Thursday 25 June 2015

Short Story - 'Earth 2' - Part One

Her eyes bore into me, innocent, searching for why I am crying, when in her mind everything is fine. I cradle her in my arms like I did when I first saw her two years ago, my beautiful daughter Lyra. Named after a constellation because I knew that she would do something far greater than any of us could imagine. Now I am leaving her, my husband and mother too, for this mission. This mission which could either save the world or leave a little girl without her mother forever. My heart cannot bear it, I am tearing apart inside and I know I must go now before I change my mind. Gently placing Lyra on the ground I try to convey my love for her, but it is just too great, and instead I kiss her and hug her and try to make her understand that she must cherish this moment in case I never come back. “I love you my darling with everything I have and one day we will see each other again, whether on earth or in Heaven I do not know.” Then it is time for me to go, and taking one last look at my family, I turn and board the spaceship.

As I press the final button on the switchboard in front of me, I fight the urge to turn back and run to my daughter, to hold her tight and never let go. Keaton, seeing me hesitate, catches my eye and gives me a reassuring smile. I cannot let everybody down. I strap myself into my seat and help the others prepare for take-off. We have done it in training many times before, but the feeling is different this time. The air crackles with tension.

“Five, four, three, two, one, lift off.” My throat tightens, my stomach churns and my heart pounds so loudly I am sure I can hear the reverberations around the spacecraft. Blackness fills my ears and shields my eyes but I try to resist it; I must not falter now. It feels as if I am floating above all human life and I feel strangely separate to them, as if- “Gaia do you read me?” Keaton’s voice jolts me out of my trance and I hasten to reply, “Yes, I am reading you, over.”
“Prepare for light speed, over and out.” I brace myself as the rocket lurches forward; we are now travelling faster than the speed of light.

The three other crew members and I are set to explore ‘Earth 2’ as Earth 1’s resources will eventually run out and people need somewhere to take refuge. Keaton, Daniel, Adam and I are the only ones who have been told the plan. Instead of saving everyone, only 10,000 of the most wealthy and educated people will be sent to ‘Earth 2’ and allowed to live. Our mission is to explore the planet and collect data which we can report back to the lucky survivors so they have the best chance in this new world.

Millions of stars fly past our window, most appear tiny because they are so far away; they look like pin pricks in a never-ending sheet of darkness. However, inside the spaceship time seems to stand still. We have so little to do and so far to go, I wonder whether my brain will shut down due to lack of use. I think of Lyra every day and wish that I could see her.

For five monotonous years we travel on through space until one day an automated voice shatters our hope of reaching ‘Earth 2’, “A star which is set to explode is in the flight path.”
“No!” My cry voices the thoughts of us all. Unless we can re-programme the flight in time, we are all going to be blown apart. 

Come back next week to find out what happens to Gaia ...

Sunday 21 June 2015

Another Reader's Poem

I received this poem from a reader which I'm sure you can relate to. It is about the time in life when there are so many happy memories in your head and yet all you can think of is that one hurtful remark somebody once made. Although you may feel saddened by this fact, know that you are in control of your own mind. You can choose to think pleasant thoughts. Try looking in a photo album of past holidays, listening to a song from your childhood or even reading some of the happy stories and poems which I post!

Here is the reader's poem:

Be careful what you say to others.
Like an email it cannot be retrieved once uttered.
A remark, once made, pops out of the deepest recess of the memory of the recipient at the most unlikely moment.
It is never diminished by the passage of time.
Why must the memory, so useful and essential for everyday life, have this wicked side to it?
A remark is just as hurtful fifty years later as it was on the day when it was first received.
The mind seems to wait until one is at rest from everyday occupation, and then from nowhere out slips this wicked barb.
The question for me that remains unanswered is: for what purpose does this happen?
Is the old person with dementia still subjected to the regurgitation of a past remark?
The mystery of life may be in the Universe, but what manipulating force controls the memory?
What happened to all those short lived memories of the young killed in their prime?
Is there something similar to The Cloud where all memory is collected and stored for ever?
Will we ever be able to
tap into this source? If it even exists ...

If you would like to write something for the blog, just send me an email at rapunzeltheblogger@gmail.com