Work Text:
- The life of Eva Wei.
The explosion is large as the star-racer experiences catastrophic failure.
The image of that fireball will be something that stays with Eva for the rest of her life. Nothing will ever be more terrifying than the thought of losing her mother. She grips onto her father tighter as they both watch in helpless horror at the scene unfolding before them.
The fireball is so large, there's no possible way anyone can survive or escape.
Not with Earth technology.
But the other racer, that alien. It comes back.
She won't remember clearly and she'll not ask her parents again after this day. But Eva sees the alien shifting into a blanket of darkness and wrapping itself around the burning star-racer.
The fire is smothered and then the only thing she can focus on is her mother being rescued by fire-fighters. Her father holds her tightly as they follow.
Every year on the anniversary of the crash, Eva will send a card to the Phils Embassy thanking that pilot who saved her mother's life.
Maya is sitting up in bed at 2am, waiting for her husband to return from comforting their daughter.
It's one year after the accident that nearly took her life and her daughter still has nightmares. Eva's such a strong girl and Maya could not be prouder of her baby girl, but she understands what a traumatic time that was for her family, and how such a young child would have trouble processing the event.
“How is she?” Maya asks when she hears Don return.
“Another nightmare, but she's gone back over,” Don says as he gets back into bed.
“...”
It breaks her heart that directly after these nightmares Eva is actually scared of Maya. The association of fear with her mother; but not understanding that the fear is of losing her mother. Eva is an energetic and social child, she has lots of friends at school and is rarely alone. But when she is alone for whatever reason, usually at night, sometimes she will experience panic attacks and the recurring nightmare.
Maya clasps her hands. “We should do it.”
“What the therapist said?”
“Yeah,” Maya nods. “I know we're all busy but I think it was good advice. A therapy pet for Eva would help her feel less alone. It hurts to see her suffering.”
“Yes,” Don agrees solemnly.
The child therapist Eva had seen shortly after the accident had been very useful, but the one piece of advice they had not followed was the therapy pet. The therapist had stressed that it wasn't a necessity, and Eva had been making wonderful progress in her recovery so they had not considered it. Maya is a responsible woman and knew at the time they could not properly care for an animal but now they had hit a wall with this nightmare situation…
“We'll have to discuss it with Rose—”
Their maid.
“—but I think it's a wise choice,” Don puts a reassuring hand over Maya's.
Which gives her a confidence boost. “Okay, it's a plan! Operation Pet begins tomorrow!”
Maya kisses her husband, then rolls over with all of the sheets.
In the morning, a week later, Maya plaits Eva's hair, helps her pick out a cute dress to wear and after a filling breakfast courtesy of her wonderful husband they arrive in the city for a family shopping date. Both her and Don have decided to keep the true reason for the trip a secret from their daughter so that they can see the surprise and happiness on her face. In anticipation Maya has not loosened the grip on her phone at all since they got out of the car.
Eva rides on Don's shoulders as they complete their various errands, deal with some fans who have personal space issues, refuel Eva with cake when she gets tired, and then finally they arrive at the pet store.
“The hampsters!” Eva shouts with her childlike mispronunciation. Many times they have stopped by the window to coo at the cute little animals.
Don squats down so that Eva can see the hamsters better. “This one is very fat,” he says.
“I want to poke his belly!” Eva smushes her face against the glass.
Maya's grip tightens on her phone. “Eva, sweetie?”
“Mmm,” Eva is captivated by the furry little animals.
“Would you like to get a pet?”
“Mmm.”
Maya and Don share a glance.
“Evie,” Don prompts. “Did you hear your mother?”
“Huh!?” Eva snaps out of her daze. She looks back, “huh?”
“Would you like to get a pet?” Maya asks again.
There's a pause, as if Eva doesn't understand the question, then her mouth drops open and that's the moment when Maya's phone begins flashing uncontrollably. Eva gasps, her cheeks rosy with excitement and her eyes wide and full of stars; she shrieks with happiness and kicks her legs wildly.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” Yes!” she repeats with joy.
“Eva, Eva, sweeties,” Maya laughs as she continues to take an endless amount of photos. “You're pulling Daddy's hair.”
“I want a hampster, I want a kitty, I want a doggy—“ Eva continues in her excitement.
After a moment of calming their daughter down (and after attracting plenty of attention) they begin browsing the pet shop. Eva runs around from enclosure to enclosure, from cage to cage of different animals, dragging Don around by his hand as Maya flattens her phone battery. Eva politely but loudly requests to pet the hamsters, the Guinea pigs, the turtles; there's a chinchilla and some ferrets, and Maya prays that Eva doesn't want a parrot or cockatoo. Every animal that Eva sees she wants before she quickly moves onto something else.
But they always come back to the rabbit enclosure. In her mind, Maya believes that rabbits would be the perfect pet for Eva. Rabbits are cute, fluffy, calm and social, and not too large either. They are also famously Maya's favourite animal, so she figures she might be slightly biassed but that's okay.
In particular Eva seems to be attracted to a certain fat, lop-eared rabbit. Its fur is patchwork in colour and it appears to have a unique moon marking on its cheek. It sits calmly as Eva brushes her small hands through its soft fur. Maya smiles at her husband—she knows this look.
“Do you like this one, Evie?” Don asks.
“Mnhm,” Eva nods placidly.
Maya shoots her husband a smug grin. “Knew my daughter would have the best taste in animals.”
Don rolls his eyes. He lost their bet; now he has to cook whatever unhealthy food Maya wants for a whole week.
After buying the rabbit, they walk back to their car. Eva is swinging Maya's hand excitedly as she tries to peer into the pet carrier. “He's in there,” she points and says to Maya.
“He really is,” Maya responds. She knows rabbits are social animals so they will probably have to get a second at some point.
“How about we see how this little man settles before we think about getting another,” Don suggests.
“Huh? Did I say that out loud?” Maya sticks her tongue out a little and knocks her head with her free hand. “Oops.”
Don smiles. “You're adorable.”
“Yeah!” Maya huffs confidently. “I am!”
They arrive at their car where she takes the carrier and gets in the passenger seat as Don straps Eva into her seat. It used to be a difficult fight to get Eva into the seat before Maya explained that star-racer pilots also have to strap themselves into their seats before racing. After that
She twists around to look in the back of the car. “Hey, hey, Evie, have you thought of a name yet?”
“Ummm...” Eva presses a finger to her lips and looks to the ceiling as she thinks in deep concentration. “Luna!”
“Oh!” Maya squeals. “Like my star-racer!”
“Yeah!” Eva smiles happily. “Mummy's star-racer has a moon on it and mummy has a moon on her face. And so does Luna!”
“That's genius, Eva! My daughter is so smart! Oooh, we can put a decal of the little guy on the Lunar Rabbit! ”
“Really!?” Eva gasps.
“I'll have to consult with some people, but it's nothing I can't organise,” Don says as he finishes with Eva's seat.
“Yaaaay!”
Maya sniffs.
“What was that for? Are you allergies playing up already?” Don worries as he climbs into the driver's seat.
“No, dummy!” she punches his shoulder eliciting pain from him and giggles from Eva. “It's just… my family is so wonderful. I feel so blessed, i'm so happy.”
Don smiles tenderly. “We have an amazing family.”
This outing is their squad's prize for winning the paintball league that totally wasn't another thinly disguised training exercise under the guise of recreation. Due to his crack-aim Jordan's team had handily beaten all opponents and come out on top to win the privilege of this tour of the Wei Race estate.
His squad is beyond excited for this trip, and while he's not as heavily interested in star-racing itself as his fellow squaddies are, who wouldn't be excited to possibly catch a glimpse of the legendary Earth racer; Maya Wei? A woman unparalleled in the world of star-racing, she was an inspiration to young girls the world over, the highest record holding racer and almost entirely undefeated in every grand prix for the last twenty years. Maya Wei showed no signs of slowing down despite reaching an age bracket that had her contemporary racers dropping out.
He's no stranger to working environments but a star-racing company hanger feels much more relaxed. It's clear that everyone working at Wei Race were content with their jobs as they work away diligently. There are people from all backgrounds chatting and laughing, there's a radio playing, mugs of coffee and takeaways spread all around the hanger—it's an alien atmosphere from what he's used to at military camp.
There is an unexpected voice shouting from across the hanger, however.
A girl with long black hair decorated with cute hair accessories and wearing what looks to be a prestigious school uniform is talking to some mechanics from atop a half-built star-racer. It's a Sunday afternoon so it's probably a uniform from a fancy private school.
She would look incredibly feminine if she wasn't currently straddling the cockpit in her skirt. With the amount of thigh Jordan can see he averts his gaze but that doesn't hide his hot cheeks. His buddy takes one look at him and cracks up, the laughter echoing which draws attention from the entire hanger; Jordan's cheeks only grow hotter.
The girl is also looking at him as well.
He meets her eyes and then just as quickly looks away to jab his friend with his elbow.
Captain Turback and the ground manager of Wei Race finish talking and the squad is given freedom to explore the hangar with the stipulation to not make a nuisance of themselves. Naturally Jordan scoots on over to the girl on the star-racer to the chuckles of his squad mates.
After a few aborted attempts to speak, Jordan finally finds his voice. “Hey, there!”
The girl looks down at him. She meets his eyes then looks away to talk to a mechanic so Jordan tries again.
“Hey, uh! Are you building this?” before his hand can touch the star-racer the girl looks back at him sharply.
“Don't touch anything, that's my paint job!”
There's a pink cartoon rabbit right where he was going to touch.
“You're a good artist,” he says.
“I'm a better mechanic,” she replies with a proud huff.
They spend a moment chatting and Jordan is aware that he's drifted too close and that he is, in fact, making a nuisance of himself if the looks the mechanics are throwing his way are any indication. But he won't leave until he has they girl's name.
“Young man!” a different voice cuts through their conversation Jordan turns his attention to a man approaching. In a reasonably smart suit, he looks very out of place among the mechanics dressed in stained overalls. “Can you not follow orders? Is that not your job? Please stand back from the vehicle.”
Before Jordan can comply the man moves his attention to the girl.
“Eva!” the man calls. “Come down from there!”
Jordan can very clearly see the girl roll her eyes but she does as she's told.
“Dad—“
“ Carefully ,” that man stresses as Eva throws her leg over the other side of the star-racer in a very unladylike manner and slides down the side, landing with a thud and she's out of sight.
But he's still staring at the star-racer as if he has x-ray vision superpowers. His squad mates often joke (in a half-envious manner) about his amazing eyesight but it isn't that good, and yet he's still trying. An elbow jabs him in the side.
Their voices still carry.
“Now, Eva, you know I allowed you to assist with the construction of the new racer if you didn't pull any crazy stunts like getting up there. You remember what happened with—“
“ Yes, Dad ,” the girl interrupts but begrudgingly accepts.
There's a pause. “Okay. For now let Xander and Dee handle this aspect, okay?”
“Fine...”
A man and a woman dressed in Wei Race overalls both throw out a thumbs-up each. “Gotcha, Boss.”
As the girl walks off to a seating area off to the side, the pair of mechanics get back to work on the star-racer. The girl—Eva—is sulking and it's the cutest damn thing. Her lower lip is jutting out and her head is hunched into her shoulders, slouching low in the uncomfy chair. She doesn't even notice him approaching—or she's ignoring him even when he clears his throat.
Standing upright with his back straight and his arms stiffly by his side he can't quite find the courage to meet her eyes when she looks at him. The brief burst of courage has left him but before he can say anything the girl speaks first.
“You got me caught!”
“S-sorry?”
Eva's down-turned eyebrows can't diminish her large eyes and cute pouting expression as she tries to look angrily at him.
“If you idiots hadn't been so loud then Dad wouldn't have noticed me! And I could've worked on the new star-racer more!”
“Sorry,” Jordan repeats himself. They're off to a stunning start but he continues to engage. “Are you building that star-racer yourself?”
After a moment more of angry staring Eva slumps back in her chair, arms folded. “I'm trying . Dad's being a jerk and won't let me. But Mum and Dad are encouraging me to be a mechanic and then Dad stops me whenever I try! What's his problem!?”
Perhaps being on top of a vehicle without any safety equipment? Jordan thinks to himself. If he pulled such a stunt his Captain would punish him by putting him on toilet cleaner duty.
“Eva, Honey! What's with the dour face?” a woman's voice asks and when Jordan turns around he chokes on his tongue. A woman with very long pink hair and face tattoos has snuck up behind them. She's wearing a very short dress so Jordan draws his eyes upwards.
“Dad won't let me help with the new racer,” Eva grumbles.
Maya Wei chuckles. “You know your dad, he's a real worrywart. But nevermind that,” Maya turns her eyes on him. “Who's this handsome young stud?”
“ Mum! ”
Jordan can only make a humiliating strangled noise in response.
The multi-time Grand Prix Champion takes a moment to obviously look Jordan head-to-toe. He feels like he's being judged by a mama bear which causes him to straighten his back and almost stand at attention.
“Haha, calm down, tiger,” the woman chuckles. She looks over to her daughter. “What a solid young man you found, Eva.”
Eva groans. “Mum, stooop.”
And Jordan decided he should probably speak up for himself.
“I'm very sorry for causing you trouble, please forgive me!” Jordan bows deeply at his waist. Due to his strict home life and military training he's more than used to apologising for the slightest incident, and the advantage of this position is that it hides his flaming face.
When there's no response he chances a glance up and Eva's face could probably match his own right now. When their eyes meet and they both realise this their faces only turn redder.
Maya laughs. Loudly.
“So polite. Tell you what; make up for what you did by having dinner at ours.”
“Mum! Don't invite strange boys to our house!”
“Oh, Honey, someone has to do it otherwise you might turn into a lonely, crazy old cat lady. The clock is ticking.”
Maya has possibly the most mischievous grin on her face that Jordan has ever seen on a grown woman.
“And,” Maya winks at Jordan, “having a strapping your man around the house might make your father jealous. He—“
“Mum! God!” Eva shrieks in embarrassment. “Go away!”
Jordan watches as Eva shoves at her mother, pushing the cackling star-racing champion away—and the most amazing thing is that not a single person is paying them any attention in the hanger as if this sort of thing is normal.
“I'm so, so sorry!” now it's Eva's turn to bow in apology. Jordan watches the flow of her long hair with the dramatic movement. He scratches the back of his head and laughs awkwardly.
“It's okay, my older sister is kinda like that too.”
“Ugh,” Eva grumbles.
There's an awkward pause as neither of them can think of the right thing to say.
“B-but… do you want to come for dinner?” Eva quietly asks.
“Huh?”
“As an apology! For my mum being weird!” Eva blurts loudly. She's not meeting his eyes but Jordan can see the flush spreading to the tips of her ears.
“I-i-uh,” Jordan can't find the words. He's never been asked out before! “Sure, but you don't need to apologise.”
“I know!” Eva regains some of her composure. “My name is Eva by the way.”
Jordan grins. “Yeah, i'm Jordan!”
When he stumbles back to his squad mates in a daze they all jeer and tease him, but the noise barely reaches him. He has a date with a cute girl!
And it's the weirdest date he's ever been on.
Not because of Eva, but because her father insists on being there the entire time, which means Maya is there too and he's on his absolute best behaviour. Not that he wouldn't be otherwise, but he's hyper aware that everything he says and does could be taken the wrong way and have parental wrath brought down on him.
Don Wei is the man with kind eyes but a stern face who he's seen in interviews but never really thought about otherwise, and he's cooking carbonara. Maya Wei is an unreachable celebrity whose glamorous life he could only previously imagine, and she's eating like a horse.
Much like her daughter.
Jordan experiences a brief moment of disassociation as he can't believe he's in the Wei household on a date with Maya Wei's daughter. And then he's brought back to Earth when he realises he hadn't even known Eva was Maya Wei's daughter initially. The stern lecture his mother had given him before leaving rings in his ears as he politely chats with the family.
The seating arrangement is so that he's not near Eva; he's sat next to Maya and opposite Don. Eva keeps catching his eyes and rolling hers whenever her dad gets on a lecture. After the interrogation on his personal life the conversation naturally strays to star-racing.
“Why would the military visit a star-racing company?” Don eventually asks.
Jordan can sense the suspicion. “Why did you allow it, sir?”
He instantly regrets the rebuttal, but Eva's dad doesn't seem offended by it. “Tarbuck and I go way back; we went to school together, though he's never shown any interest in star-racing before. It was nice to catch up at least.”
Oh, shit, now Jordan really regrets asking. His new girlfriend's (?) dad is also friends with his Captain. A nightmare scenario!
“Maybe the army are gonna put guns on star-racers,” Maya hypothesises.
Don frowns. “Star-racing is already a dangerous enough sport, we don't need weapons involved.”
“It would be so exhilarating,” Maya muses out loud, absent-mindedly twirling spaghetti.
“Please don't get complacent, Love,” Don almost begs, causing Maya to pause in her excitement.
She looks at her husband and then her daughter. Eva looks equally concerned—it's an expression Jordan doesn't like to see on someone so innocent. It's an expression his family had sent his way when he'd announced that he would be joining the army, one of worry, and he vaguely recalls the accident Maya was involved in ten years ago. Suddenly he feels like an intruder to a sensitive moment.
Maya sighs. She holds her hands out with a playful pout. “Just a little bang?”
“A little bang?” Don repeats.
“Like fireworks!” Eva throws her arm up, pointing her fork at the ceiling. Maya grins.
“Genius, Eva! When I cross the finish line they'll explode in victory! Okay, it's decided! We're putting fireworks on the Trident . I'll talk to Xander and Dee about it next week,” Maya folds her arms proudly and nods.
“Yesss!” Eva pumps her fists into the air.
Don simply puts his face in his hands as mother and daughter begin to excitedly chatter about the idea.
After the meal Maya distracts Don long enough for Jordan and Eva to speak privately for a while. Eva complains with good nature about her parents and apologises that they couldn't spend much time together, but she gives Jordan her phone number. Maybe the next time Don interferes too much they can at least talk via text at dinner.
Once he's home Jordan doesn't even wait five minutes before sending a text
“Mum, that's enough. I'm fine!” Eva reiterates from the umpteenth time, shooing her mother away.
Maya chuckles but stops her fiddling. “I never thought this day would come. My little baby girl, in a wedding dress, on her wedding day!”
The dress is beautiful. It's close cut around her torso and billowing from the waist down, rich red in colour with intricate gold lace flowers along the edges. The band in her hair adorned with gold jewellery and small delicate flowers woven in.
“I wouldn't wear a wedding dress on any other day,” Eva quips—a sign that she's nervous.
“I'm so proud of you.”
“Mum...”
“Even if you had become a crazy cat lady, I'd be proud of you.”
“Mum!” Eva blushes. Even though she doesn't say it, Eva is grateful that her mother is such a confident person able to lift any mood and soothe her nerves. She doesn't know where she'd be in life without her mother.
Probably not getting married to the love of her life.
“Thank you,” Eva says.
“Oh?” Maya cocks her head and resumes fiddling with the dress, unable to help herself. She's an open romantic—both her and Don have never lost their spark and are still shamelessly romantic in public. Eva knows she and Jordan will be the same.
“For bringing Jordan into my life.”
“Ohh?” The smile on Maya's face grows and Eva expects a teasing comment to be directed at her. But instead Maya's eyes look watery and she embraces Eva.
“I'm so happy for you,” she says warmly. “I love you.”
Eva sniffs. “I love you too, mum.”
A woman with dark hair pops her head around the door. “Eva, Sweetie, everything is ready. Ohh, you look so beautiful! Jordan is such a lucky boy!”
Eva grins at Jordan's mother. “I'm the lucky one.”
“You look wonderful, Eva.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Eva smiles as she walks over.
“And you're nervous.”
“N-no!” She didn't admit it to her mother and she won't admit it to her father either. She looks down and fiddles with the lace on her dress only making herself even more obvious and Don chuckles.
“It's understandable,” he begins with a small smile. “You're taking another big step in your life today. It feels like only yesterday that you moved out.”
Continuing to fiddle with her dress, Eva laughs cheekily. “You sound so old, Dad. I think you took that harder—Mum said you cried.”
“Maya!” Don chokes. “You really can't keep secrets! But I can't deny it, and excuse me if it happens again today. Always know that we'll be here for you no matter what, okay? You'll always be my precious daughter.”
Eva feels a swell of confidence and she looks up brightly. “Thank you, Dad.”
Don offers his arm and Eva links them together.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
Eva looks playfully sternly up at her dad. “You will let me go, right.”
They don't want a repeat of what happened in rehearsals. It still always surprises her how overly protective her mild-mannered father can get.
Don pauses for slightly too long but responds with a smile. “Of course.”
With a nod, Eva takes one last moment and deep breath before they begin to walk down the aisle. Music begins playing, all the guests rise to their feet. It's a large gathering—family, school friends, workmates—all watching her as she walks closer to the happiest moment of her life.
Jordan stands waiting for her. He's so handsome in a long-tailed tuxedo, cleanly shaven with his hair neatly styled back. Eva hasn't seen him all day as tradition dictates and his sparkling eyes follow her every movement. They are so captivated by eachother that Eva doesn't notice that they've reached the altar until Don pats her arm gently and passes her over.
It's like every other person in the room disappears and for a moment it's only the two of them.
“You're beautiful,” Jordan whispers, enraptured.
Eva smiles gently, she can already feel tears. “You look amazing,” she responds.
And like that, everyone in the room returns and the ceremony continues. They stand holding hands, listening to the sermon.
“I do,” they both say when prompted.
And then the words, “I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” are uttered.
Jordan wraps his arms around Eva's back and dips her. She giggles, puts her arms around his neck and kisses him.
Now she calls herself Eva Wilde.
The crowd is cheering louder than ever, cheering the multi-time Earth and Intergalactic Champion, Maya Wei—wife, mother and grandmother—to victory for the final time.
Don takes his eyes off the track for a moment to look at the child he's carrying—little William Wilde, his grandson. The one-year-old is not at all scared or fussy in such a loud and energetic environment, in fact he barely looks bothered at all. With good reason, considering his mother had refused the 12 months of maternity leave offered to her and instead jumped right back into work as soon as possible, bringing little William in tow.
At the same time as the birth, Maya had begun to discuss her retirement from the sport. She had since reached and surpassed her prime and wanted to finish her career on top, to which Don readily agreed.
This Intergalactic Grand Prix would be her final appearance as a star-racing pilot. Maya was the pride of Earth sport and of Don's life; he feels so proud and fortunate to be married to such an amazing woman. William turns his head and gurgles as the crowd's cheering reaches a new volume Don has never heard before. He starts unconsciously rocking the baby as he watches the race.
It's not just because this is Maya's final race that the crowd is so unusually enthusiastic. It's also because Earth is in the middle of a war with the crogs from their neighbouring galaxy. This Intergalactic Grand Prix is as much a celebration of Maya's career as it is a distraction for the masses.
He's been watching the news, religiously keeping track of his son-in-law, Jordan Wilde's movements when Eva can't bring herself to do more than read the letters that Jordan sends home. From the observation balcony he takes his eyes away from the race again and looks down at his daughter working diligently in the pit stop whenever Maya pulls in for repairs. He knows that this race is just as much of a distraction for her as it is for all people.
And yet Eva still has an old portable TV showing the news beside her.
His attention is taken away when he gives advice to his wife.
“I'm gonna win this race for you, Will!” Maya responds over the radio. Don laughs and knows for certain that Maya will show off her wonderful grandson on the podium just like she had when Eva had been the same age.
The end of the race soon approaches and the excitement in the stands reaches its zenith and Don can't deny that there's an energy inside him that he hasn't felt in a long time. He holds William higher but just as safely to see the jubilant moment as his wife approaches the finish line.
The pride of Earth star-racing will finish just as triumphantly as they all expected.
When, in the reflection of his glasses, he can see a huge explosion on the TV behind him. Slowly he turns his head to the news as a too familiar Earth warship goes down in flames. His eyes snap over to is daughter down in the pit stop
Eva's frozen, watching the portable TV.
A cold streak runs through him as the ship that Jordan Captains explode into a huge fireball as cheers from the stadium roar in his ears.
Maya just won her final race.
And Jordan was just killed in war.
With a groan, Eva stands up and wipes the sweat from her brow then wipes the grime off her hands. She loves this job—being a mechanic for her dad's company and servicing her mum's star-racer, but she can't deny that all the physical labour is already beginning to wear.
She thinks back to 20 years ago when she was 15 when she had the flexibility to bend herself into the vehicle to reach tricky areas... when her father wasn't watching of course. Now she can't wait to sit down at home to rest her legs and help William with his homework. To the best of her abilities.
William is 11 years-old and already smarter than both her and Jordan combined. Eva frequently wonders where her son gets that from? Maybe Don, or Jordan's mother who is a very intelligent woman. At the age when Eva was waving around spanners and begging to ride in the star-racer cockpit with her mum, William is studying.
In the hanger off to the side William sits in the same set of chairs that Eva herself used to sulk in whenever she got scolded (she laughs). He's got his head buried in a book with a cute kink in his brow as he puzzles out whatever he's reading. He requests material above his age range and Eva calls him her smart little boy to his embarrassment. But she always indulges in his love of sci-fi—just as Jordan had liked.
Dark brown hair, large eyebrows, freckles and a childish square face; William really is a miniature version of his father. But he has Eva's red eyes.
Those eyes meet hers as William glances up, having felt her gaze on him. Eva grins a toothy grin and sends her son a thumbs-up. “Almost done, Will! Maybe another 20 minutes and then we can get ice cream, okay?”
“Yeah,” William responds and smiles gently—timid, unlike his father, but always well-behaved, very much like his father.
Eva puts her heavy work gloves back on and dives enthusiastically back into work.
She thinks back to 20 years ago when she met Jordan for the first time in this very hanger.
His grandmother is a strong woman.
But Maya isn't afraid to show emotion—it's not a weakness to display your sorrow. William stands to Maya's left as his grandmother spreads her husband's ashes to the wind with one last sob and goodbye.
The group of mourners take a long moment to admire the beautiful scenery. High up a mountain trail with a fresh breeze blowing through their hair; it's the perfect place to lay to rest a person who loves—loved—star-racing; the perfect place for them to be free as the wind.
“Goodbye, Grandad,” William says quietly.
Eva pulls him and Maya into a tight hug then they begin their trek back down the trail and to the gathering that's been organised for Don's memorial. It's a large gathering considering Don had many work acquaintances and friends, which makes William nervous about the speech he plans to give.
Of course as a young politician he has had practise at public speaking, but his nerves never improve. Frequently he wishes he had inherited his mother's confidence. The three of them seem to each be lost in their own thoughts as they reminisce in the comfortable silence when Maya absent-mindedly takes both their hands.
William goes back to when he was a child. He doesn't remember anything about his father, no matter how hard he tries or no matter how much his mother talks about Jordan. He thinks of war and how much it has hurt not only his own family but countless other families. As a small boy he had once asked where his father was...
“He died in the war,” Don had said very honestly.
The Wei and Wilde families had never been shy regarding Jordan's death—they were honest from the day that William could truly comprehend the concept of dying.
“He was a good man taken way before his time,” Don had continued. “You're the spitting image of him with this scruffy hair.” Don affectionately ruffled William's unruly brown hair.
From that moment on William had done nothing but look up to his grandfather. Without Don's help and encouragement and support he would never have been able to become a politician—he would never have become such a loud anti-war voice in the Earth Government.
He's taken elements of Don's stern leadership of Wei Race, and relate-ability and understanding with his employees and applied them to his own constituents. He could never be the same man as his grandfather but what he had learned had hugely helped his own career progress.
Before he knows it they've arrived at the outdoor memorial gathering where William takes his regular position as a wallflower as his mother and Grandmother mingle with the guests recalling fond stories of Don Wei.
More memories tug at the edges of his mind.
The days when sometimes everything became too much when he was a child—those days he would sit in his grandfather's study to gather himself and read any of the multitude of confusing and yet interesting complicated books that lined the walls.
Don was the man who taught him to cook because—and William loves his mother dearly —the meals Eva cooks are health hazards.
Embarrassingly he remembers asking his grandfather awkward personal healthcare questions.
They enjoyed hobbies together; fishing, book and documentary discussions etcetera.. Don would avenge William when Eva embarrassed him with baby photos by showing photos of baby Eva too.
And he always spoke highly of Jordan.
Finally William takes a deep breath, clings his glass with a spoon to gain the attention of the room, and begins to talk about how amazing his grandfather is.
When she opens her eyes, she's standing in a grassy plain. It's a place Eva has never been to before and yet somehow it feels nostalgic. A gentle breeze breathes through her scraggy grey hair as she looks around. This wasn't where she fell asleep—this isn't sat next to her beloved rose bush in her comfy, old chair at the bottom of her garden—she should be scared. She should be worried. And yet she feels only peace.
“William?” Eva calls as she looks around. He's visiting her today, bringing some homemade cooking his husband had made. Eva always did love her son-in-law Eric's carrot cake—the young man was a wonderful baker.
But no one answers.
“Innes, Daniel?”
Her grandchildren don't respond either.
Eva begins to walk across the open plain. Her aches and pains are gone. No longer are her knees and back giving her grief after a lifetime of crawling under star-racers. She also doesn't need assistance to move—her normal slow shuffle is now a regular gait as she moves towards a strange temple in the distance, seemingly the only structure around for miles
When she arrives she's greeted with a daunting flight of stairs; a sight that would normally frustrate her. But this time she ties her shawl more securely around her shoulders, rolls her sleeves up and runs . She takes each step as easy as if she were fifteen-years-old again. It's an exhilarating feeling!
She passes by strange murals of an ancient alien civilisation and a canyon emitting a blindingly bright light before she enters the temple chamber. Her bold footsteps echo all around the huge room as she approaches a large triangle monument in the centre, and stops before the figure facing away from her.
“Hello, dear,” she greets the man.
Jordan spins around with a bright, golden smile that could light up the Earth. Eva's beloved husband who was taken from her far too early closes the gap between them and hugs her tight.
“Eva! Eva! I've missed you so much!”
Eva laughs as she embraces him in return. “Haha, not so tight, you'll break these old bones. I'm not as tough as i used to be.”
“I don't believe that,” Jordan says with his arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders. He presses his face into the side of her head as he talks. “You'll always be as tough as nails.”
Eva raises a wrinkled and frail hand to reassuringly stroke through her husband's hair. “You're an idiot, Jordan.”
He doesn't respond as Eva finally— finally —lets go of all her weight. After decades of living life without her love she finally leans on another person and allows them to hold and carry and support her. Finally she relaxes.
They have all the time in the world it seems, as they stand there. Eventually she feels Jordan smile against her cheek before he releases her. They look at eachother.
Jordan is wearing the Earth Military Captain's uniform. The clothes he was wearing when he died in that pointless war. He still looks like the tall and muscular mid-twenties young man he had been. Eva knows she's still wearing her stereotypical 'old lady' clothes (the shawl, the ankle-length skirt, the slippers) and she's only shrunk more with old age.
“Have you been waiting long?” she quips. “I'm 94-years-old, y'know.”
“You're beautiful,” Jordan responds instead. “Always and forever. I'd wait for you until the end of time. I love you, Eva.”
Eva takes both of her husband's hands in her own and looks up at him. “You're always a sap. I love you so much. I missed you every day of my life.”
“I'm sorry,” Jordan says softly.
“Don't apologise,” Eva shakes her head, her grey hair coming loose from its bindings. “That's life, I guess!”
Jordan smiles softly. “I haven't been able to watch over you from this place, how's William?”
“He's a wonderful man,” Eva answers proudly. “He's an anti-war politician who lobbies for policies to improve peoples' lives. He's so smart, Jordan, I don't know where he gets it from! Certainly not from us. He has a husband, Eric and two children, Innes and Daniel.”
“That's wonderful, i'm so happy to hear that.”
“And Willaim and Eric called their first dog, 'Jordan'” Eva adds with a playful smirk.
“I—hugh,” Jordan huffs and laughs. “I'd make a great guard dog and you know it.”
“Yeah,” Eva smiles. And suddenly she feels light-headed.
“Looks like we're ready,” Jordan says.
“Huh?”
“To enter Oban.”
“What's happening?” Eva asks.
Jordan's body is beginning to break away into light particles. Eva looks at her hands and can see she is beginning to dissipate too. She feels no panic as their bodies turn to light, in fact, it's a calming and gentle sensation.
“I saw Don and Maya do this,” Jordan embraces his wife and continues. “We'll return to the womb of Oban and be reborn again into the galaxy.”
Eva nods. She can't stop the tears of light streaming down her cheeks. “Jordan. We better meet again. We need to live a long life together, I want to see you become an old man.”
“We will meet again, Eva. I promise. I'll find you.” Jordan is crying too. “I love you too much—no, not enough. I love you, Eva! We'll be together forever.”
“I love you, Jordan!” Eva shouts as their bodies break down and she's unable to keep a hold of her beloved any longer.
The streams of light that is their bodies and souls entwine and dance around the temple chamber like DNA before entering the mysterious triangle structure with a flash of blinding light.
“I love you...” echoes softly around the chamber.
- The life of Eva Wilde