Waves crashing against the shore.

“Oh… You finally made it.”

An island in the distance.

“She waited so long.”

A circular tower.

“But they went together.”

Sun and moon.

“Enfin libre.”

And the stars.

“Quoi? You want to go back?”

A looming void.

“Just sending me off… I see.”

Falling now.

“Well, take care… mon chéri.”

Splash.

❦ ❦ ❦

I awoke in a white room inside of a medical pod, gasping for what felt like the first breath in decades. My thoughts were returning to me, flashes of memories, my voice building itself internally, becoming stronger. The hum was gone, hearing only my breathing. And my eyes opened, seeing such a bright and beautiful face before me—my reflection. Placing my hands on the glass in front of me, the upper lid lifted from the pod and allowed me to leave.

My eyes were still adjusting as I took my first steps. In the corner of the room was a blonde woman who said, “Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

I stared at her, her face coming into focus, an elven woman who seemed oddly familiar. “Sam?”

She laughed. “Yes, but I’m better known as Arbiter Antha now.” She looked at me, scanning me with her eyes. “Do you remember who you are?”

“Remember?” I paused, trying to think. “These memories… I am We, but also… Eli?”

“Yep. You make a better Ellie than an Eli now, though.”

I looked down to find that I was wearing nothing but white underwear, my breasts taking up a small portion of my view. “Oh, I see.” I couldn’t resist the urge to hold them.

“You’ll get plenty of time with those later.” Sam came up to me and placed a lab coat around me. “So, what would you like to be called? Ellie, or Eli?”

I shook my head. “I am I.”

Sam showed some concern. “You mean the pronoun or what you see with?”

It was such a natural response to me that I put no thought in it, but both were fitting. “Yes.”

“Hm…” Sam tilted her head. “May I suggest ‘Ai’ with two letters? A and I… It means love.”

I jumped up and down with a gleeful smile. “I like Ai! I will be Ai. And Ai… will be I.” My stomach then growled from all the exertion, causing me to stop.

Sam laughed and guided me to the door. “Let’s get some food, Ai. You must be starving.”

I rubbed my stomach, surprised at how flat and empty it felt. I then looked at Sam’s rotund belly and said, “Seems like you already ate.”

Sam frowned but held back laughter. “That’s because I’m pregnant.”

I felt blood rush to my face. “Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know…”

“It’s okay—a lot has changed since we… since I last spoke to them.”

I could feel my eyes sparkling. “Does that mean you’re married now?”

“Sure does.” Sam held out her hand to show the ring. “I’ll introduce you later, there’s plenty we have to do.” We stopped at a vending machine. “But before that… want any chips?”