Llhaesa returned to sit with the group of Jamila, Jahrae, Ronnie, and Elsrensia, riding the wave of adrenaline and hormones that stirred within during the performance and subsequent sharing of her condition and outlook with the audience.

Jahrae was in obvious tears; there was no hiding the tears from anyone with her on the stage, sitting in the audience, or watching at home. Jamila passed her a tissue, while llhaesa sprang out of her seat with arms open, and took the rising Jahrae in her arms, whispering soothing words of comfort, gently swaying and rocking and squeezing, at once acknowledging and appreciating the emotion behind the tears, while helping Jahrae stem the flow of tears.

After what was at least a minute, both sat down, while the audience applauded as a way of showing its support and affection for Jahrae.

“Jahrae, may I ask what saddened you?” Jamila asked, gambling Jahrae would wish to share with the audience.

“Yes, you may, Jamila. For almost fifteen years I lived with the memory of llhaesa, of our marriage, and for much of that time, I thought she was dead. Memories of this person every cell in my body screamed for in emotional withdrawal from loss, never wishing to let go of this person I loved, always wishing to stay firmly attached to her memory. My memory of her was the only means of connecting to llhaesa, if only in my mind.

Think of these memories – of our times together, of watching her perform or chat with an audience on some important subject, of thinking everything she did was with beauty, grace, intelligence, and a deep sense of empathy for everyone and everything in this universe.

Now, here I am on a stage with her, before a world, before two worlds, and here I am witnessing llhaesa in vintage form, musically and politically. How can I possibly convey what it is like to see her work her magic once again? Waves of emotion swept over me watching this; I simply and selfishly cannot believe my good fortune. What the world will learn is that this good fortune I feel will in time extend to them as well, you can count on this.”

Jamila nodded acknowledgement of her understanding, replying, “Well said Jahrae, well said. I believe the world empathises with you, with your story, and they can appreciate how you feel. Isn’t that right, audience?”

The audience stood as one, their applause conveying through this medium the words they could not personally share with Jahrae.

Sensing she should not belabour the point, as well as allow Jahrae time to recover, Jamila changed the topic.

“Ronnie, can you believe llhaesa is the person to whom you were married to for fourteen years?”

“Jamila, I often think about this, how we slept next to each other through that time, both of us ignorant of the actual person that was hidden from view and consciousness.

What I keep coming back to is how things have worked out, how I finally had the opportunity to see and know the real person, not the façade. Moreover, with llhaesa’s unmasking came change for me, for the better. Not change as in ‘I lost a husband,’ rather change in my outlook on life; what is important in my life; in my outlook on my sexuality; and a million other things. Llhaesa opened my eyes simply by her existence and her extraordinarily prescient outlook on life. I am honoured to be in her life in some small way.”

Jamila turned toward Elsrensia, ready to draw her into the conversation. “Elsrensia, you helped Jahrae through a difficult time in her life, just after she lost llhaesa. Do you or Jahrae wish to talk about what happened during that awful time?” Jamila asked, unsure of whether either would talk on the matter.

“Jamila, in deference to Jahrae and to my professional obligations, I am bound not to speak of such matters. I will say this: Jahrae showed extraordinary resilience and courage, but she needed time and space to sort through what mattered, to step back and see how best to move forward, to stay true to her and llhaesa’s vision. She did all of the work; those of us who assisted gave her as much space, time, and love as was within our ability to give.

Jahrae is an extraordinary woman, and in her own, different way, a good – perfect – match for llhaesa as a partner and as a leader. She is someone the rest of us look up to just as we do with llhaesa.”

“Jamila, I look up to Jahrae as well, and think it important that I say this,” llhaesa unexpectedly added to the conversation. “I left Arrhazon at a time when Jahrae only began to fashion her future dreams and aspirations, finding her way through the filter of living life, and she did this with an unimaginable emotional burden. I returned to find many of her dreams and aspirations – that I wished for her as well – fulfilled.

Not all of what she accomplished was of Jahrae’s dreams, but they were of mine. In many ways, my vision of where Jahrae could go exceeded her own, for she did not realise such potential existed within her. After all, she spent her adolescent years distancing herself from the work of her parents. Well, Jahrae found out this potential did exist within her, she found out that in reality her parent’s outlook was in fact hers as well, and she embraced all of this with responsibility, confidence, and commitment.”

“Were you shocked by the change in Jahrae, llhaesa?”

“No, I was not shocked. Rather I was elated and well, that elation rather led to me carrying Jahrae’s child; none could bestow greater honour upon me than to carry her child and so all is good!” At this, the group and audience briefly chuckled before llhaesa continued.

“The love in me for Jahrae is stronger than ever, exponentially so. My wife is an extraordinary human being, an extraordinarily talented human being, and it is an honour to know, love, and share life with her.

Please know Ronnie is deserving of a proclamation of ‘extraordinary’ as well, something I learned over fourteen years, and reinforced over the last several months.

While there has been no public announcement to date, President Ellenwood gave authorisation for me to mention this on air today. When Equality returns in just over fifteen months, Ronnie will journey with us to Arrhazon, doing so as the first Ambassador from the United States to the world of Arrhazon.”

The audience reacted positively and with approval, cheering the news of Ronnie’s appointment. Jamila congratulated Ronnie, and added, “No one deserves this honour more than you!”

Jamila changed the subject in order to address everything she wished to discuss during the programme. “Jahrae, when you first saw llhaesa, can you describe for us how you felt in that moment?”

“I was overwhelmed with emotion, Jamila. To see llhaesa after so many years, after years of believing her dead, the most fervent of my dream-wishes played out before me.

I perceived a glow enveloping her, all that she is, was, and will be shining brightly before my eyes.

Llhaesa has grown as a person, through the experiences as Tim with Ronnie, with parenting our children, with learning of your world and the culture of your world, through living life through a different perspective.

It is hard to explain how we can find additional love, or feel tangible preciousness, yet llhaesa’s experience, as did mine, led her to appreciate those around her beyond what we normally can feel.”

“Aside from the actual act of reunion, what do you believe is the most remarkable experience stemming from your reunion?”

Llhaesa and Jahrae answered in unison. “Family!” They both giggled at the common answer, and Jahrae looked to llhaesa to speak first.

“Jamila, think of the shambles things were when I first regained my consciousness. The government was after me, Ronnie and the girls had no clue as to what was going on, what happened to her husband, or to their dad.

Out of this, through our subsequent interactions, our family reshaped and bonded to this new reality. When Jahrae arrived, our family expanded to include her and our larger family.

Sitting in the front row of the audience today are Dottie, David, and Vicki Salston, along with their twin boys, Rafferty and Sean.” Llhaesa waved toward the family, and the family stood to acknowledge the audience’s applause. After the applause subsided, llhaesa continued.

“Imagine what this was like for them – suddenly Tim is gone, identified as someone else, who was in fact someone else, and that their memories of family from earlier times were not real.

That is rather upsetting, for so many obvious and probably not obvious reasons. Yet our family includes them, because over the last fourteen years we have lived as family. Now, with the truth known to all of us, things that were in the way of David and I no longer exist. David has an older sister now, and both of us can interact in ways that was never going to happen between him and Tim.

I am proud of our family, proud of how we have embraced and welcomed everyone and each other from such an incredibly diverse background. Jahrae?”

“I agree with llhaesa,” Jahrae began. “From the moment we landed in Henna, where I was greeted by Ronnie’s immediate and unsolicited introduction of the children as my daughters, well, that was an incredible moment I will cherish forever.

Being a mom to our girls is an experience I would not trade for any other in life. That they accepted me as a third mom, well…Jamila, when either of them look into your eyes with total trust, that responsibility is enormous, but it is the best of feelings. I am proud of them, and proud to be their parent.”

“Now you will be a parent again, the three of you. Such exciting news that you share with us! Jahrae, when you were on the journey here, after you knew llhaesa was alive, what was your expectation?”

“I had great faith llhaesa would once again be in my arms, and me in hers. I knew of Ronnie and the girls – we watched broadcasts from Arrkarhara – Earth – from early in the flight, so we knew what media reported on llhaesa and the family.

To be honest, I was unhappy with the reported treatment they received by your Acting President, none deserved such horrification. President Ellenwood is fantastic, a wonderful leader for your world, with a strong sense of human rights and a vision for the future. Her recovery changed so much.

With Ronnie and the girls, I had no idea what to expect, though part of me feared significant animosity. It is a testament to they and llhaesa that this worked out in such a wonderful way.”

“How did you learn that the in vitro fertilisation worked, that llhaesa is pregnant?” Jamila wondered.

“Ronnie and I accompanied llhaesa on the appointment,” Jahrae explained. “My understanding is you have home tests for pregnancy here that you use in privacy. Elsrensia simply waved a small electronic device over llhaesa to determine if she was pregnant. Elsrensia, perhaps you can demonstrate for us?”

“I will, Jahrae! Llhaesa, would you stand, please?” Llhaesa stood up in front of her seat, while Elsrensia held a device no bigger than a thin mobile phone, waving it past llhaesa. This took a fraction of a second to do.

Elsrensia held up the device, where unintelligible writing appeared on the screen. “My apologies, the results are in Arrhazonan, but it simply states the subject scanned is pregnant. The result is one hundred percent accurate.

These devices are not technology we withhold, and we will see to it that they are manufactured and disseminated to your medical community, at no cost to your world.”

The audience roared in approval of both the test and the announcement of the sharing of this technology.

Llhaesa chose to follow this with an announcement that new water generation and purification technology would soon become available as well, this promising to revolutionise life in third world and arid regions. “No more will you need to dam your rivers for water. No more will you need to divert rivers like the Colorado, they will once again flow free.”

Yet another round of enthusiastic applause filled the studio, and this revelation earned llhaesa a hug from Jamila, who bounded out of her seat with arms already opened toward the sitting and surprised llhaesa.

“OK, changing things up, llhaesa! Would you perform for us once again?”

Llhaesa smiled, with her infectious and beautiful smile reflecting a combination of verve, appreciation, and graciousness for the invitation to do what she loved most.

Llhaesa walked deliberately to centre stage, where this time only the grand piano awaited her. Intending to play a classical work she wrote for piano, llhaesa, who advised Jamila prior to the programme of what she would play, found a beautiful arrangement of fall flowers and colours setting atop the left hand – audience side – of the open lid piano.

Llhaesa gracefully sat before the piano, drawing her deep breaths, a solitary spotlight shining down upon her and the piano, blocking out from view the greater expanse of the stage.

The piece started slowly, working with emotion instead of stretching the limits of llhaesa’s physical ability. Instead, she caressed and stroked the keys from the front, from sliding her fingers onto keys from the side, playing with the timing and length of notes, the strength and forcefulness of struck keys, letting one sound intermix with another, all in such a way that the emotional language of music filled the studio.

In truth, only someone of llhaesa’s peerless skill could play in this manner, such was the intricate weaving of physical ability, technical competence, an intimate relationship with and mastery of the universal language of emotion and of music.

Bundling all of these elements together, knowing precisely when and where to make use of inflection, raw statement, urgency, angst, pain of loss, and emotional highs, llhaesa drew in the entirety of the audience. Across generations and genres of music, those who loved rock, or jazz, or blues, or any of the myriad genres of music, found themselves drawn in to llhaesa’s wondrous performance.

The piece itself was ten minutes in length, and while llhaesa performed conservatively in terms of her movement, those who watched knew this was the more remarkable of her two songs, while the two performances confirmed what was rumoured and speculated: no one had ever had the pleasure to witness a musician more talented than llhaesa.

Llhaesa ended on a reflective note that emotionally implied all was well with the musical world and story she created via the performance.

Returning to her seat, Jamila waited for the continuing uproarious applause to subside before asking llhaesa about the piece.

“Jamila, I wrote the arrangement over a two week period, as part of a larger classical project that is only partially finished. It is a story not unlike that of our family, and it brings together the diverse emotions of those who have lost loved ones, of how they reunite, of how they reconstitute family, all told through the exclusive voice of various instruments, each representing one person.

For today, I used the piano to play parts that other instruments would normally play. I hope it worked well this way.”

Before Jamila could affirm that it indeed had worked, the audience stepped in and shook the studio with another round of appreciative approval.

The legend of llhaesa ahrella t’yaeli had now taken firm root and hold on a second world, a world that would find its way to view her in precisely the same way as its cousins, some fifty light years away.