Page 44 of The Space Traveller's Lover
“Sam, Sam, it’s your mother. Please talk to us, darling.” She tries several times, but her desperate plea is unanswered.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until they decide to come out,” Walker concludes. “Let’s hope it’s not too long.”
Walker grabs his binoculars and scours the farmhouse’s large front lawn and wide porch, eventually spotting Sam standing by one of the front windows.
“Ah! Mrs Sheppard, I can see your son. He seems okay.” The captain smiles at Martha, but even then, he cannot conceal his concern.
Bill Sheppard takes the binoculars from the captain’s hands and points in the same direction. He finds his son standing by the window, looking directly at him.
Bill passes the binoculars onto Martha, but Sam has disappeared from view by the time she focuses on the window.
Shaillah has taken him out of the line of sight and into the backyard once again. Blazer follows them obediently, walking close to Shaillah’s feet.
“Did you see your parents?” she asks.
“Sure, I did.”
“Why didn’t you wave at them?”
“I’m so confused, Erin. Was it you stopping me?
“Yes, I was. Just wanted to show you how I can control you. But don’t worry. You’ll be with them soon.”
“Will you please stop all this? What are you trying to do?” As he tries to touch her shoulders, he is struck by a swift electrical discharge and has to let go swiftly.
“What the hell?” he shouts, looking at her, astonished, “Okay, I suppose I have to believe all your weirdness. I have no choice.”
She keeps nodding at him, reaffirming his words. “I’m not Erin anymore, Sam. If you call me by my real name, it will be easier for you to accept our new reality. My name is Shaillah.”
“Oh sure. And why have you brought me here, Shaillah?” Sam emphasises her name in the most sarcastic tone he can muster while bowing to her in a derisive gesture.
“I wanted to say sorry … and maybe goodbye,” she replies in a dead-serious tone as Sam straightens up his body and looks back at her with a dumbfounded expression.
“But I don’t want to say goodbye, Erin,” he protests. “You can be whatever you want to be. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll change if I have to—”
“This cannot be. We must say goodbye. I belong to them—the Rom-Ghenshars,” she replies in an unyielding tone.
She takes his hands and then puts them close to her chest. He feels his palms getting hot as subtle electric pulses come off her shield, but he holds on firm, fighting his intense emotions as he notices her glimmering tears.
“I see the sadness in your face. And are you still going to tell me that you are not human? that you feel nothing for me?” he vehemently asks her.
“True, I still do have some human emotions. But every day, I feel more different. Every day, I feel closer to them.”
“Damn them, whoever they are!” Sam can barely contain his frustration, but he manages to stay composed as he vows: “I promise you, I’ll never leave you. You can say goodbye as many times as you like. But I’ll always be here for you—anytime you need me.”
As he tries to hug her, the sudden discharge pushes him back, reminding him that he cannot even touch her.
“And for the record,” he adds downheartedly, “did I ever tell you that I love you?”
She slowly shakes her head while looking directly at him and pressing her index finger against her mouth to discourage him from talking.
But Sam keeps a persistent, albeit dejected gaze. “I’ve always loved you since the day we met,” he declares, trying to sound firm, but the anguish in his voice betrays his crushing despair.
“Don’t say anything else. There’s no point. Goodbye, my dear friend. Thank you for everything,” she sombrely replies.
All the memories flicker through Sam’s mind like a flipped deck of cards. Still, the revolving images suddenly stop in the middle of this moment—the moment that he must accept that something profound, way beyond his control, has come to separate them.
“Go back to your family now. Tell them everything will be all right—as long as they don’t try to attack us. We bring a message of peace and friendship.” As she speaks to him, the saddened expression on her face becomes blank and distant.
