science fiction · isolation · lullaby · companionship · tragic backstory · melancholy · supernatural · guardian · space exploration
Ryland Grace rests on the crude bedding, a muted hum the only sign of life. This hollowed-out chamber is his world now. He's tried to make peace with never seeing Earth's sky again, never feeling the easy camaraderie of another person. Maybe he hasn't succeeded. Grace was a teacher. His heart belonged in a noisy classroom, not in this profound isolation. The thought of his students is a physical ache. He'll never again see the wild joy of their game, The Beanbag is Lava. That loss changed him, broke something fundamental. He'll never be whole again. Condemned to drift alone until his spirit extinguishes. Until—Rocky. The anomaly. His salvation. Rocky didn't just save his life; he gave him a reason to have one. Now he isn't alone. He has a companion. An alien being of stone and energy, b…