firefly; instead it looked more like a moth with glowing wings. It turned its faceted eyes toward Tika, before taking off. As it flew, it left glowing dust on the tip of Varka’s finger, which they blew into the air.

They continued deeper and deeper into the Botanical Garden, and the plants looked even more bizarre. Trees with bumpy trunks that secreted glowing sap. Leafy vines that hung from a geometrical structure, its leaves dotted with glowing spots. Plants shaped like a gigantic star that sang. Everything looked so bizarre and mesmerizing at the same time, and somewhat, Tika did not regret they came there at night.

“May I ask something?”  Varka said all of a sudden. Tika turned from the plants and toward Varka. “I want— No, that’s not right. May I know more about you?”

Tika blushed. “Oh? Why?” she asked back.

“W-well…” Varka sighed. “You’re one of the first humans I have ever seen, aside from my mother.”

Ah. Just a curiosity, then. Tika didn’t understand why she felt a little bit disappointed.

“I don’t know what do you want to know. I’m just a pilot, that’s it”, Tika said.

“A pilot that took her people to the edge of your solar system for the first time. Quite an achievement, I think”, Varka returned, and Tika could feel herself blush again.

If they put it that way, well… It did sound kind of impressive.

“Okay, then”, Tika said. “What do you want to know?”

“Hmm… May I ask about your childhood?” Varka asked, and Tika blinked. She was not expecting the question.

“It was nothing special, I guess? My dad has a coffee field, and my mom has a cafe. It wasn’t that exceptional, my childhood was, but also it wasn’t terrible”, Tika answered. “Since I was little, I wanted to be a spaceship pilot. And… well, this is kind of embarrassing, but… I look up to your mother. Lieutenant Indira has always been an inspiration to me.”

“Ah”, Varka  hummed. “So it’s like fate that we met.”

“Kind of”, Tika returned, her face heating up.

Varka smiled kindly, their hand reaching for Tika’s fingers. Tika could see purple blush spread on their face.

“I think my mother would be honored to inspire someone as exceptional as you”, Varka said.

“Thank you”, Tika returned, smiling. “I mean it. Thank you for saying that. It means a lot to me.”

Varka’s face turned even more purple, it was adorable.

“You’re welcome.”