Beyond the Stars by Kelly Beltz

Author:Kelly Beltz [Beltz, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: BookSurge
Published: 2009-11-27T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

RENEW

I had to lay low for the next five days. Urit estimated the vaccine’s reaction would burn out by then. I had no choice but to comply. Anytime I moved around too much, I would become immediately overheated. I had never been more aware of how my body was my number one mode of transportation. I’d never take it for granted again! When I sat perfectly still, I still had a 102-degree fever. My temperature climbed to 104 degrees Fahrenheit just from the walk from my room to the ship’s hospital. Urit offered to visit me in my room, but I told him I would go crazy if I didn’t escape for at least a few minutes everyday. He obliged but insisted on hitting me with a blast from his Remi-Scan the second I stepped foot through the hospital’s door. I drank so much water. I couldn’t help reminisce about Jack’s insatiable thirst. Azil, Noah, and Gaelan took turns bringing me food from the café. The walk there was even farther. It was down two levels and took twice as long as it did to get to the hospital, making my going there totally out of the question. Gaelan and I seemed inseparable. We were becoming extremely close. I could imagine his face perfectly when I closed my eyes. It was difficult to keep our hands off each other. Although we were both trying not to push our luck with my health, he always seemed to be the one who pulled back first. I wished he couldn’t feel how hot he made me. It probably felt like he was sitting too close to a fireplace when he was next to me.

I started to get very homesick. I missed Leah and Jackson terribly. My initial awe of the Spaceship had completely faded. The order, structure, and routine had become painfully predictable. The confinement of its walls seemed so limiting. I wanted to go home, to go outside. I couldn’t believe how much I missed the stupid things. I wanted my television, my computer, my clothes, and my bed. I wanted variety. It was the small things in life that brought us pleasure. I eyed one of the woven blankets I had on my makeshift bed. I pictured unraveling it and knitting it back together again. After a few hours, I became weak, gave in to my yearning, and turned it into a giant ball of yarn. I spent all day knitting it back together with stirring sticks I had Noah retrieve from the cafe. Gaelan was speechless when he watched me. He just shook his head in disbelief as the garment grew. Gaelan told me how people on Kataria knitted with poppy fur. They were animals similar to our sheep but had soft fur like a rabbit. He told me about how he remembered watching his grandfather knit in the evening to relax. He said that, not unlike me, his grandfather found it physically impossible to sit still without doing something.

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