I woke up just over two years later, in 2076. Eyes feeling oddly cold, blinking too fast to see clearly and not wanting to stay open. My whole face was cold really. Not my body though, everything else was hot for some reason. Or maybe too cold to tell the difference?

                I could hear the top of the pod suddenly opened with a whoosh, swinging up and out of the way to leave behind the bed I had slept in for so long. A moment later I felt a sense of relief as my physical senses rushed into me through my arms and along my whole body. I sluggishly slipped off the cuff on my arm and mask over my mouth and nose as I propped myself up on my elbow.

                A few moments later, out of seemingly nowhere, an unfamiliar bell chimed throughout my small enclosure followed by a vaguely familiar voice. An announcement from our Director, welcoming us back to the waking world and a congratulations for making it to this new step of our journey. Followed by an open invitation to the recreation room for snacks and socialization, and finally a reminder of the messages we were sending back to our home planet at the end of the week. She encouraged us to make our way to our section's Lead to record our personal messages as soon as possible. I had only met my Lead once, so I made a mental note to meet with him again at the recreation room.

                The announcement had given me time to test my extremities and really catch my first breath. I slowly sat the rest of the way up with a soft smile and a slow heart. As the bell sounded again to signal the end of the announcement, there were scattered cheers up and down the hall with an underlining excited chatter as people began to explore their new abode.  I could see a few others out of the corner of my eye starting to get up.

                I looked around at the room that I would be spending much of my time in for the trip. Each passenger had been assigned a tablet for less important announcements and general communication. I had slid mine into a cubby, next to a few pictures, a number of my favorite books, and a sketchbook.

                I had done my best to fill every shelf and flat surface with reminders of home. Another shelf had a wooden vase that I had made for my mom years ago that she had gifted back to me for the trip along with her favorite flower. Having tipped over a bit, it now rested against a pair of my worn and scuffed headphones from my dad that he said had gotten him through years of graduate classes, along with a small music player tucked in the middle.

                I pushed the vase back into place with my foot and looked over at the curtain. My room itself was fairly dark, with a soft glow came from hallway outlining the curtain. The entrance to... who knows. I could hear a few people walking past, brushing my makeshift door gently.

                I turned and fixed the books that were tucked into the shelf next to my bed. I fidgeted for a moment, not sure why I was feeling nervous now. I had just gotten past one of the hardest parts, being put to sleep for two years straight. Compared to that, the next week of being awake would be a breeze.

                I leaned forward and propelled myself onto my feet, taking my first step in two years. And I immediately passed out.

###

                I woke again in a different environment, this one brighter and more sterile, now with company. My blurry vision managed make out a small grey desk in the corner with a medical professional sitting and reading. Against the far wall and next to me were empty beds packed in close.

                The book lowered and he stood quickly to walk over and ask how I was feeling. I looked up groggily. My recollection returning made me pause for a moment before responding with a groan. My skull had a dull rhythmic throb, but the pain was less than most of the hangovers I had in college after discovering the joys of near uninhibited access to alcohol.

                 Since I had gotten through that just fine, and because I was also quite determined to not think about my shamefully premature visit to the infirmary, I hurriedly nodded along to the doctor's diagnosis of dehydration and a just a touch of nutrient deficiency. That was accompanied by the doctor's sincere promise to ensure my cryogenic pod's configuration would be improved for the next part of the trip, and punctuated by my own promise to take it easy, which was mandated by the doctor.

                "Oh my goodness, I'm glad you're ok! Do you need a hand?" Turning to my left, I saw a fellow passenger standing by the door. Their eyes displayed concern, while a slight smile showed a pity that I knew meant they had seen my fall. "I'm Lunëne, I'm your neighbor." Their ombre white and black hair framed their face symmetrically, before they reached up and pushed the left side behind their ear.

                 "Hi, Lunëne, nice to meet you! Sorry, I guess I'm kinda clumsy." I gathered my strength and curled forward and upwards much slower this time, rising gingerly. The room was smaller than I had initially thought, the far wall close enough to hit my head against a second time if I messed this up.

                I flashed a strained smile to the doctor and Lunëne as I saw them look at me with eyebrows raised ever so slightly higher than before. Lunëne took a half step towards me, confirming their offer to help me up was not simply an empty gesture. Internally, I was asking the opinions of every limb if we could actually get up without further embarrassment. I took a short breath, and with a hand from Lunëne, I was truly walking for the first time in space.

                "Ok, so you were out for a while so unfortunately most of the initial party has died down. But I think there's still some cake and stragglers we can socialize with." They led the way to the door, glancing back at me several times.  I thanked the doctor and followed slowly on stiff but solid legs.

                "I will gladly socialize with some cake! Not sure if I'll stick around for small talk with the stragglers. I gave them the perfect first impression, no need to spoil it now by opening my mouth." My lighthearted self-deprecation was a long tradition, one that I have never been able to break.

                "No, don't even worry about that. Basically no one saw you trip over your own feet. And I'm sure plenty of other people almost whiffed it too, you can connect over mutual clumsiness. After all, we're stuck on this ship for the next twenty-six years together so we might as well get to know each other. AND since I missed initial introductions as well, it's only fair we both stand around awkwardly and try to socialize." They spoke with a confidence that seemed to contradict the 'awkwardly' part. I replied with a raised eyebrow, and they replied with a warm smile.

                My stiff stumbling was quickly turning into a more casual stride, and our short walk covered plenty of ground through the small corridors on the cramped ship. After a few minutes, we found ourselves at the entrance to the recreation room.

                My eyebrows raised and head tilted, and I glanced at Lunëne. They looked back with a sheepish smile and maybe a hint of empathy. The room was still pretty crowded and curious heads absolutely turned in my direction as we walked in. This was not the laid back, small talk, intimate gathering that I was promised. Before merging into the crowd on their own, Lunëne turned and whispered,

                "Ok so a few other people saw, I'm so sorry." There was not a hint of malevolence, and although the deception seemed intentional, I just sighed.

                "Hey, I saw what happened, how are you feeling? I'm Audrina by the way," She appeared out of nowhere, looked ever so slightly down towards me with long violet hair covering the right side of her face. She was one of a few people that had walked over.

                I couldn't help but hear my old friend Teo in the back of my mind, telling me of all the friends I had missed out on because I was... aloof. Cold even, when first meeting someone despite wanting to come across as friendly.

                "That could have happened to anyone really; those pods are not well made for getting in and out of to be fair. But we are only supposed to get in and out like a dozen times ever so..." she continued with a shrug. Internally, I grabbed my most sociable self and pushed it to the surface, determined to make all of the friends.

                "Thanks! Yeah, those pods are fine when laying perfectly still and asleep. Not great for a moving around a lot," Wait, was that kind of... suggestive? "Yeah, I was just a bit dehydrated. But the doctor said I'll be fine so I figured I'd come down here and grab some cake. Mingle a bit, you know... OH, and my name is Soelli!" Yup, perfect… off to a great start. "Nice to meet you."

                "Nice to meet you Soelli! Seriously, I was parched after I woke up, I have no idea how that happened. You'd think they'd have done more testing to make sure that didn't happen," she responded cheerily, while I tried to pick up my social self from the floor. Or I could be my regular self since she had brushed off my awkwardness easily enough, as if she were immune, "So I'll let you know the drinks are in that corner," she added while pointing to the far wall, "and the food is all delicious so I do recommend getting over there before it’s all gone."

                I took a second to just look at her. She was a stranger, but I could almost hear Teo when she spoke. Just the words and their vaguely familiar tone made this room seem like I was home for just a brief moment. I gave her the sincerest thank you since I had woken up, and began the slow assimilation into the crowd.

                "Hey my man! You good?" I turned my head in the direction of the voice. The sound was coming from man standing close by, my same height with dull black hair braided and gentle eyes that contrasted his sharp jaw. He reached out and put his hand on my shoulder, subtly drawing me into the conversation "I saw them carrying you to the infirmary. Really ironic that you wake up and then immediately take a nap. I can't blame you though, I'm the same way."

                "Clumsy?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

                "Well, I know my legs were jelly when I woke up. You been by the gym yet? Sorry, dumb question... we were gonna go do legs later, try to get used to the gravity in space. You wanna join?" His head tilted towards a group of people that he was standing with, who were still chatting along.

                "Er, yeah we'll see. I had to promise to take it easy... either way, thanks. Definitely sometime this week." I uttered hastily with a cordial smile. Did that come across as brushing him off? I could imagine Teo would be shaking his head in disappointment right now. I walked away as casually as I could, my poor attempt at nonchalance being the most telling sign of being entirely too-chalant.

                The two tables against the back wall had certainly been well stocked at one point, with crumbs of evidence littering the edges of the first table and the disordered cups of the second table. However, pitchers of vibrant blue and red mystery drinks were still half full and the more unique-looking treats were waiting for me like broken and delicious rejects. I gathered a feast that I hoped was small enough to not turn heads. Something about years of sleep really builds up an appetite, and just looking at the food so graciously provided to us made my mouth water.

I felt more than a physical hunger too. After my first bite, my eyes half closed and I swear I saw a new color. I had almost certainly tasted this flavor before, but not in this room, with these people, in this vast expanse of space. This was more of a spiritual hunger, one that delighted in food but was not yet satisfied. The heaping plate of treats was a good start though.

                I made eye contact with Lunëne and smiled with a mouth full of food, somehow knowing they would smile back with no judgement. And I didn't know that just because they had a full plate too, although it helped. I made my way to the exit through the slightly more spacious crowd, and started the walk back to my room. As small as my room may have been, it had the comfortable feeling of being wrapped up in a warm blanket. A warm, very technically advanced blanket.

###