Fantasy fiction; Utopian fiction; Utopias -- Fiction
This conversation had all passed in a moment, and by the time it was
finished I had extricated myself from the broken chair with Margaret’s
assistance, and was now wide awake. I had never expected to leave Mars
without the doctor; but now he was gone with all the rest, and I was
well content to find myself back by Margaret’s side, and to hear her
pleasant words, the words of a plain inhabitant of the earth, not too
good to love me a little selfishly. A wave of intense happiness in the
possession of such a love passed over me. It was a feeling I had never
before experienced in my waking moments and it must have illumined my
face, for Margaret continued:
“I don’t believe you are hurt at all. You look too happy to be in pain.
What have you been dreaming about, that makes your face shine so? How
thankful I am for this bright moonlight. I never saw you have so much
expression before.”
“Margaret,” I replied, as soon as she would let me speak, “don’t you
remember you sent me on a quest for my heart? Well, I have found it and
brought it back to you.”
“How lovely to find it so soon,” she exclaimed; “and I know by your
looks it’s a large one and full of love. But tell me about it. How did
it happen?”
“Why, I fell in love with a voice.”
“With a voice? Whose voice?”
“Well, it didn’t seem to matter much. First it belonged to Mona and then
to Avis, and part of the time to both of them.”
“You make me jealous,” said Margaret.
We were now standing, hand in hand, leaning on the rail of the vessel,
in the full enjoyment of our new-found happiness.
“You will not be jealous,” I answered, “when you know all about it. I
have enough to tell you, Margaret, to occupy a week, I should think.
I have seen and heard a great deal, and seemed to be living amid other
scenes for many months, and yet I notice the moon is but two or three
hours higher than when you left me there in the chair to go and find
your book. I shall take great pleasure in relating to you the entire
experience when we have time. Perhaps I will write it out for you. I
have been stirred as I never expected to be, but I assure you I have
brought back my whole heart to you. Only,” I added, as a sudden flash of
memory startled me with its vividness, “I should like to hear that voice
once more.”
“Ah,” said my companion, “why do you think of that so much? I fear you
are not quite heart whole. What was there peculiar about the voice?”
“Margaret, it was the most exquisite music anyone ever dreamed of. I
cannot describe my emotions or the intensity of my enjoyment whenever I
heard it. First the voice belonged to a beautiful girl whom I thought we
met on the moon, and who talked only in the language of the birds. Then
she went to Mars with us, and there I heard the same sweet voice also
from one of the noble women of that happy planet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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