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You have 30 more minutes. Find her. And hurry.
Where did she go? She needed to be at the unveiling ceremony ten minutes ago, but she didn’t show up. This ceremony is her family’s name! They donated so much of their fortune to have the new headquarters constructed, so it will be pretty obvious if the heiress of the Singh family isn’t present. And whose fault is it if Lina misses this? Mine. Why? I don't know. Probably because she is my best friend. Has been since we were five. I know how to calm her down, stop her from being stubborn, make her laugh when she's sad. I know her better than I know myself, which is why it’s so frustrating that I haven’t found her. I know all of her hiding spots, every place she would think to go. Every nook and cranny we’ve found in this city, we found together, so why is it so hard to —
Ohhh of course!
Rohan wanted to laugh at himself for missing the obvious. The best place for Lina to hide was in plain sight. Rohan ran to the nearest teleportation point and yelled out the coordinates of his destination. In a split second, he came face to face with the most magnificent view he had ever seen. Even after seeing it nearly every day for twenty years, it never ceased to amaze him. He could see their entire utopia from one vantage point - the botanical gardens, the habitats for extraterrestrial species, the flying grounds, city hall, and the new headquarters for the space exploration mission. Headquarters... right.
Botanical Gardens by the Bay: Wikipedia
Rohan headed straight for the Singh family's garage. There Lina was, just has he suspected, lounging on the ship the two of them built together last year.
“Lina, I know you don’t need me to remind you what’s happening today. We really need to go.”
“Rohan! Best friend. Light of my life. I have an even better idea. Why don’t we stay here instead! Please?”
Rohan sighed as he slid next to her on the hood of their ship. “I know you don’t want to go. And I know nothing I say will convince you to go willingly -”
Lina snorted.
“Hear me out though," Rohan pleaded, "you might be surprised. A lot of people from all over the world, humans and androids alike, have traveled a long way for the grand opening, and I know how much you love meeting new people. Besides, they’re also announcing the finalists for the exploration team.”
After a beat of silence, Rohan whispered, “if I make the team, I would love to have you there with me to celebrate."
Achievement complete. New memory unlocked.
As Rohan lay there, the computer system in his mind showed him a new vision. He never knew what these achievements were nor what he had to do to complete them, but he always felt a thrill when he unlocked a new memory. At first he thought they were random visions, but after years of seeing more and more, Rohan realized these were memories from his past selves throughout history. This one was different though. It felt celestial. Heavenly. True.
'What am I seeing, System?'
This is your true form. And the divine beauty beside him? She is his eternal love. Your eternal love. If you want to break free of samara, the never-ending cycle of life without peace, you need her.
'So does she have a manifestation on earth too?'
What a silly question, dear boy. You already know the answer to that.
He did know the answer. The woman he was destined to be with for all of eternity was the woman he had loved since they were kids. She was the woman lying right next to him. But he would not force anything from her. Especially not the kind of love he felt for her. Just having her in his life was enough to make Rohan feel complete. And for Lina, the sentiment was the same. Everything was as it should be. Everything felt perfect. And whatever happened to them was meant to be. Fate always had a plan.
Achievement complete. Moksha unlocked.
When it became their time to go, Lina and Rohan said goodbye to their little heaven on earth. They returned to the heavenly realm, looking back down for one last time. Satya Yuga lived on long after they left. Dharma had been restored. Resolution had been found. Liberation had been reached.
Author's Note: I chose to set my final story in a futuristic, sci-fi utopia. I wanted to combine aspects of space and earth to emphasize the futuristic setting but to also close the gap between the earth and the heavens in an analogous sense. Since this is an idyllic utopia, this story occurs during the Satya Yuga, where Dharma is complete and humanity is as close to ideal and perfect as possible, hence once again the closeness between earth and the heavenly realm. Additionally, I thought setting the story during Satya Yuga would make sense with the enlightenment the characters reach; I feel like them reaching moksha would not make as much sense if the world around them was chaotic and unbalanced, especially since the avatars' purposes for being on earth would not be fulfilled until balance is restored.
When I think of sci-fi stories, my mind jumps to a technology-driven world with artificial intelligence, where humans and androids live together in society. I decided to give my male character a computerized mind where this all-knowing system gives him insight into who the characters are in relation to Vishnu and Lakshmi and their past incarnations. I chose to do this for my male character instead of my female character because I wanted to write a story from his perspective to show character development from the previous story. My female characters have already experienced growth throughout this storybook, so I wanted to offer a character arc for the male characters as well.
Bibliography:
“Satya Yuga” from Wikipedia.
“Moksha” from Wikipedia.
Banner image source: Shooting Stars at St Saviours Reservoir by Martin Sarre
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