The zoo starts closing around sunset. As Sarah and I wander towards the exit, she puts her head on my shoulder and sighs. I can tell there’s something on her mind.

“I need more days like this with you,” she says.

“I know. I want that too. Once we’ve defeated the Mogs, I promise, we’ll have all the time in the world.”

Sarah gets a distant look on her face, almost as if she’s imagining that future and it doesn’t necessarily excite her. “What happens after, though? You go back to Lorien, right?”

“Hopefully. We still need to find a way back. And we need to hope Malcolm is right about these Phoenix things contained in our Chests, that we have enough of them and that they’re capable of restoring our planet.”

“And you want me to come with you?”

“Of course,” I reply instantly. “I don’t want to go anywhere without you.”

Sarah smiles at me with an edge of sadness that I didn’t expect. “You’re sweet, John, but I don’t mean this like our road-trip game with Six. I mean for real. Would we ever come back?” Sarah asks. “To Earth?”

“Yeah, of course,” I say, because I know that’s what I should say in this situation, even though I’m not sure it’s actually true. I look down at my feet. “I’m sure we’d come back.”

“Seriously? Years in a spaceship, John. Don’t get me wrong, part of me really wants to go. It’s not every girl that has a boyfriend asking to take her to another galaxy. But I have a family here, John. I know they’re not, like, on the level of restoring an entire planet to its former glory, but they’re pretty important to me.”

I’m frowning now, my good mood turning into something else. It’s a sad feeling; a lost feeling. “I don’t want to take you away from your family, Sarah. Returning to Lorien, it’s supposed to be a good thing, a triumphant thing.” I hesitate, trying to find words to articulate what I’m feeling. “I’ve always thought of it as what happens at the end, you know? After all the fighting, we’d return there and find a way to start over. It’s like destiny, but it’s also never actually felt truly possible, if that makes sense. I’ve never stopped to think out the details. I guess maybe I should.”

We stop walking and she reaches up to touch my face. “I don’t want to take you away from your destiny. Please don’t think I’m trying to do that.”

“No, of course not. But I don’t want to go back to Lorien without you.”

“I’m not sure I’d want to stay on Earth without you,” she replies.

“So where does that leave us?”