The Moon Dwellers

“Get to the point, Tristan,” Roc says.

Right. Serious. My point. What is my point anyway? Ahh, yes. “I felt something for her, Roc. Somehow across the distance, through the fence, over the mob of people, I felt something. I probably would have just let it go, chalked it up to male hormones, but then when she acted so strong, pushed that guy…I don’t know, since then I can’t get her out of my mind.”

“That’s called a crush, sir.”

Oh, damn you, Roc! He seems intent on making this more difficult than it has to be, even throwing a “sir” in there for good measure. I can feel the grit in my mouth as I shave the enamel off each tooth with my incessant grinding. Yeah, I love Roc like a brother, but also like a brother, I wish he would just go away sometimes.

When I speak again, I am proud of how even my voice is, pretending like I haven’t even heard Roc’s comment. “It’s weird. I feel like our lives are tied together. Like our destinies are intertwined. I think I have to find her, Roc, if only to know that she survived, that her strength didn’t lead to her death.”

“Is this moon dweller girl the only reason you want to go?”

I raise my eyebrows. “I, uh, I think so…” I’m so unsure of my answer that I rub my head to try to think. Yes, I want to know what happened to the moon dweller. Yes, I felt something for her and want to meet her. It hits me. “She’s only part of it,” I say.

“I know,” Roc says.

Of course he does. Roc always seems to be one mental step ahead of me. I sigh. “I want to get out of here, Roc. I’m tired of living like this. There’s no meaning in my life. I hate my father. I hate this place. Finding her is as good a reason as any to get out of here. I just have to get out of here. I can’t deal with my father anymore.”

“We can’t just leave.”

“Why not?”

“Don’t you think they’ll notice?”

“Of course they’ll notice, Roc. But who cares?”

“I do. I don’t feel like being chased all over the Tri-Realms by a bunch of your dad’s goons.”

“My father’s goons,” I correct.

“Your dad, your father: What’s the difference?” Roc says through clenched teeth.

I bare my teeth back at him. “It’s…different…to…me.” We are on the verge of another brawl.

“Whatever. In any case, I’m not leaving with you on some half-baked journey all over the Moon Realm, just to chase the first pretty tunic you’ve seen in a while. She’s a prisoner, for God’s sake.”

“Then I’ll go alone. And for the record, I’m not chasing a tunic. Yeah, I’ll try to find her. But this is not all about her, Roc. Like I told you, I need to do this for me. I thought you, of all people, would understand that.”

Roc’s hard stare continues for another moment and then his eyes soften. “Tristan, I…”

“What?”

“Never mind. You promise you’re not just doing this to find some silly girl?”

“Yes,” I say, my tone more confident than I feel.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll come with you.”

I can’t hold back my smile. I’ll say it again: Roc is like a brother to me; I’m not sure what I would’ve done if he decided not to come. I’m glad we’ve made it through our serious talk without killing each other.

Roc says, “I’ll help you find your crush.” I spoke too soon. I leap off the bed, tackling him to the ground, pushing his face into the soft carpet, putting all my weight on him. I’m laughing, he’s gasping, trying to take a breath. I release him and stand up, but I’m not done yet. As he turns over I place a foot atop his chest and raise my fists over my head, relishing my small victory.

Like when I saw the moon dweller for the first time, I feel alive again.

We spend the rest of the day making plans. Now that the contract negotiations are finally over, I’ll request a holiday. My father will insist I go to one of the finest sun dweller resorts, one that has the brightest fake sunlight and truckloads of synthetic sand. But I’ll tell him I’m tired of those places, tired of the same old scene. It won’t surprise him—he already knows how I feel about the customs of the sun dwellers. If I request another trip to the Moon Realm—an unofficial, off-the-books trip—I think he’ll authorize it, as a sort of reward for all my work over the last few months. The first chance we have, Roc and I will ditch my security guards and go find the girl, and hopefully ourselves at the same time.

When we leave my apartment, I am feeling good. I won’t go so far as to say I am happy—I haven’t been happy in a long time—but I’m satisfied that I’m finally doing something real. Something I want to do. Cutting another one of my father’s ropes away, so to speak.

* * *

We are at di

When we were younger, my brother and I would get into all kinds of trouble at di

Now it isn’t worth the effort. Day by day, my brother is becoming more and more like a clone of my father. He even sits like him at the table, his back straight, his head held so high I don’t think he will be able to get his fork to his mouth without dropping his food. Killen is two years younger than me, but I know he thinks himself to be the older, wiser son. We haven’t had fun together in forever, since before my mother left.

“So I hear the contract negotiations were a success, brother,” Killen says. He is trying to sound smart. In reality, he’s never so much as negotiated a turd from his butt.

I put on a fake voice and say, “Splendid, my dear brother. Simply splendid. We got an even better deal than last year and the people of the Tri-Realms seem to love us even more!” To my dad it will sound like we are having a mature, brotherly conversation. Killen knows better.

“That’s wonderful, Tristan,” he says. Under his breath, he mumbles, “Quit being a dumb arse.”

“I would never take that title away from you, brother,” I hiss. I feel his leg swing out as he tries to kick me. He misses, his toe thudding against the leg of my chair. His face turns red and he curses under his breath. It probably hurt, too, because he is wearing these absurd shoes that look like white ballet slippers and provide zero protection for the foot. They are just another sun dweller fashion trend that my brother buys into. It’s a hard decision, but I’m sticking with my boots.

“Father,” I say loudly, maintaining my fake voice, “I’d like to take a holiday, now that the negotiations are complete.”

My brother is glaring at me, but I ignore him.

President Nailin shouts, “Of course! Shall I have Lima book a few weeks at the Sandy Oasis like last year?”

Shocking how predictable my father is.

I pretend to consider it. “Hmm, maybe…” I say. “But I am also considering doing something a little different…something a bit more exotic.”

“What did you have in mind?”

I glance at my brother. His head is cocked to the side. It makes him look even younger than he is.

“I would like to travel inter-Realm, to the Moon Realm. I think it will be a good way to show them that we appreciate their support. You know, by having a holiday there, spending some Nailins at their shops.”