A month had passed since Sophie and David found themselves in the world of two suns—a world where night never fell. They had learned to live under constant daylight, though Sophie sometimes grumbled about missing the stars, and David joked that his circadian rhythm was forever broken without darkness.
They sat together on the couch of their small apartment, tea cooling in their cups, their conversation drifting from daily chores into new beginnings.
Sophie leaned back, her eyes bright with energy."Would you mind if I moved in for good?"
"You know I've been dreaming of you being here always."
"Well then, consider the formality done—I asked permission," she said with a sly grin. "Because honestly, I still feel guilty about crawling under your desk that day. You never actually said yes. It was practically assault."
"Oh yes, I'm the victim here," David laughed. Then, more seriously: "If I hadn't wanted it, I'd have stood up. I wouldn't have sat there melting under your touch. So your conscience can rest easy."
"Good, that makes me feel better," she said lightly. "Anyway, I've decided to sell my house. Turns out in this universe it's worth a decent amount. Unless you'd rather we move there?"
"A big house sounds nice. But honestly, I'm exhausted—by the jumps between worlds, by the constant adjusting to this… almost-our reality. Another move might break me. Think of hauling all my books alone. Besides, this place is close to campus. Let's stay here for now. Especially since, as I found out, in this version of reality, I actually own the apartment outright."
Sophie's brows shot up. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. Apparently I've done better here than back home." He paused, his voice dipping lower. "Speaking of home… don't you think we should at least try to get back?"
"I think about it every day." She sighed. "But first—we don't know how to deliberately trigger a portal, or how to stabilize it enough to carry us both safely. And second—God only knows where we'd end up. What if it throws us into a dead world, no oxygen, no life? Or worse—what if it splits us, drops us in different universes? I don't know how to risk that…"
David smiled faintly, a different kind of pride in his eyes."Confession time: I wrote a story about this world. Posted it on some writing platforms. Let's see what happens."
Sophie blinked, then broke into a grin. "Oh? Now you're a writer too? Just how many talents are you hiding from me? So—what's it about?"
"It's called The Coming of Night. A sci-fi piece, inspired by here. Imagine a world where people live beneath multiple suns, never knowing darkness. Then one day, an eclipse—one sun veils the other—and for the first time in thousands of years, true night falls. They thought they were ready. But darkness… darkness is something so alien that their minds can't take it. They look up and see stars—thousands, millions, glittering in the sky—and it drives them into panic, chaos, madness."
Sophie's lips parted, her gaze soft with awe. "I think it's going to cause a sensation."