I woke up in the darkness. My body was covered with sweat. Quietly, I made my way outside. I rinsed my face with some ice cold water from the stream, and then I sat down by the flowing water like I had so many times before, waiting for the sun to rise.
18 years had passed since they had left. 18 years of waiting and hoping. For a few years I had hoped that they would return. But as I gradually adapted to life on earth, I started hoping that they wouldn’t.
As I sat there in the pre-dawn stillness, I dwelt on my life here, especially the last few years. I found my primitive life idyllic in a way I could never have imagined. I found joy in the simplest and most mundane activities.
Civilization had advanced tremendously since our days on earth but after spending all these years here, watching my children grow up, I realized that there was something special about earth. It was home in a way no other planet could ever be. Nothing could be compared to living in the welcoming arms of nature.
Why did we leave? I asked myself like I had so many times before. And even if we did why didn’t we come back? Why haven’t they returned? I wondered, thinking about the crew members who had decided to go back and announce the rediscovery of earth.
Maybe something happened to the ship I thought hopefully. Immediately I felt guilty. The sun pushed its head above the horizon at that moment. Almost immediately earth seemed to waken as dozens of birds broke into song to announce the beginning of another day.
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