Hakeem took Pearl down a winding road to a nearby town. As they walked, the scent of grass became overwhelmed by the smell of food being made and the sound of people talking in a language she didn’t understand. To her ears Jeriann sounded like wailing and she remembered seeing an ouen for the first time:

Buen had taken her out into the deep. She’d been a small child so ey had tied her with soft elastic bands to ir back, ir ‘legs’ unwinding and becoming limbs more suited to the water as ey propelled them both into the inky darkness of the deep.

“Quiet now,” Buen had told her as Pearl gripped ir tightly, arms squeezing ir neck.

Then, as if borne of the darkness, the ouen had appeared. 

It was a creature whose size rivaled the Arbutus and at the time it was the largest thing Pearl had ever seen - so big that her mind stuttered as it attempted to reconcile the animal’s appearance with her understanding of the world. 

It was a deep blue with black ribboning criss-crossing its rough skin as if the darkness it’d emerged from still had a hold on it and though Buen was anchored onto a nearby rock, Pearl could feel ir struggling not to be pushed back from the disturbance in the water. 

“Listen,” Buen had instructed and Pearl had closed her eyes, her heart hammering against the back of her guardian as the creature drifted closer and closer. “I do not bring you to the mouth of harm.”

Mustering up her courage, Pearl had opened her eyes again and nearly screamed. The ouen was directly in front of them, towering over them, so large it blocked her view in totality. Pearl’s body had gone numb with fear and Buen had taken one of her hands and squeezed it, looking up and taking out a whistle.

Then ey had let go of the rock. 

The whistle was silent to Pearl but after Buen blew it the creature stilled, the atmosphere seeming to tense. 

Seconds later, she and Buen were flying through the water, being pushed by some invisible force and Pearl was screaming, gripping tightly onto Buen’s hand which calmly held her own.

“Listen,” Buen instructed her again, one of ir limbs wrapping itself around her so that she was even more firmly secured to ir body. “I brought you here for this.”

After a brief struggle, Pearl shut her eyes and held her breath, falling silent. Only then did she hear what she’d been told to listen for; A single note.

It was the ouen’s cry and the creature was aptly named for its wail was deep and sorrowful - not the mighty roar Pearl would have expected something so large to produce. No, this was the first note of a grieving song and they were surrounded by it, moved by it, powerless against it, and Pearl appreciated immediately being brought to listen.

As they were pushed backwards, weightless, listening to that single note, Pearl had held Buen so tightly she was afraid she would be scolded for it but her caretaker allowed it with the same grace as ir allowed irself to fall. 

Later, once the water settled and they were deposited gently onto the sands, Buen told her that ey had received ir name from that animal. 

“Once you reach Earth, please see if there are any ouen in their ocean. I know of no pearls on Opranov. Except you.”

In the market Hakeem showed her all of Jeria’s currency - coins that all looked the same to her until he pointed out the unique grooves and the slight difference in their shades of pink. He introduced her to shopkeepers and translated their delight in meeting her, laughing and rebuffing them as they transitioned smoothly into an attempted sale. She bought earrings with his money, counting out the coins herself.

“They suit you. You’ve got a stunning look to you - everything covered but your eyes and those earrings. It makes your eyes seem like jewels too.”

He took her to a small roadside restaurant where they ate outside. Their food was something she’d never seen before but Hakeem said was similar to something on Earth, a potato.

“This one tastes a bit like meat though. Hell, it might be.” 

Pearl scanned the menu with her translator, distracted from the task by her desire to get up and walk around more. It was her first time seeing a collection of buildings, a community, on land. 

The On High had an office on land for visitors, though it was rarely used, and her own home had been built on land but those were the only two buildings she knew of other than the gift shop and the gift shop was always closed, leaning limply against the welcome center.

For a moment she pictured someone opening their window and flying through the air.

Her translator beeped.

“It isn’t. It’s a hiji-ja pepper stuffed with…” Pearl frowned. “...Difficult to translate.”

“You got pretty far pretty fast from where I’m sitting.”

“Your earlier conversation with the locals was recorded in my translator’s database. I have created a program which extrapolates from that data more quickly - that is all.” Seeing Hakeem’s awe-filled expression, Pearl straightened. “Though it has not yet been field tested.”

“U.U.C issue translators too slow for you?” Hakeem asked, voice lilting.

“No. They are fine.” Pearl took a sip of the drink she’d been given. It tasted light, sweet and bubbly. People were playing music just outside the market, encouraging those walking past to go in.

“I began working on this project after sending my message to the U.U.C. Whether or not they came for me I was convinced I had to leave or I would die. I had to get off that planet.”

“What’s wrong?” Hakeem asked.

Pearl moved her hands as if unfurling something from the man across from her, snapping her fingers together like pinchers as she tilted her head.

Hakeem laughed lightly. “And what was that?”

“Explain,” Pearl clarified.

“You looked so sad before.”

Pearl’s gaze drifted downward to the plate of food in front of her. Something was stuck in her throat but she swallowed and spoke around it.

“It hurts me to speak ill of my home,” she admitted. “I feel as if the universe’s people have misunderstood me. They think that my very existence here is a testament to Opranov’s cruelty.”

Her fingers curled slowly. “Opranov is not a cruel or alien place. It is my home. I was deeply unhappy there after a time but I was also…”

Though Hakeem seemed to be waiting for her to continue, Pearl could no longer speak. The song the nearby band was playing switched and the translator blandly recited an errant word or two, keeping mum about the rest. 

“What did you mean when you asked for help?”

Hakeem’s voice shook Pearl from the thick cloud of thought that’d descended on her. She looked up to see him gazing at her with an unreadable expression, sipping his own drink - a mirror of her own in a different color. 

“You saw the recording?”

“Like I said, it’s a small universe.”

Pearl was quiet for a moment, thinking over her response. “...I don’t know,” she said. 

It had been the best word she’d had at her disposal at the time. She hadn’t known its true meaning, that it implied a threat. She’d seen a picture in the universal language book of someone crying and another person taking care of their wound. Next to that illustration had been the word ‘help’.

Hakeem hummed. “People’re saying all sorts of shit. Like you were held captive or tortured and that that Olaan of yours took pity and helped you escape. Or maybe Olaan’s a code word, a Novian kill switch that’ll go off whenever’s most convenient.”

Pearl’s stomach twisted. Though Hakeem’s tone and body language said he was joking, he was obviously relaying rumors he’d actually heard. It seemed some of her worst fears were coming true.

“It’s lucky we met, isn’t it?” Hakeem asked.

Pearl turned her head away from him, confused. “Lucky?”

“Yeah,” Hakeem insisted. “‘Cause now I know that Opranov’s just someone’s home, like everywhere else.” 

Hakeem’s smile was bright, a direct rival to the sun setting by his shoulder. 

Pearl felt something in her lifting and her fingers slowly began to relax.

“Yes. Please tell the others that. The people you meet.”

Hakeem nodded. “Sure! You try to do the same, ok?”

Pearl turned her head away again, shaking it. “I do not think it would matter. Most of the people I meet are high ranking U.U.C members. Even when I attempt to express myself to them they…it feels as if my words are always what they want to hear.”

“They twist ‘em?” Hakeem offered.

“Sure,” Pearl said, mimicking his earlier response.

Hakeem hummed, fiddling with his straw as he leaned closer. “If you ever want to jump ship, just know that the O.R.C.A’s got a revolving door policy. I’m sure my captain’d be thrilled to have you onboard.”

Pearl turned back. “Captain? Forgive me. I didn’t think you were a member of the U.U.C.”

Hakeem laughed. “Apologize for thinking I was just now! I’m not. Never have been. Never will be. They give exploration a bad name, seriously.” He leaned back in his chair, raising his hands slightly. “Just my opinion but it’s a strong one - if you’re holding meetings instead of meeting people you’re doing it wrong.”

Pearl stared, not understanding.

“So, how about it?” Hakeem asked, a gleam in his eye. “You interested?”

Pearl watched the sun vanish behind her companion’s shoulder, outlining him in red. She reached up and touched her earrings, remembering Buen’s wish and Bridgers’ words. 

She had to make it to Earth. She had to see if there were ouen in the ocean and even if she was unhappy now, that unhappiness might not last. She was prone to unhappiness. She couldn’t let it keep controlling her life. No matter how tempted she was by Hakeem’s offer…

The image of Olaan’s back flashed in her mind.

“No.”

Olaan’s hand, extending from the darkness.

“I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Hakeem raised his hands again. “Hey, no worries.” 

The man rummaged around in his pockets for a minute then pulled out a holographic card. It looked flashy, his apparent style, but seemed to display the coordinates of what Pearl assumed to be his ship as well as two sets of contact information. 

“If you ever change your mind give me a call and we’ll fly right on over.”

Pearl stared at the card, feeling her own personal messenger vibrate softly - no doubt asking her whereabouts or alerting her that it was nearly time to return.

She wrapped both hands around the card, bringing it to her chest.

“You are kind,” she told Hakeem who beamed at her in return.

“Don’t forget I’m also gorgeous,” he teased. “God forbid that slips your mind.”