The Greatest Showman #1529 – Negligible

As the blazing sun hung still, casting its light over the slowly surging Earth, Alex and Ryan continued their quiet conversation. They were each other's only support now in the vastness of space.

"Do you think anyone above Earth is looking up at the sky and thinking about you?" Alex asked softly.

Ryan hesitated, unsure how to answer. He tried to appear unaffected, but the sadness in his voice was unavoidable. He spoke of his brother, his estranged family, the missed call announcing the birth of his niece or nephew, all of it just an email left unanswered because he didn't know what to say.

Then, Ryan turned the question back on Alex. "What about you?"

Surprisingly, Alex, who often joked about her past, even poking fun at her ex-husband's infidelities, fell silent. She didn't answer, her voice lost in the stillness.

The two of them drifted slowly through space, drawing closer to the International Space Station. Alex assessed their situation. Soyuz 1 had vanished, and Soyuz 2 was damaged beyond use. Its parachute had deployed but couldn't be used as an escape hatch.

To make matters worse, Alex's jetpack had run out of fuel, and Ryan's oxygen was nearly depleted. The prospect of landing was grim, but they had no time for hesitation. It was now or never.

The vastness of space seemed to stretch endlessly before them, the International Space Station occupying one-third of the screen as the two small dots—Alex and Ryan—moved slowly toward it, with the blue-green Earth visible in the distance. The tension in the auditorium was palpable.

Alex used what little propellant gas she had left to maneuver closer to the space station. But with no fuel to slow down, they collided violently. First, Alex grabbed a handle, but Ryan's body continued to spin out of control, dragging her with him. Then, Ryan grabbed a handle, but Alex collided with him, sending both of them hurtling again. The cable between them snapped in the chaos.

They both scrambled to find something to steady themselves, but neither succeeded. Finally, with a forceful impact, Ryan's ankle caught the parachute rope, halting his movement. But Alex still couldn't find a hold, and as she drifted further, Ryan reached out with his hand, desperately trying to catch her.

Their fingertips brushed together, but before they could grab on, the immense inertia pulled them apart. Ryan, like a drowning man, clung to the last cable that could save him, but Alex was still sliding into the abyss.

"Yes!" The crowd in the auditorium let out a cheer as they watched the intense struggle. But the relief was fleeting. Alex was still slipping away.

The pull of inertia was too strong. Ryan was still clutching the cable, but Alex was moving further and further from him. Without the propellant, neither of them could return to the space station. Their only option was to float in the vast universe until their oxygen ran out, and death would take them.

Alex, ever the more experienced astronaut, knew the inevitable. She calmly spoke, her voice soft but steady. "Ryan, let go." There was a faint smile on her face, and the calmness in her tone belied the gravity of the moment.

Ryan's eyes widened in fear. "No," he muttered, shaking his head.

Alex continued, her words a quiet confession. "Do you remember the question you asked me? I once had a daughter. She was playing hide-and-seek when she fell and bumped her head. And then she was gone. If she were still alive, she'd be seven years old this year."

Her voice trembled with the weight of the memory, and Ryan could see the pain in her eyes. She spoke again, softer now. "Ryan, just… try. It's just… effort."

Alex placed her left hand on the buckle. She saw the look in Ryan's eyes, the desperate pleading, but she knew the time had come to make a choice. "It's not up to you, and it's not up to me."

Ryan's fingers trembled as he tried to hold on. The helplessness in his eyes was unbearable. Alex, knowing that Ryan wouldn't let go, made the decision for him. With a final glance, she released the buckle. As she did, Ryan's voice, broken and desperate, echoed in her ears. "Alex."

The sound of her name was the only thing that remained between them. Alex smiled gently, her eyes misting over. "You'll go back, Ryan. You will."

Taking a deep breath, Alex let go, her body drifting away from Ryan, her weightlessness carrying her farther from him. She had made her choice.

Ryan, drifting toward the space station, watched helplessly as Alex's figure grew smaller and smaller. The distance between them widened, and with it, his despair deepened.

"I've caught you," Ryan whispered to himself, over and over, his voice fading into the vast, silent expanse of space.

The auditorium fell silent. The raw emotion in Ryan's eyes, the pain of separation, the coldness of the universe—it was all too real. Matthew Dunlop, watching from the audience, saw something in those eyes, a depth of emotion that seemed to reflect his own experiences. His eyes grew moist, the realization of the fragility of life, the vastness of space, and the insignificance of a single life hitting him all at once.

Ryan snapped back to reality as his body collided with the space station, the impact shaking him from his stupor. Disoriented, he grabbed a handrail, steadying himself as he fought to regain his composure. His mind was still blank, and he couldn't think straight, but survival instinct kicked in.

Alex remained calm, guiding him through the next steps. "Ryan, can you hear me?" she asked, but Ryan remained silent. "Did you get that?"

"My carbon dioxide levels are rising! My carbon dioxide levels are alarming!" Ryan's voice cracked with panic as his brain began to overheat.

"Listen, you need to get inside the station," Alex instructed, her voice steady. "Do you see the airlock?"

Ryan, struggling to focus, could barely make out Alex's fading figure. But her words pierced through his foggy thoughts, and he knew what he had to do to survive.

"At this time tomorrow, you'll be back at Lake Zurich, telling everyone this incredible story," Alex joked, her voice still light. "Got it?"

Ryan, still grappling with the enormity of the situation, nodded. "I'll drive Soyuz II to find you," he said, determined.

"No, you can't," Alex replied, her tone firm.

"I'll go and save you," Ryan insisted.

"No, I'm too far away from you."

"Let me save you, Alex."

"I don't think I'll make it. Ryan, you need to learn to let go. I need to hear you say it. Please, Ryan. Say it."

"I can go back." Ryan's voice broke with emotion.

"Want to hear the good news?" Alex said, her tone light again. "I'm about to break Anatoly's record. It'll stand for a long, long time. Not bad for a female astronaut, huh? Oh, and by the way, Ryan, you should see the sunrise over the Ganges. It's breathtaking."

And just like that, the cowboy tune played, and Alex's voice faded into the silence of space, leaving Ryan alone with his thoughts, floating in the vast, empty universe.