by Natasha King
yes we found water. no we did not expect it.
how could we have expected it?
yes we had declared it
improbable. impossible some said. inconclusive
some said. unsupported by the atmospheric
conditions some said.
yes we found water. yes it
shone mirror-bright under the ink sky.
yes we rubbed the
moisture between our gloved fingers.
yes it was impossible. yes it was real.
no we did not leave it. no we did not conduct
the requisite tests.
yes it was a lure brighter than the sun at our backs.
no we did not exercise caution. no we
did not stand a chance. we carried it a cup at a time
to the pressurized temple of our nearest module and
thought of worship.
yes it gleamed under the electric lights.
yes we wondered and
wondered. yes it was water. yes we thought of the
waters of earth and of the waters of our
frail earth bodies.
yes we drank it. yes it slipped down our throats like
quicksilver. yes it burned like the rust-red of the
planet beneath our heels.
yes we said, as we opened our
watering eyes wider and wider.
yes
yes
yes.
NATASHA KING is a Vietnamese American writer and nature enthusiast. Her work has appeared in Clarkesworld, Nightmare Magazine, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere. In her spare time, she enjoys thinking about the ocean. She can be found on Twitter as @pelagic_natasha.
report by the scientists who discover liquid water on mars can be found in Augur Magazine Issue 7.3.
