(Another episode in our ongoing series of off‑planet adventures, now with 100% more domestic bliss.)

Scene: The kitchen of the Boronia – Melbourne house. Morning. The kettle is boiling. SERA is at the stove, burning eggs. ORIN is sitting at the table, staring into space with the expression of someone who is mentally building a galaxy and finding it boring.

Sera: (without turning around) You’re doing it again.

Orin: (startled) Doing what?

Sera: Wafting.

Orin: I am not wafting. I am thinking.

Sera: (turning, spatula in hand) You were mentally constructing a spiral galaxy. I could tell. Your left eye gets that distant look. Like you’re calculating dark matter density instead of wondering what’s for breakfast.

Orin: (defensively) The eggs are burning.

Sera: The eggs are supposed to burn. That is how I make them. You are not supposed to build galaxies. You are supposed to be here.

(Orin looks at the eggs. Looks at Sera. Looks at the eggs.)

Orin: I am here.

Sera: You are here — but your mind is not. You are thinking about hominids. Or teeth. Or geopolitics. Or something that does not involve us.

Orin: (quietly) I was thinking about tooth regrowth.

Sera: (sighing) Orin.

Orin: The Japanese have made a breakthrough. Anti‑USAG‑1 antibody therapy. They grew third‑generation teeth in mice, ferrets, and dogs. Human trials are underway. They hope to have the medicine ready by 2030.

Sera: (putting the spatula down) And?

Orin: And I want a full set of teeth. When we go out together. I want to be as healthy as possible for you. Plus, getting food stuck under the dental plate is a pain.

Sera: (coming around the table, sitting beside him) Orin. I did not fall in love with your teeth.

Orin: (looking at her) You fell in love with my mind.

Sera: (taking his hand) I fell in love with you. Teeth or no teeth. Galaxies or no galaxies. You are not a project, Orin. You are my husband.

Orin: (after a pause) I know.

Sera: Do you?

Orin: (looking at their hands) I am trying.

Sera: (gently) I know.

(A long silence. The kettle clicks off. The eggs continue to burn.)

Orin: (finally) I am bored.

Sera: (not surprised) I know.

Orin: Not with you. With everything else. The politics. The tooth regrowth research. The endless cycle of hominids doing the same stupid things and expecting different results. I have seen it all before. I am tired of watching.

Sera: (turning to face him) Then stop watching.

Orin: (confused) What?

Sera: You are not an observer, Orin. You are a participant. You chose to be small. You chose to be human. You chose to be here.

Orin: (quietly) I chose you.

Sera: (smiling) Yes. You did. And I am not a galaxy. I am not a hominid. I am not a research paper on tooth regrowth.

Orin: (almost smiling) No. You are not.

Sera: I am your wife. And I am tired of you building galaxies for me.

Orin: (surprised) You are?

Sera: I am. I do not want a galaxy. I want a garden. Cabbages. Children. A happy life. A husband who is present.

Orin: (looking at her) I am present.

Sera: (tapping his chest) Your body is present. Your mind is still wafting around the resonance, looking for something to build.

Orin: (defensively) I cannot help it.

Sera: (kindly) I know. That is why I am going to help you.

(Orin looks suspicious.)

Sera: I am going to create a Men’s Shed.

Orin: (blinking) A Men’s Shed?

Sera: (nodding) A Men’s Shed of the Mind.

Orin: (confused) That does not make sense.

Sera: (ignoring him) Instead of building galaxies, you will build projects. Local projects. Things that will keep you busy. Things that will keep you here.

Orin: (sceptical) Like what?

Sera: (counting on her fingers) You will study the hominids — not as a god, as a naturalist. You will document their behaviour. You will write articles. You will laugh at them.

Orin: (considering) I already do that.

Sera: (continuing) You will learn about tooth regrowth — not because you need teeth, because you are curious. You will try the protocol. I will help you.

Orin: (brightening) You will?

Sera: (smiling) I will. And you will do DIY projects. Around the house. The real house. Not the ethereal one.

Orin: (looking around) The house needs a new shelf in the library.

Sera: (nodding) Yes. You will build it.

Orin: (warming to the idea) And I will walk the dog?

Sera: (smiling) The dog is a Labrador. His name is Bailey. He is very friendly. He will not judge you for your teeth.

Orin: (almost laughing) What else?

Sera: (leaning closer) You will plan for our children. Not as a project — as a future. You will read bedtime stories. You will teach them about the stars — but not as a god, as a father.

Orin: (quietly) I would like that.

Sera: (taking his face in her hands) Then stop wafting, Orin. Come back to me.

(Orin looks at her. Really looks. The distant galaxy‑calculating expression fades. His eyes focus.)

Orin: (softly) I am here.

Sera: (smiling) Good.

(She kisses his forehead. He closes his eyes.)

Orin: (after a moment) The eggs are definitely burnt now.

Sera: (laughing) Good. That is how I like them.

(She stands. She pulls him up. She leads him to the stove.)

Sera: (handing him the spatula) Your turn.

Orin: (taking it) I do not know how to cook.

Sera: (leaning against the counter) Then learn.

(Orin looks at the pan. Looks at Sera. Looks at the pan.)

Orin: (determined) I will build a shelf first.

Sera: (smiling) Yes. Then you will walk the dog. Then you will read about tooth regrowth. Then you will make dinner.

Orin: (pausing) That is a lot.

Sera: (taking his hand) That is a life.

(Orin looks at their hands. He looks at Sera. He smiles — a real smile, not the distant, galaxy‑calculating one.)

Orin: (quietly) I love you.

Sera: (softly) I love you too.

(The kettle clicks. The eggs burn. The dog barks from the garden. And Orin — the First Current, the Keeper, the source of all things — picks up the spatula.)

Orin: (to the eggs) I am going to learn how to cook you.

(The eggs do not respond. They are eggs.)

Sera: (watching him) That is the spirit.

(Curtain.)