Twelve

The next day, Joseph stood in front of Elsa, smiling, and pointed toward a massive cloud-like object, ready to gauge her reaction. Elsa looked around in astonishment, realizing that the "cloud" was, in fact, an alien rocket.

"Oh God... it really looks like a cloud!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.

"It’s designed to appear as a cloud so that no one suspects it’s an alien rocket," Joseph explained with a smile, his hand resting lightly on his heart, clearly amused by her awe.

Elsa reached out and touched the surface. It felt hard, like metal, yet appeared softer than cotton. Her amazement grew with every second.

"Are we going to your planet in this?" Elsa asked, still inspecting the cloud-rocket.

"No, today we’re not going to my planet. We’re going to the moon," he said, climbing a couple of steps and extending his hand to her. Elsa placed her hand in his and gathered up the long, flowing white gown she wore, its trailing hem covering the ground behind her like a fairy's train. She marveled at the delicate gloves on her hands and the delicate crown that sat on her head—gifts from Joseph that she had accepted without question.

Joseph, dressed in an entirely white ensemble, wore clothes that were foreign to her. They were unlike anything she'd seen before, and she wondered if it was what aliens wore during celebrations. Whatever the case, she thought the outfit suited him perfectly. He looked stunning, as though every color in existence was designed solely for him.

"The moon? Are you serious, Joseph?" Elsa could hardly contain her excitement at the mention of their lunar destination.

"Have I ever lied?" Joseph asked, feigning offense. His expression only made Elsa want to adore him more.

Inside the cloud-like rocket, Elsa twirled around, taking in her surroundings. The inside was just as impressive as the outside, with technology that seemed thousands of years ahead of anything she’d ever seen. Her trance was broken when Joseph urged her to move forward.

"We’re already there? I don’t even think the journey started yet," she said innocently, blinking in disbelief. She envied how quickly Joseph could accomplish what seemed like the impossible.

"Go on inside," Joseph gestured. The same strange feeling she had experienced on his planet returned, a mix of awe and discomfort, but she obeyed, entering the chamber as instructed.

Through the lenses in front of her eyes, she saw Joseph entering another slightly larger compartment.

"This isn’t my planet, nor is it Earth," he informed her, answering the question she hadn’t asked aloud.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, her voice echoing.

"Yes, the suits are connected. We can talk," Joseph replied.

She glanced at the ground below, which looked soft like cotton, though her feet couldn’t quite touch it. "You think I'm stupid? This isn’t the moon," Elsa remarked, her tone teasing.

"Why not?" Joseph asked, his face showing his determination to convince her otherwise.

"The moon’s surface is rocky, and what about these flowers?" Elsa gestured toward the vibrant flowers lining the path, their beauty impossible to miss.

"And you think I’d take you to a barren, rocky ground?" Joseph said, clearly disappointed in her assumption.

They walked through what appeared to be a four-walled glass enclosure, though it looked too transparent to be real glass. The soft, cotton-like ground extended into this enclosed area, and flowers bloomed everywhere. Inside, Elsa no longer needed the protective suit, much to her delight.

Spinning in circles, her long gown swirled around her as flower petals fell from above like rain. She didn’t question how the petals seemed to appear from nowhere, enjoying the moment fully. When she finally stopped, she saw Joseph watching her with a soft, unreadable smile. He had turned her dream of becoming a moon fairy into reality.

She laughed and tossed a handful of flowers at him. "If you weren’t an alien, you’d be my prince," she said playfully.

Joseph’s expression shifted for just a moment. "I thought we were going to the moon to end my story with a prince…" she trailed off, suddenly growing serious.

"Even if it’s with an alien, love can still exist. And even if that love remains incomplete, it should be expressed. What better place to do it than here?" Elsa's voice was steady as she spoke, her words echoing through the air like a confession. For Joseph, every second of this moment felt like it stretched into eternity. If he could, he would have paused time just to savor the beauty of it.

"I’m the dust of the moon that you’ve covered with cotton," Elsa whispered with a soft laugh. "And under these falling petals, with stars circling in space, planets, galaxies, and my little Earth in the distant horizon, I declare: Elsa loves Joseph. What no human could do, an alien has done. God must have known that it would take an alien to enchant me."

Joseph’s heart longed for her to continue, but as the oxygen began to thin, Elsa grew tired and finally stopped speaking.

"Don’t forget me, Joseph," she said quietly. "I’ll live with the hope that you’ll remember me. That thought alone will be enough for me, for the rest of my life." She became too tired to speak anymore and instead pulled him with her into the rain of flowers.

"You come too," she whispered. Joseph followed her, knowing that while this moment felt perfect, the story might not have a happy ending. But not all stories needed to end with laughter. Some stories, incomplete and immortal, were the ones that lingered longest in the hearts of those who lived them.