Far away, among the stars and galaxies was a small planet, made mostly of water. The inhabitants dealt in sea food trade, having the most variety in all of space.
The small of part land that was there was inhabited by a small village of people. They weren’t human, of course, but were similar in appearance. They had the ability to breathe underwater and had rather large eyes that could see in the dark.
The chief was a big burly man, strong and trained well in the ways of the sea. He was very wise and had led his small village into prosperity in a very short time. He had one daughter, a maid with pale blond hair and large shining blue eyes that beamed with innocence.
The chief had always known that his daughter would marry one day, but he intended to be in charge of choosing who that was. Even though she was of marriageable age, she was still quite young and saw the world as a child does.
One day, a new ship drifted in from space, landing at their docks. Arianna, the chief’s daughter, had never seen such an odd ship. It was also heavily damaged and it was amazing that it had survived for so long. She watched from some nearby rocks, peeking over them shyly. There was only one crewmember, a male. She didn’t recognize his species at all.

Garrow wasn’t sure he was going to make it, after his ship had gone through that ion storm. His sails were completely torn and there was a lot of decay in the hull. He was glad that he had found this small sea planet. The people certainly seemed friendly and willing to help him repair his ship.
The chief of the sea port had invited him to dinner that evening. He made his way up the small path that led to the hut, trying to straighten out his clothes. The journey had been rough on them, and try as he might, he still looked weather beaten.
The chief didn’t seem to notice though as he led him inside. The burly man showed Garrow to a small table made of a piece of wood and some empty water barrels.
“Now, Garrow, you sit here and rest a bit. By the condition of your ship, I’d say you’ve seen quite a lot of bad weather lately.”
Garrow nodded and gratefully took a cup of wine from the chief. He took a sip, but then stopped when the most beautiful young woman appeared in the doorway. He put the drink down on the table and continued to stare at her as she moved around the room, preparing a meal.
“This is Arianna, my daughter.” The chief said with great pride. She nodded at Garrow, blushing a little and then scurried out of the room to fetch something. Garrow looked on after her, forgetting for a moment how to speak.


Arianna felt as though she couldn’t go back in the room, with him there. When she first looked at him, she hadn’t been able to breathe. She had felt like giggling, or running away, far from the hut. His eyes were so dark and beautiful and she wanted to gaze into them forever.
She knew she had to go back in though, because she had to bring supper to him. Her heart beat at about double its’ normal rate, and for a moment, she wondered if she was ill. Yet she wanted to look at him again, maybe smile at him. Perhaps even speak to him.

Her heart did a little dance when he smiled at her as she served him supper. The entire evening, neither of them had a chance to speak to each other, because the chief kept the conversation going. Yet the two of them knew they wanted to meet somewhere later, to talk.


Later that evening, Garrow left and made his way back to the dock. The large full moon shone brightly and he smiled, enjoying the soft glow. He sat down on the worn away wooden planks, glad to rest after so many days at space. Taking his shoes off, he dipped his feet in the still night waters.

She was utterly silent and he didn’t realize she was there until she sat down beside him. He looked at her, but she was gazing at the moon, its’ pure light reflecting in her beautiful eyes. It was as though she had never seen it before, and he looked back at it, seeing it with new eyes.

“I’ve been there, you know.” He finally said, breaking the silence. She turned her head slightly to the side, still looking at the moon.

“Is it very pretty?” She asked after a time. He had to smile at the sound of her voice, so sweet and soft. The moonlight shone on her pale skin, making her look like a delicate marble statue.

He nodded. “There are flowers that grow all over, and they take in the light from the sun during the day. Then, at night, they glow.”

“One day, I want to see them.” She whispered, and then fell silent, as if she had scared herself with her words. Garrow smiled again.

“Perhaps you could come traveling with me.” He said. She had also dipped her feet in the water and was making little circles in the water.

“I feel as though…I’ve met you before.” She finally said, looking at him at last. “You see, I dream of a great many things. In one of my dreams, there’s been a man, with his back to me. I always walk up to him, because I know it’s important that I see his face, but right before he turns, I wake up.”

After hesitating for a moment, Garrow took her hand. “I’m only a poor space sailor, Arianna. I have no money, only my ship, which, as you can see, is not really anything to speak of.”

They looked at the stars for a few minutes, enjoying being together. Then he continued. “I must make my fortune before anything else.”

Though they had only met that day, it certainly was as though they had always known each other. Every touch and every look was new but familiar. He kissed her soft forehead and then she leaned against him.

“I’ll wait for you, Garrow. We will see each other again, I know.” She whispered, looking up at him. They both smiled and then gazed back at the starry night sky.


Garrow left as soon as his ship was repaired. Arianna watched from the dock as his ship sailed high into the sky, a single tear running down her face. She managed to smile goodbye to him before he vanished from view.

Long bitter months, she waited for her Garrow to return. She knew that fortune hunting took time, but with each passing day, a little bit of her hope seemed to get eaten away. Her father was worried about her and he too hoped that Garrow would return soon.

Yet an entire year went by and he still hadn’t returned. Arianna’s father had begun to assume that he wasn’t coming back, and he hoped his daughter could understand that.

Arianna still believed though, and she continued to dream of her dark stranger. She was sure it was Garrow; if only she could see the figure’s face before waking up. Yet try as she might, she was never able to.

After waking from one of those dreams, she realized that there was a storm going on outside. She could hear yelling and the wind blew terribly. After grabbing a lantern, she ran outside and was frozen with fear at the scene.

The entire ocean surrounding them seemed to be in a state of great unrest, with enormous waves rising up and then crashing down on the beach. With every wave, the water got closer and closer up the land, the waves violently taking everything in its path. The people of the village were running around in panic, trying to gather and save what they could.

Rain had begun to fall from the dark clouds and lightening flashed every few moments. Arianna had never been so scared in her life and she didn’t know what to do. The sky had never looked so violent and dark before, with odd green and purple colors mixed in with the black. She knew that this wasn’t a normal storm.

“Arianna! Get back in the hut!” Her father yelled to her as he tried to lash down a tarp. With one last look at her father, she ran back inside and huddled on her bed, wrapped up in a warm blanket. The wind was blowing in debris through the windows and suddenly, a rock flew by and hit her in the back of the end, knocking her senseless.


She awoke to the cry of a spacegull. It was hovering high above her, drifting on the currents of light. She sat up and then froze.

She was still on her bed, drifting in space.

“Father?” She called out before realizing how foolish that was. Her lower lip quivered a little as she realized just how alone she was. Drawing her knees up close and wrapping her arms around them, she began to cry.

Crying can only last for so long though before it becomes useless, and she soon stopped. Her father had taught her all about space traveling and she knew that her little bed wouldn’t be able to travel in space for long. She had to find a planet to land on as quickly as possible.

Soon, she had a paddle, made of one of her bedposts. It was slow and hard work, but she was able to direct her course. She began heading for a small, faraway planet, hoping it was inhabited by a nice species.


“Go away!” One of the feline-like people said, showing his very sharp teeth. Arianna had docked her bed in one of their ports and apparently they didn’t consider it a vessel, meaning it couldn’t stay there. It had taken her at least a week to get to the small planet, and her bed was about to fall apart. She’d been through two space storms and it was really miraculous that she had made it at all.

“Please, I will move it, I just need some time to repair it first.” She said, wincing a little as she spoke. Two days ago, a shard from a meteor had flown right into her face, leaving a long scratch on her jaw. She was feeling very scared and alone on this new planet.

The harbourmaster, who towered over her, sneered and said, “Repair it? It’s a bed! What sort of idiot sails in space on a bed? You clearly don’t know what you’re doing. Why don’t you just leave space travelling to the people who know things?”

Tears threatened to spill from Arianna’s eyes. She felt like a complete fool, having thought that she’d be able to travel in space on her own. Though she wanted to find Garrow more than anything, it was just too impossible a task.

She turned away to go, but as she did, an old woman came up to her. “ My dear girl, I overheard that you need a ship. Come with me and we’ll talk.”

Unable to protest, Arianna followed the woman back to her home and they had tea together. The woman, as it turned out, owned a small ship that she was willing to part with. “I’m far too old to use it anymore, you see. And I have no living relatives who can take it, so you may as well have it.”

Arianna was overwhelmed with gratitude. “This means so much to me.” She said with an enormous smile. The old woman smiled back.

“I can see that you’re searching for something, child. You won’t find it unless you have a space worthy vessel.”

This made Arianna smile and she nodded. “Garrow. I miss him terribly.” She pushed a strand of her long hair back behind her ear. “Do you….do you really think I can find him?”

The old woman nodded. “You’re a smart girl, my dear. I know travelling in space can be frightening, and I’m sure you’ll go through many storms still, but I know you’ll be fine.”

Arianna smiled once more, feeling hopeful for the first time in days.


A week later, Arianna was on her way, sailing through space. Her little ship was full of food supplies and space charts. The wind was in her favour and she smiled as she steered. Spacegulls circled her and she cried back at them in greeting, not feeling too lonely anymore.

Though it might take months, or even years, she would find Garrow again. She would go back to her home planet too, to see if anyone had survived the storm. She would find out if the man in her dreams really was Garrow, and if he wasn’t, then she knew she would meet him one day. The adventure had only just begun, after all.


End