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The days following the introduction of the form-fitting xenonite suit were some of the best Grace had since Earth. The sharp, perpetual chill of starvation now felt dull and faded; Rocky's new suit had worked wonders on Grace's psyche. His bloody toothbrush didn't make him cry anymore, and he no longer dreaded falling asleep. His once nightmare-ridden sleep cycles were no longer plagued by painful memories. He slept soundly and dreamt of Erid, peacefully awaiting the arrival of their saviors via an alien vessel.
When they arrived, Erid was kind. Back on Earth, an alien would be dissected, studied, and murdered like the astrophage whether it was intelligent or not. There would be no ceremonies held in its honor, no biodome made for it to spend the rest of its short-numbered days. But Erid's sweet song was gentle to their human savior, and Grace enjoyed the splendor of knowing he made the right choice.
The road to recovery was long and painful. Grace's burn scars were reopening, and the sight of it often made him queasy. He was lucky for the team of strange-by-culture Eridians who diligently and excitedly worked on his food problem. He was getting sick of taumoeba, so when they made him something resembling a slice of banana bread he nearly cried.
Grace probably would not have made it without the tremendous spirit-lifting Rocky had done. He thanked him profusely every time Rocky curled up at his side in the biodome bed. Rocky was happy, too, that Grace was feeling better, and voiced this almost as much as the human voiced his gratitude.
One day, Rocky introduced Grace to the idea of teaching again. Grace did cry that time. He missed his students like he missed the feeling of cool fog in the air, coarse sand beneath his feet, sea breezes ghosting across his skin. But now, he had all those things. And he would soon have his students again.
Rocky was not exaggerating when he told Grace there were thousands of Eridians lining up to have their pebbles taught by their alien savior.
Grace had cried then too.
Before he even began his first class, he noticed that the pebbles were more than a little timid. Of course they were; young humans would be cautious in the presence of an alien too. So Grace decided that his first day back as a teacher would be spent on questions and icebreakers.
"Does anyone have something they are curious about?" Grace played on the organ placed in his classroom, though spoke it too in case a few young Eridians were interested in learning English.
A small purple pebble raised their claw. They looked like amethyst, their carapace glittering violet in the biodome's light. Grace smiled and pointed to them. "Yes! You there. What is your name?"
The little Eridian produced a string of beautiful, twinkly music notes. Of course it didn't have a perfect translation, but Grace already had an idea of what to call them. "Nice to meet you, Amethyst. What is your question?"
"Mr. Grace tell us story of Hail Mary, question?"
Ah. He figured he'd get that out of the way somewhere toward the beginning. Who was he to deny the curiosity of his students? So Grace began, in his best storytelling voice, a simplified recount of his last few years.
"I was sent from Earth to fix the astrophage problem. When I got to Tau Ceti, I didn't remember much. I heard Rocky's ship through one of the Hail Mary's special sensors. Rocky came aboard my ship, we found astrophage's predator on Planet Adrian, and then we went our separate ways. But the predator, taumoeba, had figured out how to escape xenonite, and had eaten all of Rocky's fuel. When I found this out, I sent off little robots programmed to find Earth with the solution for our dying sun. Then I went back for Rocky and ended up here!" Grace made sure to convey his excitement in the last sentence. He had made the right choice, and he wanted his students to know that he was happy with it.
Amethyst gave their little jazz hands with a soft trill. "Mr. Grace was very brave," they said.
"Thank you, Amethyst! Now, is there anyone else with questions before we all introduce ourselves?"
A dark green pebble took their turn. "How Mr. Grace understand the world without echolocation, question?"
Grace pointed behind his glasses. "These are called eyes. They allow me to hear light. Though I can also hear sound, with these." He pointed to his ears. "We'll have a unit on human biology sometime soon, so fear not if you are curious."
The pebble introduced themselves with their name's song; Grace decided to call them Jade. He was having fun naming all of his students, though it was convenient that most of them looked like types of Earthen stones.
Ruby's question was one of his favorites. "Why did Mr. Grace decide to teach young Eridians, question? Ruby is sure many grown Eridians would wish to learn too."
Their logic was sound, and Grace loved talking about his teaching career. What a happy accident it was that he ended up at Grover Cleveland Middle, and an even more favorable nonsensical string of events that led him to teach on Erid.
"I was a teacher back on Earth. I had a science job, very long ago, but I was kicked out of there. I ended up teaching human eighth graders, who were just a little older than what you guys are now. Even though it wasn't my first plan, I was much happier as a teacher than I ever had been in my science career. When Rocky mentioned that I could teach again, I immediately said yes. Teaching is what I was born to do." Grace smiled, a thin layer of tears coating his eyes. They were happy tears, for once, as he thought about his students back on Earth. He pictured them grown and successful, thriving in the aftermath of the solved astrophage problem. They spilled over when he looked at the pebbles before him, eager to learn just as his kids were all those years ago. One day, he'd see them going on to share their knowledge with the world like he'd always dreamed of on Earth.
"Is Mr. Grace alright?" Ruby asked in concerned chimes. What an adorable noise.
Grace wiped his eyes and placed his hands back on the keyboard. "More than alright. I am so glad to be teaching again! These drops are called tears; they show up when humans feel strong emotions."
Ruby waved two of their crimson claws. "Ruby is glad Mr. Grace can teach again. If is what makes Mr. Grace happy."
Grace had to pause and wipe his eyes again. The Eridians had been so kind to him, kinder than any human he'd ever met. He'd been angry for so long about being thrown away by Earth that he didn't notice the beauty of where he'd landed. A place so thoughtful and caring that they'd put the literal ground beneath his feet just so he'd have a place to stand.
The rest of the class passed in a beautiful blur. Even the sound of the Eridian bell chime at the end was a short yet amazingly sweet song. With each step Grace took back to his claw-crafted beach house, he was reminded of the love all around him. Woven into every fiber of the new clothes he'd been given, poured into every grain of sand beneath his feet. He'd known it was possible, a love so whole and pure and endless. But he never expected to find it lightyears away from home.