Three Days
written by: R. M. Greta
“I’m losing my mind, and I don’t want to be on this planet anymore.”
The handsome face on the video feed froze, mouth open. The picture jumped a few seconds ahead, then his voice came through crystal clear.
“—could come stay with me.”
Those were the words Angela hoped to hear. After months of talking to Cass, she had decided she had feelings for him, and she was ready to begin a new life on a new planet, away from the tedium of her current day-to-day slog. She reasoned that she was young enough to make him happy—thirty-five and still fit. This would be a good move.
On the day of her departure, she stood before her husband and child, bag in hand, and smiled sadly.
“Well, you know marriages probably don’t count once you leave Earth.”
No one replied.
“I love you both, I really do, but this just isn’t the life I’m supposed to have, and I don’t think I’ve been what you need anyway.”
The child sniffled and turned to hide her face in her father’s side.
“Okay, Angela. Whatever you need.” Her husband wouldn’t meet her eyes.
Angela felt encouraged by this. They would be fine, she thought. Better off, even. She left them in their small house and got into the waiting taxicab outside.
Cass greeted her with open arms and a huge smile at the terminal. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he led her out to his car. Angela tried to listen to him talk about all their plans together, but she was too busy admiring the angle of his jaw and the way his lips moved.
They made love that night, in his spacious, clean, modern apartment. As they lay there together, Angela marveled at how quiet the world could be. Cass got up, and she stretched out across the bed, content to do nothing and be needed by no one.
In the morning, Cass kissed her forehead softly and left for work. On her way to the kitchen for breakfast, Angela did not have to step over toys or discarded socks.
She opened the refrigerator and searched among the oddly colored containers and logos she didn’t recognize. After she’d chosen one that looked like some sort of fruit suspended in syrup, she went in search of a spoon but found only empty drawers.
Without any better ideas, Angela peeled back the lid on the container and dipped her fingers into the pink jelly on top. A quick sniff told her it was heavily spiced and safe to eat. She shoveled it into her mouth, licking between her fingers to get it all in. The taste was pleasant—rich but grainy. Pink rivulets ran down her chin and dropped onto the spotless floor as she went for a second taste, scooping out the warm and dark-colored lumps in the middle. They tasted sour and cut her mouth on the way to her throat, but she couldn’t stop them from sliding down to her stomach. An uncomfortable rumble in her gut told her she was done sampling the new food. She put the container back and waited for Cass to come home.
They made love again that night, slowly this time. Cass looked at her with a new softness in his eyes.
“Tomorrow we will meet some new people,” he said to her afterward.
Angela wanted this.
The next morning, Cass prepared a table full of food for them to eat before their guests arrived. Angela took in the various colors and textures of the alien feast and sheepishly asked him if he had any food from Earth. He looked very sad for a moment and answered “No.” She gagged while she forced down something brown and prickly.
Their guests arrived and immediately warmed to her. They spoke in Earth language while they complimented her looks and asked questions about life on her home planet. Cass held her close, smiling throughout the exchange. No one but Angela seemed sad when she spoke of her husband and child.
When the people left, Cass went with them. In the evening, he returned to find Angela in the bedroom, placing her clothes in his closet.
“You brought so much with you,” was all he said.
That night Cass took too long to finish. As he moved over her body, studying her closely, he seemed lost in thought. Angela grew bored and embarrassed. She didn’t moan like she had the other nights.
Thoughts of her child kept her from sleeping, and she wished there was a way to call and check in with her family. She thought of the great distance between the new planet and the old and felt a sudden panic at being under a different sky than her baby.
In the morning, she packed her bag and thanked Cass.
“I’m not cut out for this,” was all she said.
He said nothing.
In the doorway of her home on Earth, Angela waited to hear the small footsteps of her child to greet her. The house had taken on a new quiet—a peaceful mood. She walked through the hall until she found her family in the kitchen, eating dinner. Three plates of food sat on the table. She dropped her bag and pulled out her chair to sit.
With her fork poised over the food, Angela looked closely at the faces of her husband and child and remembered that three days on the other planet were much longer than three days on Earth.
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