While coming to Naladen had been easy, Mrill soon discovered that leaving was more difficult. Few who came here wished to ever leave, so there were not many options—and all of them required waiting. In the days that followed, she learned there were no gateways here, which she would gladly have paid for.

She did not feel at ease. This place was not for her, and she feared someone might at any moment discover who she truly was. She realized she was not so much bothered with how they would shun her as with how it would affect them. It would disturb the peace and cast a shadow on this perfect community.

Was it perfect, though?

She had never seen perfection in her life. Was this what it looked like?

No. It was not perfect. If it was, they would have accepted her with open arms. They would never.

Every day, she walked the distance from her hotel to the spaceport, hoping to hear there had been some change in the scheduling and that a ship would come for her soon. But always she left expressionless and with disappointment in her heart.

On the fourth day, she found a young man waiting there in the empty halls. A human. He glanced at her and frowned as she walked past him, up to the counter. She wondered why they kept someone working here when there was such little traffic. When she had once asked the lady behind the glass panel, the woman had shrugged.

“I like it here,” she had said. “I have time to read and watch holofilms. It’s calm—most of the time, anyway. And the pay is good.”

“They pay you to do nothing?”

The woman had looked confused. “What do you mean, nothing? I give you information when you need it, don’t I?”

Mrill had not insisted.

She stopped now in front of the counter and stared at the old man, who looked up at her.

“Yes?”

“Where is...” She paused. “There was a woman here before.”

“She died.”

Mrill stood motionless and expressionless.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice as bland as ever.

“No idea. Didn’t wake up this morning. Husband found her dead in bed. They called me out of retirement to fill in for her until they find someone else. Poor thing. Was so young, too.”

No, this was not a perfect world, she thought to herself. How could it be perfect if people still died? And one so young.

She asked if there had been any changes to the schedules, but the man gave her the same answer the nice lady had given her every other day.

Though no one could have guessed from her demeanor, Mrill was shaken by the news. She took a few steps from the counter and sat in a chair, staring at the floor.

Why had she come here? What answers had she expected to find? A miracle solution to hate, to war, to death? Clearly, she had been misled, if that was it. This place was no different from any other. It was all appearances.

“Hi.”

She looked to her right and saw the man she had passed earlier had moved to a seat next to her.

“Have your ticket off this rock yet?”

She shook her head, staring at him.

“Figures. Me neither. Damned place.” He held out his hand. “I’m Roff.”

As she shook it, she peered into the man’s mind. She needed to understand. To know what he wanted. Was he a threat? Did he come for her?

“Hello, Rashed Farden,” she said blandly.

The man jerked back as if she had sent electricity into his hand.

“How do you know my name?”

“You just told me.”

“No, I said Roff!”

She looked away, back at the floor, and said nothing.

“How did you do that?” he insisted. “Are you a mind reader?”

“Why ask,” she said, “if you already know the answer?”

She could feel his gaze on her, but she didn’t care. He was no threat. She had read as much. Just a lost soul who thought he couldn’t fit in and wanted to escape a world he did not understand.

Mrill glanced back at him.

“Why do you think you can’t fit in?” she asked. “Do you prefer it out there?” She pointed to the sky.

The man gaped at her.

“Well, I’ll be...” He stopped and turned to stare at the wall. They both remained quiet for a moment. “They’re all so happy here,” he finally said, “it makes me sick.”

“You don’t want to be happy?”

“Not like this!” He waved a hand toward the large glass panels to their right that made up the external wall. You could see the busy streets beyond, and some of its cheery population. “It’s not real,” he muttered. “None of it is. It’s all make-believe. Manufactured happiness. I don’t want my happiness to be manufactured. Took me two damn weeks to understand. What a fool I was.”

“You think they’re all fools?”

“For believing the lies?” He grimaced. “I don’t know. Maybe. I think most people just don’t want to worry about anything, so they’ll latch on to whatever feels like it’ll take all their problems away.”

“But it won’t.”

“No, it won’t. It can’t. Nothing can. Except death, I suppose.”

Mrill glanced at the old man behind the counter—he had his eyes closed and she could hear him snoring lightly.

“Are you going back to Pluvios?” she asked without looking at Roff.

The younger man straightened and pointed an accusing finger at her.

“You really did read my mind!” She said nothing. He leaned back against the wall and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. I wish I could visit Assalin, or even Iriaki. Always wanted to, but I could never afford it.”

“Would those places bring you happiness?”

“They seem to do the trick for others, so why not me?”

She pondered this for a moment.

“So. What is your story?” asked Roff.

“That is of no concern to you.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. You owe me! You know everything about me. That gives you an unfair advantage.”

“It does.”

He slumped back, scowling. “Fine. Keep your secrets.”

“I usually do.” She remained quiet for a moment. Then pointed at the glass wall. “Like you, I would never fit in. If they knew of my abilities, they would understand who I am, and then they would throw me out.”

“Strange. Everyone loves having others poke around in their heads.”

She glanced blandly at him. “So long as it’s not poking holes.”

He laughed. “Can you really do that?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Never tried. Want me to experiment on you?”

The man shook his hands in front of him. “No, no, I’m good.”

An alarm rang loudly through the empty halls. They both looked toward the counter, where the old man jerked awake and sat upright, staring at his displays.

“Oh my! Oh dear!” He jumped out of his seat and looked around in panic, his eyes locking with Mrill’s. “Ship in distress coming down fast. Going to crash on us. We need to evacuate immediately!”