text: Alone, Hannah journeyed space, travelling from world to world, gathering history to sell to those who shared her fascination with things as they were before. Some days were busy, either with customers or with finding items, learning their history to be passed on to those who purchased each item. They wouldn’t leave without everything she could give them. Others were quiet, often the ones where she was in space, making the journey from one place to the next. Then there were the more unusual days, when someone came in searching for something special. Special, however, was different for everyone. Hannah docked at one of the colonies she’d travelled to often. One of her regular customers there was always on the hunt for more. His interest wasn’t exactly the same as hers, but it was enough for her to choose to sell to him. Like always he stepped in the moment Hannah opened her shop, slowly making his way through the ship, looking at everything she’d bought. She waited. Patience was one of the most important things, giving them the time to search. They might find what they were looking for. He, however, kept moving, searching through everything she’d brought back, until he reached the counter. Their eyes met. Hannah knew a little about him, from snippets he’d shared of his family, and she smiled. “It’s a pleasure to see you again. How’s your family?” Smiling back, he nodded. “Good, thanks, and it’s nice to see you again.” He gestured. “Do you have anything to share with me?” “Always.” Hannah studied him. “Were you looking for anything specific today, or just once more on the hunt for the unusual?” “You know me well. The unusual.” He glanced back at the shelves. “From the looks of things you had a lot of luck.” “I did.” Running her tongue over her bottom lip, Hannah stepped away from the counter, to where she kept those things she held back, for those who were specifically looking for them. “Remember things aren’t always how they appear to be.” Fortunately it was a lesson he’d learnt before, during his times in the shop. Some of the others would get angry, believing Hannah was the reason for whatever happened, and when that happened she’d make certain they couldn’t enter again. It wasn’t something she would accept in her space. When a purchase was made she was always open. Honesty was the safest policy. Yet there were those who didn’t accept the truth. They didn’t understand what they bought might not fulfil their dreams. When the item they’d bought ‘failed’ them they’d return, wanting a refund, telling Hannah she owed it to them, when she didn’t. They knew if they tried to claim back their money through legal channels they’d be told they’d made the decision, and it wasn’t as though she made promises. Buyer beware, especially when it came to items from the old world, as it was so easy for lies to be told, before becoming the ‘truth’. On one of the shelves was a box. Hannah took it, walking back to him, placing it on the counter. He looked at the box for a moment, then at her. “What’s inside?” “According to the person I bought it from it’s an indestructible ball, found in the ruins of a lost empire.” Hannah opened the box, showing the ball to him. It was bright orange, and, from the beginning, it had been hard to believe it was truly indestructible. “From what I could tell they were passing on a story they’d been told, so I delved more deeply. “The lost empire was old. From what had been learnt, the archaeologists delving deeply into who they were, they had some very unusual technologies. Although it may not seem like it this may be connected with one of them. However there’s an equal chance it existed as a prank item. “Other balls similar to this one were found. Some were in places they believed would have been hidden away to be found by someone within their family, but it’s not something they chose to test. For them these items were important to keep hold of. There was one accident, where the ball was poked, and it cause it to break.” “What was within it?” “Unfortunately for me they didn’t say.” Hannah shrugged. “I can’t even be certain this was originally created by that empire. This may be a recreation by those who came later.” Nodding, he studied the ball, knowing better than to touch it. He could pay for it, and then touch it, but he knew better than to think he was going to get his money back, as Hannah told him everything she knew about it. Finally, nodding, he reached into his pocket, taking out his card, because the other thing she’d learnt about him was that he had money to be able to buy whatever he wanted, even if it ended up being nothing. Passing it over to her, not asking how much it was, his eyes stayed on it as Hannah took his payment. Then, when it was through, she placed the card close to him, so he could take it should he wanted to. It seemed right then as though he didn’t. Carefully, he took the ball out of the box, rolling it in his hands. Hannah watched. She leaned back against the wall slightly, seeing what he planned on doing with it. Was he going to see if it truly was indestructible? Bouncing it on the counter, something she hadn’t tested herself, he then ran his fingers over it, poking it slightly. Maybe he thought it was one of the prank balls, hoping he might understand it. Finally, it happened. He found the right spot, and the ball didn’t burst, but instead seemed to completely disappear, leaving them with nothing more than a smell and a sound. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at Hannah. “Was that what I think it was?” “Yes, I think it was. There are those within every civilisation who find farts amusing.” Laughing, he nodded, picking up the box. It went into his pocket, potentially as a reminder of what he’d spent his money on. That wasn’t something he’d ever get back. At least he didn’t blame her for not warning him he might be entirely wasting his money on nothing. He knew that. There were never any certainties. “Do you have anything else?” “I always have something else. Are you looking for anything specific?” “No, I don’t think I am.” He slowly looked around. “You always seem to have something I haven’t thought of, and I’d like one of those.” With a nod, Hannah stepped into the back, where some of the larger items were, drawing the person-sized wax figure out through the door. “You may be interested in this.” “From Earth?” There was a flicker of excitement in his eyes, until she shook her head. “It’s not one of the wax celebrities?” “Oh, it’s a wax person, but not in the way you imagine.” Hannah placed it beside her, choosing not to look at it. There was a time when she’d kept her eyes on it all the time, just in case, because she knew what was meant to happen. “I can share the story with you, if you’re interested.” There was a moment when she thought he might say no, but then he nodded, eyes on it. “Would this be a piece of interesting history?” Hannah smiled. “It would.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, trying to find the right place to start with it. “The person who sold it to me was old, much older than both of us, choosing to finally give up on the possibility he might be able to find a way to save the woman he once loved. Even if he did find a way it was likely she’d be the age she’d been when she was first transformed, so there were never going to be able to have any kind of future.” “So, you’re telling me this wax figure was once actually a person?” “From what he said it was.” Hannah glanced at the figure. “I have no reason not to believe what he said, as Rebecca was a member of a research colony, sent out to explore a world they believed had never been inhabited.” She sighed. “There is a chance it wasn’t. From the records it seems like there were possible sites, but they may have been groups sent like the researchers before anyone truly settled. “Journals he shared with me while I was there, he was unwilling to part with due to him wanting to be able to remember Rebecca, especially as he hoped to be able to pass them on to a museum at some point. I don’t know if that will happen. He seemed... well, broken, to be honest, which is understandable if the story he told me was true.” She breathed in deeply. “There were regular messages sent back for a time, as the researchers learnt more about this world, talking about certain strange flora and fauna they’d come across. “Exploring other worlds was something Rebecca loved doing too much to settle down, which was why the two of them hadn’t yet married, but it was something they’d talked about being a possibility in the future. She wanted him to go with her, only he wasn’t quite ready to give up everything to do that. “I think it’s a choice he regretted, after what happened. He was angry and disappointed with himself for not being there when it happened, because at least then they would have been together, although then they’d have both ended up in the same position. Being honest with him didn’t seem like the right thing, considering how emotional he was. Having been in love myself I can understand the emotions.” Blinking, her customer looked at the figure, shaking his head. “If that was my wife...” He raked a hand through his hair. “Letting her go would have been impossible, even as a wax figure.” “Yes, I think I might have felt the same way.” Hannah stared at nothing for a moment, trying not to think too much about what was lost to time, before returning to the story. “No one’s quite certain what did happen. There were records kept, as things slowly started to change, and Rebecca’s journal held the most information, something he thought might help him to be able to save her from this fate. “The others... well, they were wax.” She reached out with one hand, touching Rebecca’s arm gently. “Some were lost, while others ended up in the hands of people who did everything, without knowing if everything was actually going to be enough. The problem came from understanding how it happened. “When the time came there were no more messages they sent out a group to find out what had happened to the researchers. At first there was nothing. Had things stayed that way it’s possible we would never have learnt what happened to them. Instead there was suddenly a flicker of heat, like someone was down there, which led to them making the journey down. “Reaching where the researchers had settled there were no other signs of life. They walked into the main building, which happened to be right in the middle of the small settlement. Hearing him talk about it, what it was like to enter that building, when they had no idea what had happened to anyone within. Had they died? Was there some other reason for them not sending out messages any longer? “Honestly, this isn’t something I imagined could have crossed any of their minds. Why would it?” She looked at Rebecca once more. “At first they didn’t know what they were looking at. Some of the figures were standing, the way Rebecca is, while others were sitting, although we can’t know if that’s the position they started off in. “One of them became flesh and blood in front of their eyes, something that only happened for a second, a sigh that something entirely unexpected had happened. Their first task, they knew, was to understand what exactly had happened, because they were worried removing the figures from the settlement might affect them in some way. He explained it as wanting them to be safe, an understandable choice, with each of them having once been people. “People who had families, and those families needed to be told what happened. The reason he was there, searching for her, was due to him having made the decision he couldn’t stay away. He had to be there to learn the truth, however complicated it might be. Seeing Rebecca standing at one of the computers, finally putting all the pieces together, the first thing he did was start going through everything she wrote. “Little by little he was able to piece together the story of what happened to the group, and why they didn’t leave when they first worked out what was happening. They did have time when they could have left. Instead they stayed, believing they’d be able to find a solution to what was happening to them. By the time they realised it wasn’t going to happen it was too late. “Anyone who could have got them to safety had been transformed. Rebecca kept trying to learn more, in case someone did start looking for them, trying to explain the experience - and told them it was best for all of them to leave the world before anything happened to them. There was no way of knowing how long it would take for it to happen to others.” “She was the last to change?” “By her own words she did everything she could to fight against the transformation, even though there was no doubt in her mind it was coming. Not after she watched everyone she made the journey with change into wax, slowly losing their bodies, all of them doing anything they could to cling on to normality.” “I can’t imagine what it must have been like.” “Neither could I, but the choice they made to stay in order to learn might have ended the same way.” Hannah raked a hand through her hair, leaning back to make it easier to look at Rebecca, feeling closer to her than before. Being given a chance to share the story changed everything. “It wasn’t something they realised straight away, the same way the researchers hadn’t. They, I think, expected there to be something that transformed them, only that didn’t seem to be the case. “There’s a chance it might have been the planet itself, although I don’t believe it was the case. Rebecca didn’t either.” Hannah studied the figure, thinking of the pictures of the woman she’d once been. “She didn’t ever come to a conclusion, possibly because her fight ended before she could, but there were a couple of theories she had, with one of them being linked to certain food they were eating.” “Food somehow transforming them all into wax?” He shook his head. “I’m not certain I would agree with the theory, but then I wasn’t there. How am I to know what happened to her? Has she moved at any point?” “Although I’ve never seen it happen he had, which might have been wishful thinking. He wanted her to still be in there somewhere, and there’s a chance she is, listening to us talk about her now. Only she has no way to speak to either of us, because she’s trapped within this wax form. Maybe in becoming one of them she even learnt how it happened. “While I was making the journey back here I talk to her occasionally, wondering if there might ever come a time when she talked back, but it never happened. I didn’t think it would, and there were never any signs she had moved. There’s a chance she might when she’s with you, should you wish to make the purchase, unless you’ve made the decision you’d rather not.” “Share the rest of the story. I believe I will purchase Rebecca, even if she never moves, because the story...” He shook his head. “I don’t know how to put the feelings into words right now.” “Neither do I.” Hannah smiled. “I understand what you’re feeling, which is why I made the choice to add her to my shop, rather than walking away. Normally I would have done. Something like this feels a little closer to slavery than I’d like, but then I thought about the possibilities for her. Maybe, if she’s lucky, she’ll end up in the hands of someone who’ll do what they can to help her, or she’ll find herself somewhere what was done to her is naturally undone.” “Is that something you truly believe is possible?” “Anything is possible. That’s an important thing to keep in mind. Rebecca was young when she transformed, a woman who believed she had her whole life ahead of her, but it didn’t happen. Instead this was her fate. Yet there’s something more to it, I’m certain of that, and at some point in the future everything is going to change for her.” He looked at Hannah, and she could see the doubt in his eyes. Why would he think someone who’d become wax had any chance of a different life? “If someone who had his entire life to find an answer couldn’t what makes you think anyone else will find a different solution?” “Our understanding of the universe is changing all the time. This may well be another case where someone finds the solution. I don’t know whether they will, but I think it’s worth giving those who are still here a chance. The others... well, that’s one of the more complicated parts of the story.” “They melted?” “Seems to have been the case. Rebecca, and a few of the others, were protected from that, while the others... well, they didn’t get as lucky, unfortunately. I hate talking about this around her, in case she can hear what we’re saying. They were her colleagues, her friends, and the people she did everything she could to help, but I don’t think they ever truly stood a chance of finding the solution. “Like I said when the others arrived the first things they found told them they should leave. Gather everything they could, and get off the planet before anything bad happened to them, but they didn’t truly believe it was possible the same thing would happen to them. Had I been there I’m not certain I would have done either, because it seemed like an impossibility to begin with, only to find themselves in a position they couldn’t possibly understand. “Neither could the researchers, and they were the ones who had a better chance, considering the things they’d done before. Rebecca, and her colleagues, had been on multiple planets in the past where unusual things had been found, but it was never like this. They’d never found themselves in a position where they became something else entirely. “As she was flesh for the longest she did see the others as they occasionally became flesh, something that happened more often in the early days, until it only happened once a day at most. Even when it was happening more often she didn’t have a chance to speak with them, to ask what they were going through while they were wax, because they weren’t flesh for long enough. “What she could share was the slow transformation she went through, hours passing before she wasn’t able to type any more, but she kept talking, trying to hold on. Trying to find something that would help. I know they didn’t send out any requests for help, because they didn’t know if simply stepping onto the planet would be enough to change someone. Rebecca wondered more than once in her notes whether they were lost from the beginning, so they never had any chance of being able to leave the planet. “Due to those who saved the researchers never transforming it appears that wasn’t the case. They did leave within weeks, however, when the first of the group transformed into wax, never mentioning they were feeling anything at all. Only that was probably because they had no way of knowing what was actually happening to them, as they hadn’t read Rebecca’s journal. “She did say the experience was slightly different for everyone, but there were some similarities. There were those who were worried being in close proximity to one of the figures would be enough to change them, something that doesn’t appear to be the case, as I’ve been travelling with Rebecca for several months now, and I haven’t been through the transformation. I believe it does prove it was to do with the planet, rather than the people who found themselves there. “It took months to happen originally, with the first transformation of the new arrivals happening much sooner, a sign the power of whatever it was that made it happen was growing. Potentially due to it changing so many people into wax, although, to be honest, I’m not certain this is exactly what we would call wax - simply a close enough word to use to describe it, especially as it does react similarly to heat and light. “The purchaser of Rebecca does need to be careful should they wish to keep her for any length of time. I made certain she was somewhere cool, but not so cold it might have cracked her, as that can also happen. I looked at some of the pictures of the others, who were affected by not being in the hands of the right people. “He did keep an eye on those he could, remembering stories Rebecca told him about each of them, how their lives had entwined through the years, until the time came when they were all transformed together. The first to go was the leader of the research expedition, mentioning a couple of days before it happened he wasn’t feeling well, but it wasn’t until later they were able to put the pieces together. “When he didn’t get up that morning they assumed he needed to rest, so they didn’t check on him until lunchtime, which was when they found him sitting on the edge of his bed, looking like he’d just finished putting his boots on. Rebecca’s entry from that day was terrifying. They had no idea what was going on, whether it would happen to anyone else, but they made the decision to stay to try to find help for him. “From there it passed on to the three people who were able to get them off the planet, who all had some experience with the spacecraft they’d used to make the journey. She couldn’t help wondering if that meant whatever was happening had made the choice to go for the four people they needed the most first, although that would mean there was some kind of sentience, and that didn’t seem to be a thought she liked much, although it linked in to something she found while she was out searching the other potential settlements. “None of them believed there had ever been anyone living there, yet there were signs of people at least having travelled there in the past, with one of them leaving something behind - the very last words of a note. ‘It’s not safe.’ There was no way of knowing what it linked to, but she held on to that memory, until the time came when she realised the world they’d travelled to wasn’t safe. “Arriving there, those were the first words he read, followed by ‘leave fast. Gather everything, and get away from here before anything can happen to you’, something they should have listened to. Making the choice to ignore it was the worst mistake they could have made, as it meant one of their group was also transformed. “It might have been more than one, a kind of disbelief having hit the group, not entirely willing to believe what was happening was real, something Rebecca also described. She was one of three people arguing they needed to get away from the planet sooner rather than later, because there was something strange going on. Only the others were focused on trying to find a solution, and the three gave up, realising they couldn’t make it happen. Instead they simply had to live with things are they were. “Unfortunately it was what Rebecca believes led to the loss of their pilots, and it was then the panic hit the others, as they realised how bad things truly were. He used that information to convince his group they needed to leave, no matter how little they might have wanted to, taking both of the spacecrafts with them in order to make certain they could get everyone off the planet. Otherwise they’d have had to leave people behind. “None of the wax people weighed as much as they would have done in their flesh forms, something that was to be expected. Rebecca talked about how the transformation changed them, how complicated everything was, and then the sensations she felt as she slowly became wax. It didn’t happen quickly, but as it started to happen she felt this lassitude sweeping through herself, enough to keep any of them from yelling for help. Had they done it might have saved them all.” Slowly, nodding, he stepped closer to the counter, looking at Rebecca more closely than he had done before. “I don’t understand how an entire person, every part of them, would become wax.” “There are no answers I can give you. Just shared the story with you, so you understand who she is, because I want her to end up in the hands of the right buyer. I want you to care for her. She is precious, even if there is no possible way to save her from this fate.” “Yes, she is.” He gestured at the card that was still on the counter. “I feel like there’s still so much to the story.” “Oh, there were pages of it, and I’ve barely been able to share any of it with you.” Hannah put her hand on the card. “I have to be certain. This is what you want to do.” “Buying Rebecca, a woman who has become wax, feels like something I need to do. Like I was meant to walk in here, to find her.” He shrugged. “Does that sound as stupid as I think it does?” “No, it doesn’t, because I felt the same way.” Her eyes met with his for a moment. “There are people I said no to before, when they said they were interested in her. I said I’d been travelling with her for months, and that’s the reason for it, so I found a person who had a similar connection to her. “She may not seem like it now, but she was someone, and she had people who loved her. At times I was uncomfortable around her, because I felt like I was using her for profit, when I’m not. What I want is to find her a home with someone who understands, especially with it being possible there might be a solution. I know there are people out there hunting for it, due to it being their father who was taken from them by the planet.” Hannah took a small booklet out of her pocket, putting it on the counter. “What is that?” “A way for you to connect with the others, should you wish to. It’s not something you have to do, but it will help you learn more about what happened to her, and potentially learn if they do ever find a way to transform someone from wax into flesh once more.” Nodding, he picked it up, slipping it into his pocket. “I assume she’s not going to be cheap.” “For her protection my price was set at a certain point. I believe you will make the right choices with her, even though it might end up being a mistake, so she will be a little cheaper. Please do what you can to keep her safe, to potentially find a way to help her, and make certain she’s passed on from one generation to the next.” “I will.” As she took the money from his card once more, Hannah returned it to him, before going to the exit to the counter, gently carrying Rebecca with her. “There is a chance she will move?” “Yes, there is, and some of the others even tried to talk. This may happen if she does move. I don’t know.” Hannah looked at Rebbeca one last time. “If it ever happens I’d like to know about it. For her I think it’s much less likely, due to the choice she made to fight for so long.” “Probably. She seems like the kind of person who gave up those moments in the hope she might find a solution for the people she cared about.” Just as gently, he took hold of her, lifting her as though she weighed nothing. “You weren’t wrong when you said she didn’t weight as much.” “One mistake, and she could melt or crack. I’m trusting you with her. For some she’d just be another curiosity, but I hope you’ll treat her well.” “Both of you have my promise that I will do what I can to protect her, and, should it be possible, help her.” Watching him walk away with Rebecca, Hannah was almost certain she’d made the right choice. Before he stepped through the door Hannah was almost certain Rebecca’s human eyes met with hers, the gratefulness within them something she hoped she wasn’t imagining. Sighing, she stepped over to the door, closing up the shop for the day. Maybe her sister had finally found someone who could help her.