New Beginnings

It was nearing midnight in the desert. The sky was clear and the stars shone softly. Lisa was on the outskirts of Tucson, a few miles from the edge of the city. There was much less light pollution here, and no buildings to obscure her view of the sky. Tonight was supposed to be the night. The news had sent warning of possible debris reentering the atmosphere, and she was not going to miss it. She sat on her dirtbike, ready to go at a moment’s notice. She had brought snacks, but she was too anxious to eat. The chirping crickets and the distant whoosh of the highway weighed heavily on her concentration, and she had to constantly remind herself to focus lest she miss a glimpse of her target.

Eventually, though, her patience was rewarded. Lisa saw exactly what she was looking for: A comet searing through the sky, plummeting toward the earth at a steep angle. This one would land nearby. Lisa quickly threw her helmet on and gunned it in that direction. The bike was electric, and the only sound that reached her through her helmet was the bouncing of the chassis and the tires on the terrain. She had made sure to fit her bike with a high-powered headlight, which allowed her to expertly weave between the trees, cacti, and shrubbery that dotted the landscape.

The comet continued to fall, slowly losing its luminosity. It stayed long enough for Lisa to clearly see it land at the foot of a nearby mountain. She made a mental note of where it tumbled and estimated it would take her about an hour to reach it. No matter. She had time.

Soon, she saw another set of lights in the distance, moving at the same speed as her. She wasn’t alone. She grimaced and sped up a little. Hopefully they weren’t some government land organization trying to take the object. They probably have some bullshit reason like harmful metals seeping into the soil or something. Bureaucrats had always pissed Lisa off.

About an hour later, Lisa was at the site. The truck she saw earlier was already there. Rather annoyed, Lisa pulled up next to it, where the driver was leaning against the door. The person gave a casual wave. They must have beaten her by only a few minutes. They were alone, which eased Lisa’s mind somewhat. She dismounted her bike and introduced herself apprehensively. Apparently the person’s name was Ashley, and she seemed about ten years Lisa’s senior. Lisa dispensed with the pleasantries quickly and got to the point: “So why do you care about the debris?”

Ashley gave a sad smile and retrieved a small trinket from her pocket. “Recognize this?”

Lisa was shocked at first, then let out a chuckle. It made sense. She knew exactly what that trinket was. It meant Ashley was here for the same reason as her.

“Who was it for you?” Lisa asked.

“My sister.”

Lisa nodded. “I lost my best friend.”

The two had nothing else to say. After a moment, they decided to split up and search for the object in their vehicles. It would be a bitch in the dark, but there was a decent chance those bureaucrats would show up and take the whole thing tomorrow morning. They agreed to stay within line of sight of each other and flash their lights to alert the other if they found something.

While Lisa was combing the landscape, she noticed a third set of lights approaching. Worried, she decided to confront the person head-on. She pulled up alongside the truck and gestured for the driver to talk to her. The driver obliged.

It was a bald man with a small beard. Lisa could not distinguish any other features in the dark. He said his name was Ernesto. Julia pulled up as well.

“So you’re here for the piece as well, huh?” He said.

Lisa frowned. “Yep. Me and her. We lost some people in the crash.”

Ernesto made a sympathetic expression. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“So why are you here?”

“Just a bit of scavenging. I guess you could say it’s a hobby of mine.”

Lisa was annoyed that Ernesto didn’t have as emotional a reason to be here, but they didn’t exactly have a right to a piece of the ship either. She filled him in on their current searching method and continued begrudgingly on her bike.

Eventually, Julia flashed her headlights and they converged at her location. Indeed, a large chunk of twisted metal, about seven feet long and four feet wide at its largest point, sat in the dirt. Deformed by the explosion and its re-entry into the atmosphere, it was impossible to tell what part of the ship it had belonged to. Lisa brought her hand close to its surface. It was still warm.

There were a few moments of collective silence as Lisa registered the significance of what she was looking at. This was a piece of the ship her best friend had died in. Some part of her soul was in there somewhere, or at least that was what Lisa chose to believe.

Ernesto soon broke the silence.

“I have a welder I can use to cut some pieces off.”

Julia and Lisa looked at each other, surprised. Lisa realized that she hadn’t thought about how she was going to bring a piece home. Evidently, neither had Julia. So Ernesto brought his welder and mask from his truck and asked what piece Lisa and Julia would like.

They deliberated about this for a little while.

Lisa had thought that she would just know when she got here, but now she wasn’t sure. This was the last remaining piece of her friend. How could she choose what part to keep? And yet, when she looked at the piece of metal, nothing in particular stood out to her. Nothing suggested any emotional significance. All of a sudden she questioned why she had come in the first place. Was the memory of her friend not enough? Why did she need a hunk of metal to remember her?

But then she looked at Julia, who had tears streaming down her face. No sobs, only silent grief. This piece of metal did mean something. It was closure, it was a memory you could touch and feel. And that was important.

Lisa walked around to the opposite side of the debris. It was more complex here, with the melted remnants of fittings and bolts and reinforcements. She pointed to a spot she liked the look of and said: “There.”

It took Ernesto about half an hour to remove everyone’s selected slabs. Julia took a flatter piece with one side completely smooth, and Ernesto made sure to take one that had as many recognizable rivets and fittings as possible. Julia asked what Ernesto was planning to do with his souvenir.

“Keep it on my shelf until I get bored of looking at it I suppose. Maybe I’ll try to sell it to some eccentric collector.”

Lisa chuckled. His reason might as well be worth just as much as hers. Ernesto pulled out his phone and showed them an email address. Lisa made a puzzled look.

“If you’re ever in the market for some antiques, shoot me an email.”

Surprised, Lisa accepted the offer. Julia followed suit, and soon they were all back in their respective vehicles, driving across the desert. Lisa thought of her friend, and her heart rested a little easier.