Another World (Epilogue)

Epilogue

“Do you think they found them?” Elaine asked, pacing back and forth in her office. Rachel sat in the chair next to Elaine's cluttered desk and tried to keep the worried mother calm until the latest astronauts returned.
“I'm sure they have! Don't worry Elaine, the boys have to be on that planet.” Rachel's rational speaking had no effect on Elaine, who was becoming increasingly distressed as each minute passed.
“Dead! The boys could be dead and they could be loading their charred, beaten or frozen bodies onto the rocket right now...” Elaine's nonsense was slightly humorous to Rachel but she tried to act as serious as possible, for Elaine's sake.
“I'm sure the boys are fine, they're capable teenagers, they aren't defenseless.” As Rachel was speaking there was a knock at the Elaine's office door. She was at the door in less than three steps and swung the door open, hoping to see Cameron and Dakota standing there safe and sound. When she opened the door, there stood one of the astronaut's from the latest expedition.
“Did you find the boys!?” Elaine asked, without any hesitation.

“Here, ma'am.” Is all the astronaut stated, and handed her a tablet notebook. The astronaut then walked away, looking sulked at perhaps a lost fortune.
“What is it?” Rachel asked, curiously.
“It's....from Cameron.” Elaine said, as she read the letter and shut the office door quietly.

Dear Mom,

I know we worried you. It's partly my fault for not listening to you and not staying seated I guess. You can share this letter with Dakota's parents, I'm sure they're worried too. Don't worry about us though, Dakota and I are perfectly fine. Sorry we didn't come back, but Dakota and I just decided to...well, stay here on this planet. Life is wonderful here, so much better than it could ever be back home. There's plenty of food and freshwater and we even have our own bodyguard, a white tiger. Don't worry, he won't hurt us, he's trained.
Anyway, you know where we are, so you're welcome to come and visit us. We have a terrific life here, mom, and I hope someday you can see what we've created here. I love you mom, and I can't wait to see you again.

Sincerely,
Your son, Cameron
P.S.
How did we not cultivate life here yet? There's plenty of land and food. The world is like an easel waiting to be painted on.

“Elaine, are you alright? What's it say?” Rachel asked from her chair, gripping tightly to the wood.
“The boys....are fine.” Elaine uttered as she stared at her son's note, holding it to her body. She leaned against her office wall and smiled, she even began to tear up just a bit. For the first time in days, Elaine felt calm again. She wasn't uneasy or nervous or even a bit paranoid, for now and for the rest of her life, Elaine didn't worry about her son or his friend.
She watched as the sun set over the distant city, its strokes of yellow and gold shined against the fading skies. Although she felt far from Cameron, she reminded herself that somewhere out on that mysterious planet Earth, her son was watching that exact same masterfully painted sunset.