Eidolon

“Please don’t,” she whispered, resting her hand on mine. It was soft, and warm, impossibly young. She was all too real. My heart sank.

“I have to, Mother. The Eidolon will shut this simulation down in a few minutes.

“The what?”

“I don’t have time to explain, I have to go. But I…”

“Please stay, Joseph. Please!”

“I wish I could, Mother. But I can’t. I beg you, please listen…” 

“Don’t leave me son, please! I love you. Please don’t leave!”

An electronic female voice echoed over the comms system. It was the ship’s main computer. “Unexpected hull breach in levels one, two and three. All escape pods damaged or destroyed. Now entering Aetheris’s atmosphere. Catastrophic hull breach, total system failure in approximately 3 minutes.”

Joseph took a quick, deep breath and let out a sigh.

“I’m so sorry, Mother. You’re right. You’re right. Of course I’ll stay with you. I’ll never leave you again. We have so much to catch up on!”

“Thank you, son,” she said with a relieved smile, her tears beginning to dry. They sat down quietly to view the auroras frolicking above the planet. 

Joseph grabbed her hand.

“Catastrophic hull breach in 7, 6, 5, 4…”

“Tell me Mother, what would you like to do for the rest of the day?”