Departure- lights out

Today Gardener and his crew will depart in their seedpod; the replacement crew is ready to carry on in their place. He repeated that we cannot go with him. These decisions are outside of his control. He is wearing his space suit undergarments. Not too stylish but functional. He gave us all an extra long smell. His nose twitched with the slightest tickle from the leaf hairs on little Zuc. He said that what will be is for the best. It has been a wonderful journey; one chapter is closing, another is opening. He had tears in his eyes, just a small drop at the corners but enough to make him blink. He reached for the big book and turned out the light.

In the frontier you should not be afraid of the dark.