Exploring Titan

~6~

I sink my tired, and maybe a bit too overstressed, body into the warm bubbly waters in the bathtub and just sit there for a moment and soak up all the energy of today.

My hair is safely sealed away behind a makeshift protective silk bonnet I'd handmade on my journey. Which speaks to its overall quality.

I push myself down into the waters even further as I submerged my mouth and nose, blowing angry and distressed bubbles as I tried to dissipate the anger and confusion brewing within.

I'd ended the stream a little while ago, plunging myself into the rare to slightly sporadical moments of true 100% isolation and solitude that I hate.

I close my eyes to try and centre and align myself.

I didn't want to spiral into dangerous and irrational thoughts, which would lead to sudden and ill-advised decisions.

As soon as I'd ended my stream Carol called immediately and linked our call with a trained medical professional who guided me on how best to wrap and treat my injuries with my limited supply.

The doctor was so sweet and lovely, an elderly woman in her late 50s with thinning grey curly hair. She told me what a good job I was doing and how strong and brave I was to survive this long and was definitely making everyone back home proud.

She almost brought me to tears.

Carol just rolled her eyes at the sappy display of affection and pointedly told us to hurry it up, because sustaining the call would be expensive.

Not like NASA doesn't cover the bill for all 8 video calls she was supposed to make to me per week, at a minimum!

She skimmed some of the money off the topic to go drown her divorced sorrows at her local bar.

I'd only agreed to keep silent if she promised to split the money with me.

It was currently being sent to my bank account back home and the amount I'd gathered makes me wanna drool and salivate at the thought of one day getting to spend it all.

If I get to spend it all.

The sobering thought refocused the train of thoughts in my head.

I'd already made sure to make the necessary precautions in the event of my untimely death to have all financial income in my name be donated to a list of charities I had provided and informed.

And any future revenue my likeness or merchandise may generate should also go to the charities, orphanages, relief funds and non-profits I've also named.

I was told I was being too morbid at the time for taking such precautionary measures.

Who laughing now?

There are other people on Titan.

"Shit!" I pulled my face out of the water before I drowned because I'd left it underwater for far too long. But my exclaimed profanity wasn't at my almost self-brought demise, it was due to the situation at hand that I still can't wrap my brain around.

I wasn't alone.

All this time I've been running around Titan and almost dying on more occasions than I care to willingly admit. There had been other life on this planet!?

I was almost insulted.

No scratch that. I am insulted!

Alien life wasn't a new thing in our corner of the Milky Way. It always seemed like Aliens were more eager to talk to us than the other way around.

After my first 3 weeks on Titan with no contact from any seeming forms of life or other intelligent creatures, NASA quickly declared Titan an uninhabited planet and me the first person to land and colonize it.