The transit beam ignited and her reflection slid across the glass ahead of her body and my hand lifted too late to catch either while the platform lights dimmed as if acknowledging something already decided. The station was carved into pale stone and smelled of dust and charged air. Heat radiated from the beam channel and raised a shimmer that bent edges and softened faces. People stood in neat intervals pretending to be patient. She stood one step beyond the safety line with her pack resting against her boot. I stood behind it where waiting was permitted. The distance was small and absolute. When the beam stabilized it made a…

The outer hatch cycled shut and her palm slid from my sleeve as pressure equalized and the airlock lights softened and my mouth formed her name too late for sound to matter. The chamber smelled of coolant and clean metal. Frost crept in delicate veins along the rim of the door where her breath had lingered. Through the small window I could still see her helmet light hovering steady as a thought she refused to finish. My hand hovered where her arm had been. The suit glove felt oversized and useless. Somewhere the station adjusted its spin and the floor vibrated just enough to remind me that physics would continue…

The sun slipped behind the orbital shield and her silhouette dissolved into shadow while my fingers brushed the sleeve she was already pulling away and the sky finished a day we would never return to. The balcony wrapped around the habitat like a held breath. Below us the planet glowed faintly blue through layers of atmosphere and cloud. Wind moved through the open vents carrying the smell of cold metal and distant storms. The lights along the railing adjusted automatically softening as night cycle engaged. She did not look back at me. She watched the horizon as if it were something that might answer her. I kept my hand lifted…

The console light dimmed and her voice cut off mid word and my hand reached for the speaker as if touch could restore sound while the room continued breathing without her. The comm chamber was small and overly warm. Panels hummed softly. A faint vibration traveled through the floor from the station core and settled into my bones. The screen held her frozen expression for a second longer than it should have. Then it cleared to status text and numbers that meant nothing. I kept my fingers lifted. The air felt thicker where her voice had been. Outside the narrow window the planet glowed a soft green edged with cloud.…

The moment the shuttle eased away from the dock her shadow stayed behind on the concrete floor and my hand closed around air where her sleeve had been and the light shifted as if the port itself understood what had just ended. The harbor dome was filled with pale morning glow filtered through layers of glass and salt residue. Outside the sea moved in slow dark sheets. Inside the dock workers moved with practiced calm pretending not to notice the stillness between us. I stood at the edge line where passengers were not allowed to linger. The floor was cool through my boots. Her shadow thinned and stretched and then…

The lift doors slid apart and she stepped back instead of forward and the space between us filled with the quiet hum of machinery while my outstretched hand realized too late that it was empty. The corridor was narrow and bright and smelled of disinfectant and warm metal. A panel flickered overhead as if uncertain about the moment. Her breath fogged briefly in the cooler air before she turned her face away. I said her name once. The sound fell flat against the floor and did not rise again. The doors closed with a soft final click that felt smaller than grief and heavier than noise. I stood there long…

The interlock sealed and her voice faded mid syllable while my hand hovered inches from the glass and knew before I did that nothing I said would ever reach her again. The corridor lights adjusted to standby and washed the metal walls in a dull amber glow. Condensation gathered along the edges of the viewport and blurred her outline into something soft and unreachable. I pressed my palm flat where her breath had fogged the glass seconds earlier. The surface was cold. It did not remember her warmth. Somewhere deep in the ship a system chimed confirmation and the sound felt final in a way alarms never did. She stood…

The door closed between us with a sound like a held breath and her hand fell away from mine while the corridor lights dimmed as if they already knew we would never stand together there again. The observation ring was cold and smelled of recycled air and faint metal. Beyond the glass the planet turned slowly with a patience that felt unkind. My fingers remained curved in the shape of her palm long after she stepped back. She did not look at me when the lock sealed. She looked at the floor as if memorizing it. I said her name softly and the sound reached the glass and stopped. Around…

Her fingers slipped from mine as the station doors closed and the soft white light sealed the moment forever. The sound was not loud. It was a breath of air pulled inward by the station as if it needed us less than we needed each other. My hand remained lifted after hers vanished. The warmth stayed longer than the touch. People moved behind the glass but none of them noticed the shape my loss took. It was small and exact and already finished before I understood what I had lost. The platform smelled faintly of ozone and cold metal. Outside the glass the planet curved blue and distant. I pressed…

The message arrived with my name mispronounced and her voice already fading as if the universe had begun erasing her before I pressed play and by the time I reached for the console to steady myself my hand was shaking because I knew this was the last time she would sound like herself. The room smelled of cold metal and old air and the light from the viewport cut across my wrist where her fingers had rested weeks earlier leaving nothing but memory. I let the message finish even when it hurt because stopping it would not have saved her. Outside the station the planet turned slowly a pale blue…