I woke up about six the next morning. It was still raining outside. I was grateful for that. The sun never reflected my true mood, so having an overcast day brought me a little comfort. It didn't take long to get dressed. Most of my coworkers wondered if I always wore the same thing every day aside from the occasional change in hoodie. When I was done getting ready, I knocked on the door to my room.

"Come in."

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Still a little confused, but I think I'm starting to understand this place. It's like a futuristic version of my world."

"You nailed it right on the head. That's exactly what Earth is."

"I don't know how i'll figure out the technical stuff though."

"One good thing I can say about myself is I get accustomed to technology pretty fast. I can help you with that at least."

"..."

"I was gonna' ask if you wanted to ride with me to work."

"How will I get back?"

"The rain should stop enough for you to fly back later."

"What if it doesn't?"

"How about a low stakes wager? If I'm wrong, I'll make whatever you want for dinner tonight. If I'm right, you'll make something for me."

"That sounds fair."

"So what do you want if you win?"

"A vegetable stew."

"Okay. I can definitely do that."

"What about you?"

"I could go for some baked beans tonight."

"Beans, I can do."

"I won't make you do any animal stuff, so don't worry about that. Beans and nuts have protein in them, so I can always substitute meat with those."

"Can humans be vegetarians too?"

"We can take it one step further and go completely vegan, meaning we don't eat or drink any animal products at all if we want to."

"Even milk?"

"Yeah. For whatever reason there's an argument about whether milking animals hurts them. I never milked one, so I wouldn't know, and even that wouldn't be conclusive enough because some animals are different than others."

"Why would you risk it if it could hurt them?"

"I didn't question it for a while, and when I did, I couldn't make up my mind, so I went with what I knew. I know that's not the answer you wanted to hear, but it's all I've got."

"I don't blame you."

"If we still haven't found a way home for you later this week, I'll finish up all the animal products and change my diet."

"Okay."

"So, you comin'?"

"On one condition; no more putting yourself down, alright?"

"Agreed."

On my way to work, Atmospheric and I had a serious talk that I honestly wasn't expecting.

"Hey, Kyle?"

"Hm?"

"When I made that joke yesterday, you seemed kind of tense. Did I do something wrong?"

"It's nothing personal against you. I was always uncomfortable around suggestive humor."

"Haven't you made jokes like that with someone close to you before?"

"I did a few times with some friends of mine just to try to get over it, but when we got older we stopped doing that kind of stuff and started talking about serious topics."

"I didn't mean your friends."

"Oh...Oh! You meant..."

Atmospheric nodded.

"I've never been with anybody like that. It just wasn't something I wanted to do."

"So you've never..."

I shook my head.

"Can we talk about something else? I don't really like explaining this. I got made fun of a lot for it."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know."

"Can I ask you something else, then?"

"Sure."

"You seem a little angrier than my husband. Did something happen to you?"

"I didn't really get along with my parents a lot of the time until I left them, and my sisters weren't really interested in talking to the rest of us much. Everybody was so busy with their lives that we just drifted apart. They keep working themselves into the ground. I suggested a career change to my mom at one point because she seemed miserable with the work she was doing, but it didn't work. After a while I gave up trying."

"You feel like it's your fault for not doing more."

"Maybe if I gave more thought to finances and took my responsibilities more seriously when I was younger, things would've been different. It's too late for regrets now. I'm holding myself accountable until the day I stop breathing."

"That's why you gave us financial stability and loving children. You wanted to redeem yourself for what you couldn't change."

"The entire second half of my life has been a rocky redemption story, what with the suicide attempts and everything, but at least I actually care about something other than myself now. I just wish I could start my life over and do it right."

"There's no point beating yourself up over it. Things are better now, right?"

"Other than getting along better with my mom and dad, nothing's really changed."

"You have to take things one step at a time."

"I just hope those steps mean something at the end of the road. I'd rather die from dehydration on land than drown in the ocean. I used to be a huge jerk too, so that didn't really help either when I realized what was going on around me."

"What's been done can't be undone. Just face it and put it to rest."

"I'm working on it."

When I finally got to the facility I worked at, I was in a state of deep thought. Maybe she was right. Changing my outlook might get me farther than I initially thought, and there wasn't much reason not to now. It's one of those situations where you have to look at things from different perspectives.

"Well, this is the place."

"Even town hall isn't this grandiose back home."

"They employ a lot of people. It's a good place to carry out my purpose."

"I guess this is where we part for the day."

"Guess so."

I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car. There was something I needed to show Atmospheric. I pulled out my phone and opened the gallery.

"I want you to look through this."

"What is it?"

"Proof."

I left without saying much else. I was acting mysterious more to tease her than anything. I figured if I was really going to change, I should start now.

When I left work in the evening, she was still in the car, sleeping. She looked cute, almost like an angel. Of course, she was designed with the imagery of an angel partially in mind. Still, recognizing this didn't detract from its truth.

"Hey sunshine. How are you doing?"

"I must've dozed off. You were telling the truth, and it hit me like a ton of bricks."

"I just wanted to put any remaining suspicions to rest."

"I feel a lot better now."

"That's good."

"It's still pouring out."

"Don't worry about the bet. I was just trying to lighten things up this morning. I'll make your dish. You deserve it."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna' put you through too much trouble."

"Everybody needs a little comfort food now and again, right?"

"Yeah."

"Come on. Let's go home."

"Okay."

"Hey, do you wanna' go for a walk with me this weekend?"

"You mean like a date? I dunno'. Never heard of pony and human relationships before."

"Hardy har har. You're a comedian."

"And your wit is so amazing."

"You got me there."

"I would love to."

"For real?"

She nodded sweetly. Her innocence spoke to my mind on a level I couldn't really describe.

"I'm still a little tired. Can we listen to a record until I fall asleep after dinner?"

"I've got a good one for that called 'Deep Blue' by Parkway Drive. It's like an introspective journey in metalcore form."

"I'm looking forward to it."