Glass Ceiling

Chapter 3-1. An ordinary (or not?) day on Earth

Laréyen led his open palm about a meter above the wet floor, slightly leaning forward for convenience. The puddle seemed to vanish before his very eyes under his hand. Within a few minutes, the floor was completely dry.

"Finally, it's done..." he murmured quietly to himself, irritably flicking the curtain aside and draping it over the window. The morning hadn't started off too pleasantly. It appeared Laréyen hadn't closed the window properly, or perhaps he had closed it in a less-than-optimal way. The night rain had taken full advantage of the situation, generously showering the room and drenching the floor near the windowsill with heavy drops.

Oh, how the devil would take these earthly structures with their windows-as-doors and intricate locks!

For a moment, the man pondered, carefully examining other windows just like his in the buildings opposite and how they were shut. "Is this really how it's supposed to be?" he wondered.

He gingerly touched the handle of the plastic window, attempting to turn it to the left – nothing happened. He twisted it to the right and concluded that he had probably broken everything. The window opened in an unfamiliar way, allowing an unwelcome chill of the morning-autumn air into the room.

Laréyen sighed, thumped his fist against the windowsill, leaned against it with both hands, and... suddenly felt a gentle touch on his back followed by tender embraces from behind.

"Samira," he smiled. "Have you been awake for long? I hope it wasn't me who woke you up?"

Samira rested her head on Laréyen's shoulder.

In that instant, the morning shifted for both of them – either it became warmer or more cozy.

"No, not you," Samira replied. "I woke up about thirty minutes ago; I was in the shower."

"Where have you been?" Laréyen inquired. "Did you go somewhere this early?"

He turned to Samira, gently brushed his fingers against her face, and kissed her on the cheek. For a moment, they gazed into each other's eyes, smiling playfully and tenderly, as if they couldn't savor and relish the moment enough. Their bodies were once again outlined by a blue-white radiance, which slowly faded as Samira and Laréyen became aware of it.

I apologize for the mistake. Thank you for correcting the name. Here's the corrected passage:

-Can Earthlings perceive this? - the man asked with a concerned tone.

-In general, no. Their sensory organs aren't as well developed. - Samira shrugged. - Besides, many of them have health issues, particularly with their vision, hearing… So their spatial orientation skills are further impaired.

-Impaired by what?

-Mmm… It's hard to say. Perhaps by themselves. It's a long story.

Samira paused for a moment, lost in thought.

-You know, - she said cheerfully. - In general, it's not an advantage of this planet, but rather its significant drawback. However… we shouldn't worry. Because after a certain period of time, our abilities here will be concealed from the locals and… somewhat from ourselves too.

-In what sense?

Laréyen's eyes transformed into an incredible kaleidoscope of emotions, rapidly shifting within seconds. Distrust, indignation, disgust, astonishment (more like a shock! How can they simply block a part of anyone's individuality without reason? It contradicts laws).

-Well, that's the condition here, - Samira laughed. - If you want to go to Earth, block your memories. If you want to live here normally, change yourself to the level of "unrecognizable."

-Even our own might not recognize us? - Laréyen quietly asked, lowering his gaze, as this conversation reminded him of countless painful events. He received an answer to his question before Samira nodded.

-About memories – yes, legends have circulated for a long time… - Laréyen's tone grew somber, and he nervously brushed a strand of hair from the woman's face. - But right now, you're not talking about them. Maybe I misunderstood you?

-I know it all sounds strange. But when you cross the boundary with Earth, you gradually start forgetting a lot.

-How gradually? Supposedly, memories are completely erased before coming here, right?

Laréyen spoke cautiously, choosing his words, though emotions simmered within him, shifting at an incredible speed—probably as fast as the clouds traversing the sky that night (he wondered if Earthlings had already realized the true cause of it all, or not yet).

-In truth, half of what they say is not entirely accurate, - Samira replied with a somewhat forced smile. - If you're born on Earth, yes. According to local traditions, you won't have the right to bring conscious memories of your previous life, as well as knowledge and skills from there (except for the basic ones, of course) - that's enough to gain entry. But when you come here, you enter the system, and you start forgetting much more.

-But that's only for those who chose to live their reincarnation here. I know. I know that for sure because we submit to the laws of our Constellation! - Laréyen spoke distrustfully, not quite grasping this, which seemed like sheer violence. - We're not locals here, but… how should I put it… foreigners, strangers. Isn't that right?

Samira suddenly burst into a bright laugh, as if she had just heard a joke or a funny story.

-Honestly? Forget everything you heard during training, - she replied. - In reality, even if you arrive on Earth as a tourist... or... well, like us, for instance... something unusual and not entirely understood happens, something not quite comprehensible to us. Well, what am I telling you, you already know.

Samira fell silent, then smiled again after a second—equally insincerely and quite inappropriately. This conversation was about something close to the death of one's identity (not even the body, but the identity itself), and yet it amused her. But Laréyen knew the reason behind it, and despite this, he had no idea how to behave.

-Many things are blocked, - Samira summed up her explanation. It seemed she found maintaining this conversation quite challenging. Laréyen would have been relieved to wrap it up, but he understood that much about Earth was still unknown to him, despite all the meticulous preparations shortly before his arrival on this planet.

-How does it happen? What exactly is blocked? - he asked.

Samira stepped away from the window and Laréyen, sat on a nearby couch and answered:

-Well, a lot has been discussed during briefings—almost the only reasonably accurate and verified information we had on all these matters. Remember?

-You'll forget such things! - Laréyen grumbled, irritably getting up and settling on the couch next to Samira. Before them on the table lay plates with remnants of the previous night's late dinner—a few darkened apple slices, a cluster of grapes, and a bunch of bananas still in their peels.