Page 59 of Alien Wants A Wife

COMMENTATOR CHLOE:

What are your thoughts on having children, Roan? Are you hoping to be a father one day?

FARMER ROAN:

That is a question I have not allowed myself the privilege of contemplating with any real hope. To father younglings, I must first find myself a Mate, a dream that already feels so completely beyond my reach…

COMMENTATOR CHLOE:

Not anymore! Not with LOVE GALAXY. We can personally guarantee you your very own happy ending.

Harlee

Visiting the algae farm attempt number two starts strong the following morning when, after breakfast, Roan and I return to Killan’s house to find him and Lydia grumpy but not openly arguing with each other. As I step onto the balcony overlooking the arboretum, I’m once again in awe.

At this height, we’re closer to the canopy than the ground. Something about the contrast between knowing the planet’s surface is windswept and bland makes the colors of the trees all the more vibrant. I can easily imagine using the leaves as inspiration for a new fabric pattern— Hundreds of new fabric patterns. The leaves are familiar, in that when I look at them I know they’re leaves. But, at the same time, they’re so incredibly different from anything on Earth.

Grasping the balcony railing, I lean as far forward as I can, trying to see the finer details of the closest tree. It’s got this winding trunk that looks a little like a stretched spring, as if it was in no hurry to reach its full height when growing. Its branches are all clustered at the top of the trunk, spreading outward in an approximation of a ten-point star. And the leaves are equally as spring-like as its trunk, dangling off the branches more like thousands of Christmas decorations than actual leaves.

It’s mindboggling that one of the doors in Killan’s kitchen opens straight on to a forest cavern. This is something multi-millionaires on Earth might aspire to, but I doubt any one of them has such an impressive view from their penthouse windows, despite their wealth.

And they certainly couldn’t imagine such unique trees, not in their wildest fantasies.

“Your farm has a hard act to follow,” I tell Roan.

“Akh…” He wrinkles his nose, clearly confused.

“I mean,” I explain with a laugh, “surely nothing can compare to your arboretum. It’s…”Amazing. Fantastical. Extraordinary.All of those words fit but none of them feel large enough to encompass the entirety of the underground forest.

“Mayhaps. Mayhaps not,” he answers mysteriously, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

“I will climb down first,” Killan announces, as we near the ladder. “Then Lydia, Roan and Harlee.”

“Always so bossy,” Lydia snaps, but her words are missing their usual fight. The closer we get to the ladder, the more she shakes her head. She’s pressed close to the cavern wall, one hand on the stone as a guide, as if she wishes she could glue herself to safety.

“You okay?” I whisper, and she shakes her head. I want to reply, but I suddenly can’t think of anything reassuring to say. She’s terrified of heights, but she can’t say no to climbing down three stories because Mr. Smith sent the four of us a new task to complete this morning.

Killan, Roan, Harlee and Lydia,

With introductions coming along so swimmingly,

It is time to whet your appetite for more,

With a tour of the farm.

#GoWithTheFlow #FaceYourFears

Killan begins his descent, pausing a few feet down from the hatch, clearly waiting for Lydia to follow. She’s shaky and sweaty, and when she meets my gaze, I take hold of her arm, pretending for her sake that I’m strong enough to catch her if she falls.

Getting her first foot onto the first rung of the ladder seems to take forever, as she inches closer, moving slower than a snail might. She’s holding onto the ladder with both hands with such force, her knuckles have turned white.

I don’t let go of her arm until she’s climbed beyond my reach, and that’s when Killan reaches up to grasp one of her ankles. Lydia moves a fraction faster after that—maybe thanks to Killan’s support… Maybe because she wants to get away fromhim… Either way, he keeps hold of her ankle the entire way down, which has got to be hard for him because he’s supporting himself with one upper arm and one lower arm, making his movements somewhat lopsided.

When they’re safely on the forest floor, Roan and I hurry down to join them. Well… ‘hurry’ might be an overstatement. I do manage to climb down faster than Lydia did, but that can’t be entirely because I’m not afraid of heights. Being nearly a foot taller than her has to have helped, considering the ladder was made for Ril’os and the rungs are a fraction too far part to make climbing feel natural.

Despite not being afraid, my heart still leaps into my mouth on at least three different occasions when I’m stepping down with one foot and the rung isn’t exactly where I’m expecting to find it.

Regardless, Roan and I also reach the forest floor safely, and then the brothers are leading Lydia and I not through the trees but down a tunnel cut into the stone. If I’d had to guess, I’d say we’re walking directly underneath Killan’s kitchen, deep underground. I hadn’t noticed this tunnel yesterday, but I’d been somewhat preoccupied with chasing Roan and everything that had followed.

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