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The first thing Chris notices is the salty smell of seawater. She opens her eyes, finding herself in a strange marina that had a lingering sense of familiarity that she couldn’t place. The blue-green ocean lapped against the rotting docks, exposing barnacles and small sea creatures after every swell. Large birds with jagged beaks soared overhead, but they were unlike any that Chris knew from earth. Their loud cries echoed off of every surface. Ships and boats of various peculiar shapes and sizes are tied up at random points on the dock, with crews of people loading and unloading crates, tying ropes, or just relaxing. Chris notices that close to none of them are human.
Chris scans the docks, looking for signs of Lou. God, why am I even here? She thinks. I don’t even know him. Deep down, Chris is aware that she does know Lou, even though she doesn’t remember it. If she truly didn’t know him, why did everything he had said before seemed so goddamn familiar? It was like hearing a song on the radio, but not being able to place the name no matter how hard you thought about it, even though you could swear you’d heard it before.
“Sonder!” An androgynous looking youth was running up the dock towards Chris. They had short, windswept hair, a wide smile, and eyes filled with tears of joy. “Sonder, Sonder!” They stand next to Chris, out of breath and panting, but with a smile that radiated pure joy.
“Hi.” Chris says. “Do you...know Lou?” Sonder nods excitedly, and gestures wildly to a not modestly sized ship from where they had just come from. As the ship bobs up and down in the water, Chris notices that it seems to breathing deeply in and out, but she decides it must just be an illusion.
“Sonder!” Sonder starts to quickly walk toward the breathing ship, and Chris has to jog to keep up with them. They keep up a constant stream of chatter, and despite the fact that they only seem to say one word over and over, Chris can understand everything they’re saying.
The ship gets closer, and the figures standing beside it come into focus. A large, tree like creature; a human sized anthropomorphic teddy bear; a tall man with messy hair blowing in the wind. As Chris looks at them, names surface in her mind. Xkyrxx. Teddy. Lou. Chris and Sonder make their approach, and Chris is hit with a burst of scattered memories. Nothing concrete, but she remembers the feeling of family that she felt with these people. It wasn’t as though they were new memories. It was more like Chris had forgotten to think about them, and she was remembering them again, piece by piece.
Lou steps out from behind Xkyrxx, and Chris’s breath hitches. It is as though all the time that she spent away simply never happened. Chris remembers how Lou had told her that he loves her, and she thinks about how at one point, she probably did too. They lock eyes, and Chris remembers everything. All of it.
The crew drinking around a stove aboard the Irons, laughing and telling stories.
The crew facing off against monsters and beings that Chris had never seen before.
Chris remembers when it was just Sonder, Teddy, Xkryxx, Lou, and her against the world.
She remembers quiet moments watching the sunset with Lou.
She remembers the warm feeling she got when she looked at him.
She remembers the tragic look in his eyes right before she got the ambergris.
There’s a pause. Chris looks at her old crew. They look at her.
“Do you…” Lou starts to say. “Do you remember?” Chris smiles weakly, and she can feel tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. She nods. Lou grins; there are tears in his eyes too.
Sonder wraps Chris in a bear hug. Everyone is laughing and talking and welcoming her home. Lou puts his hand on her shoulder, and smiles. Chris smiles back, and takes his hand in hers.
And once again, it was just Sonder, Teddy, Xkryxx, Lou, and Chris against the world.