Echoes Between the Stars

Bridge of Souls

14 June 2300 — Pioneer-12, Anaïs’s Cabin and Design Studio

One week since Evie first tried on the gravity-stabilizing shoes Anaïs designed. She has steadied. Her steps under 0.7 gravity have become surer. The new weight of the world no longer feels like somewhere that might simply refuse to hold her.

That morning, Anaïs sends a three-word message: Progress. Come see. Very Anaïs. Evie smiles reading it and asks whether it is an invitation or an order. Anaïs replies: both. Evie goes.

The design studio is filled with fabric samples and soft synthesizer music. A retro disco track plays in the background. Anaïs has made progress on the second layer of the gown: a deep violet sensory gauze with silver fibers that shift and catch the light with movement. They work through the afternoon.

Then the song “Evie & Max Under Red Neon Skies” comes on — something from Evie’s private playlist. Anaïs glances at the title and asks, quietly: “Who was Max?”

For a moment Evie does not answer. Then her smile softens. “Someone real,” she says. She looks briefly toward the observation window. “She’s no longer in this world.” Anaïs says simply: “I’m sorry.” And Evie: “Me too.”

The moment passes without being forced into anything larger. Evie lifts the deep violet sensory gauze and follows Anaïs out of the studio. Behind them, the song continues to play softly inside the empty room. The bridge between what was lost and what might still be found stretches quietly forward — through the ship, through deep space, toward something neither of them can yet name.