“You’re not coming?!” Mei Mei gasped, her deep brown eyes wide.

I smiled sadly. “No, Mei. I have to stay here.”

“But—Earth is dying, Liu!” she cried. “And you’re my big sister! You have to come with us! Dad won’t let you stay, anyway.”

I stayed silent. I could never tell my little sister that her father was one ticket short to bring all three of us to space. It would break her heart—and she would never agree to it. So Dad and I decided to let me stay behind without Mei knowing.

“Liu…why? Why would you stay here? The world is covered in trash…literally everyone is leaving…please, please come with us.”

I choked back a sob, staring at the patchy, dead grass below me. “I just…can’t. But this is for you, Mei Mei. Always for you, okay? I promise I’ll be okay. I promise.”

Mei hugged me tighter than she’s ever hugged me before. “I. LOVE. YOU. SO. MUCH!”

I pulled back, a tear falling down my cheek. “I love you, too. And you, too, Dad.”

Dad wrapped his arms around me. “I already miss you, Honey.” he said. “Thank you.” he quietly whispered into my ear. “For everything.”

I nodded as Dad stepped away from me and gripped his suitcase. “We should get going.”

I nodded. “I’ll watch the ship take off.”

I was standing multiple miles away from the launch site, but that didn’t stop the space ship from looking absolutely gigantic. I painfully watched as the ship shot into the shy, leaving a cloud of blackened smoke in its wake.

Tears spilled down my cheeks as I envisioned Mei Mei and Dad on that ship. Supposedly the very last ship to leave Earth.

“Goodbye,” I whispered, letting the smoke whisk my words away to be lost with the wind. My eyes followed the ship up and up and up, trailing the fire and smoke behind it with a heavy heart. Every second the ship gained altitude, it was as if my stomach was sinking lower and lower.

I was just about to turn away from the space ship and head back home, when an earsplitting explosion knocked me to the ground and onto my stomach. I got up and onto my hands and knees, while my ears rang, drowning out all other noises. My head pounded, and my hands were scraped and bloody from hitting the rough floor.

I looked up, confused—only to see a wall of smoke and sparks in the sky where the space ship should’ve been.

“No…” I mumbled, watching large pieces of metal rain from the sky. “NO!”

Warm tears cascaded down my face, trailing through the dust coating my skin. “This wasn’t supposed to happen…” I cried, kneeling down and resting my sobbing face onto my grime and cut-up hands.

They were supposed to be safe…

I was the one who was sacrificing my life…

Now they’re dead…

I should’ve been on that ship.

I should’ve—I should’ve been there for them! I’m a terrible daughter…

A terrible sister…

Another wave of tears hit me like a bag of bricks, mixing the dirt under me into mud. I sat up straight again, unable to stop my tears from falling. Then the ground started to shake. The mud in front of me sloshed around, sending specks of muddled dirt onto my skin. Then, it started to bubble. I hastily wiped my tears and stood up, examining the puddle of tears that was now frothing and sparkling under the hazy sun.

And then, POP.

A little green stem popped out of the mud, with a shiny pink flower blooming at its tip.

A plant.

Something I hadn’t seen in a long, long time—not since the Earth had started dying.

More little flower stems started to sprout where my tears had fallen. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t mean for Dad or Mei Mei to get killed. I hadn’t even planned on staying on Earth.

But maybe this was a good thing.

A new start.

This is what Mei would’ve wanted for me.

I know it.

“I promise I’ll change the world.” I whispered to myself, a look of determination making its way across my tear-stricken face. “For you, Mei Mei. Always for you.”