Glass Ceiling

Chapter 2-3. Research Centre

"Something's not right here," Marour finally said after a long pause. "When were you on Axiora, Giron?"

"Well, yesterday evening... 32 astronomical hours ago," Giron replied.

"Okay, thanks. We need to find out what kind of liquid it was. But for now, I would still ask you not to go there. Of course, you have the right to decide how to rest and spend your time—it's your prerogative, and I won't meddle in your life. But you can't ignore the danger of that place."

Giron frowned but remained silent.

On Earth, a few hours remained until dawn. Samira glanced at the clock on the wall (did she still remember how to tell time here?)—it was ten minutes past three in the morning.

Laréyen was sleeping peacefully, breathing deeply and holding the pillow tightly to his chest. Samira smiled; it was undoubtedly a cute sight.

The hotel room was somewhat warm, despite it being nearly mid-autumn by Earth's time. Samira got out of bed quietly and opened the window, leaving a small gap for ventilation.

The stars... The dark blue sky filled with stars was incredibly clear. Where did those fast and peculiar clouds go?

Samira knew what it was, as it wasn't her first time, especially here. Laréyen certainly understood it too.

And Samira also suspected how the local Earthlings' logic worked—probably, nothing fundamentally changed during all this time while she was away.

Most likely, tomorrow the internet, television, newspapers, and all other media would explode with a flood of news. Or, on the contrary, there would be silence because everyone was scared...

Let's see...

She put on soft slippers and tiptoed around the room to the door. Perhaps it's best to leave the window open for 2-3 hours and let the room ventilate... Laréyen won't get sick. "Wait...," she stopped herself. "Why would we get sick?"

She chuckled to herself: how much the familiar Earth atmosphere influenced her thoughts, logic, and decision-making.

They simply couldn't get sick from earthly diseases, like colds or the flu, because their bodies and immune systems were slightly different, even though they were almost indistinguishable from the local inhabitants. Overall, the differences were very insignificant. For example, they didn't have the characteristic fingerprints on their fingers; their skin was smooth instead. But who would pay attention to such details, who needed to?

Quietly, Samira walked through the room, examining every corner in the darkness. It was quite cozy, not the best hotel of all possible options, but one of the best in this city. The room was comfortable, and it had everything she needed. She recalled some not-so-pleasant moments when she had to live in terrible conditions on this planet, sometimes even dangerous ones. Back then, she couldn't imagine that one day she would end up in such a comfortable place and consider normal living conditions as a certain standard rather than a gift of fate.

Memories began to emerge, flashing in her mind like a movie. She shook her head and wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek. "Not now," she silently said to herself.

The night was very peaceful. Samira changed into comfortable flat shoes (she was wearing them today, so they stood by the door) and grabbed her coat from the hanger before leaving the room, carefully closing the door. Her sensor card, which served as the room key, was in her pocket.

The doors closed automatically, and this simple fact made her sad. Was there still so much mistrust among the people on this planet that they had to hide their belongings and protect them even from their neighbors? Even the doors were heavy and reliable, just like before.

Samira made her way to the ground floor from the third, even though the elevator was working. She left the card at the reception desk, giving a reserved response to the insincere smile of the tired and drowsy girl working this shift, and headed towards the exit.

The hotel was located right in the heart of the city, close to all important cultural and tourist sites. She strolled down the boulevard towards the main square; she could already see the tall tower, one of the symbols of the city and the country.

She hardly encountered anyone on her way, except for occasional passersby who seemed unsure of where they were going at this hour, and cheerful young people who were obviously having a good time, moving from one bar to another. There were plenty of drinking establishments along this street.

Samira walked slowly, inhaling the night's aroma and the atmosphere of this city she knew so well. She recognized everything: there were so many memories here that they didn't need much effort to resurface. There was that grocery store where she used to buy things in a hurry or treat herself to something tasty. And that café with unhealthy fast food but trendy and popular, so she had been there more than once. And near that museum, she used to wait for her university classmate to go to the library together to study for exams. By the way, the university was also nearby; she could see its top during the day.

Too many memories... Her life here had been quite good, so it was no wonder that she remembered pleasant moments first. But gradually, painful episodes began to emerge in her consciousness. She felt the tremor in her hands.

"Enough," she thought. "It's time to go back."

Against her own thought, she continued to the main square, gazing at the tall tower and the Catholic church—a masterpiece of local religious and architectural art—and sighed. The city had hardly changed; everything remained just as she remembered it.

Tears were streaming now. In parallel, other memories about life on Earth surfaced, but from different corners and different times.

Samira walked back to the hotel, trying to compose herself. Suppressing emotions was a bad idea, and she knew it, so she allowed herself to release her pain slowly, through silent tears.

She encountered another cheerful group, and a guy from the group clearly noticed her—a tearful but still incredibly beautiful woman—and he wanted to say something. He wasn't too drunk and didn't seem threatening, but Samira decided that she didn't want to engage in the conversation now. She snapped her fingers and, in the next few seconds, amused herself by watching the puzzled expression on the guy's face. He had just seen a woman nearby, and suddenly she disappeared into thin air.

However, Samira remained exactly where she was, merely concealing herself from others. She walked down the boulevard but remained invisible to passersby. The air grew colder. The hotel was only a few meters away now. How convenient it was to have a hotel in the city center! Larayen would probably appreciate it when he learned more about Earth and settled in. If he wanted to...

Samira removed the invisibility cloak a step away from the hotel entrance. She picked up her card at the reception and headed to the room.

She had been gone for only about 20 minutes, not more, but the room was already pleasantly cool. Samira closed the window, changed into her pajamas, and lay down next to Larayen.

He smiled immediately and mumbled something in his sleep. Samira smiled too and gently touched his cheek with her hand.

How much she missed his warmth and support during all those periods of her life on Earth that the present day brought back to her.

The tears had dried, but she could feel that they were far from over. There would be many more.

Laréyen hugged Samira tightly and pulled her close. Within a few minutes, she sank into a deep sleep, finally allowing herself to let go of all those memories.