The Voyage
It was supposed to be a short trip. It always was. I would get strapped into my seat, and we would take off. It took minutes to get there. I don’t remember much of what happened from where we started to when we arrived at our destination. But I know it was short.
When we left for our destination, it was a bright sunny, cool day. I didn’t need a jacket at all. There were very few clouds in the sky. I enjoyed looking at the trees with their leaves of all different colors surrounding us as when we leave our home port.
The next thing I noticed, we were there. The air’s getting colder now. If this is night, it is very crisp. I need my jacket.
I stared out at the horizon and could not see any trees. The only colors visible were the bright shining dots in the sky. Where was I? Is this the center of the universe? Is this my first taste of what the universe is like on a night like this?
There were millions of those shiny dots above me, and there were two large bright yellow circles also that I could see. One was floating in the air with all of the dots. And the other was resting in the water in front of me. It must have been cold too since it was shivering with the water’s movement.
I was awestruck. It was beautiful.
I was picked up and carried back to a house. There I was placed in a bed. I didn’t want to sleep, there was way too much to see and do. But I wasn’t allowed. They put bars up around me to prevent me from escaping. I know the others stayed up later than I was allowed to. That usually worked for them, but someday, I will figure out how to climb out of this cage, and I will join the fun.
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Thinking back on those times, I remember them well. Even though I was only 1½ years old. I now know the trip to our fall vacation spot by the beach was a 2-hour drive from our home that I usually slept through. But that first time…when the universe was mine to behold, it was amazing.
