Two suitcases lay packed on Raymundo’s ship. Lucky sat on one of them, mesmerized by a slideshow filled with pictures of green, lush places. Ray had gathered online pictures from some of the world’s most famous natural landscapes to show Lucky. The alien’s eyes always drawn to the splashes of other colors from flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
"For such a small planet," Lucky tilted their head back to look at Raymundo, "the biodiversity is huge."
"Yeah." He didn't bother mentioning all the dire projections of biodiversity loss, Lucky could access the news. Raymundo zipped up his suitcase. "What's Qwortar like?"
Lucky sighed, turning back to the screen. "My home planet is larger, not extremely. But more land is above sea level." The hum of the ship was the only sound for a few moments. The dim lights only made the silence more eerie.
Raymundo knelt in front of Lucky, seeing a sight which baffled him. It wasn't surprising an alien far from home might tear up at the thought of their home, but Ray had to remind himself he wasn't looking at Becky. Stifling the urge to kiss the tears away, he grabbed Lucky's hands as the droplets began to fall.
"It was once beautiful, colorful, and mostly lively like yours." They whispered as Raymundo gave their hands a squeeze. "But it has been ravaged by a disease." Even though taste for a human and taste for a Qwortarian were different, just the memory of choking down some rancid bamama skin was enough for Lucky to gag in this human form. Tongue curling to the back of their mouth, throat squeezing for a scary second.
"I'm sorry." Raymundo said in the pause.
"Skylar thought Earth could be our salvation. Transplanting some new flora to revitalize the planet and feed our people."
"We'll get Skylar back and then you can bring home some plants." Raymundo squeezed Lucky's hands again.
"Thank you." Lucky took a deep breath. "I'm glad to see that most humans seem more willing to see sense. Easier than convincing a Tricorbal anyway."
“We try to be open minded anyway.” Ray dropped Lucky’s hands and shrugged his shoulders. “Goodnight Lucky. See you tomorrow.”
“For our flight to find Skylar.” They wiped the tears away and smiled softly as Ray stood up. “Tomorrow then.” A thumb’s up flashed in front of their face before Raymundo stepped away, letting Lucky go back to watching the slideshow of Earth’s landscapes.
Word count: 408
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