'Mid Pleasures and Palaces

"Mid Pleasures and Palaces" by James McKimmey is a science fiction story set in the 1950s, diving into what it means to be alone and how time changes people. William Kirk is on a mission to find Harry Loren, an astronaut lost on a faraway planet for almost twenty years. When Kirk finds Loren, things get weird because Loren has become friends with an alien creature called Eddie. The story is about the push and pull between wanting to go home and the sadness of what's been lost. Kirk sees how being alone has messed with Loren's head, leading to tricky moments of trust and lies. In the end, Loren has to decide if he can leave the past behind and go back to Earth, making you think about memories, sadness, and how time keeps moving.