Cecilia and the Satellite

"It's huge!" the kids screamed.

The tour guide really didn't know what to do. The bus was in complete chaos as the children moved to the bus' right side, trying to get a glimpse of the sight before them;

an empty field with a large white building in the middle. Right beside the building, a towering structure held a rocket upright, a vehicle towing a satellite into the great unknowns of the universe.

The tour guide couldn't help but smile at the kids excitement.

The first time she saw a space shuttle she was ecstatic too.

She really couldn't blame the kids.

They were nearing the entrance of the observatory, so the tour guide thought it prudent to do a head count.

As she finishes counting the shifting mass of children, she realized one child was simply sitting at the back not even joining the group.

She looked at her clipboard to see who the child was.

At the very bottom was a name: Cecilia. Right beside it, the words 'Cancer patient' circled in red.

The tour guide purses her lips. She looks at Cecilia.

Cecilia was very small for her age. She wore a yellow summer dress and a red artist's beret. 

Cecilia hugged her backpack and was staring at the back of a seat, apathetic to the scene outside.

The bus door opens, and the the tour guide steps to the side to avoid being stampeded by the rushing children.

Cecilia looks blankly at the empty bus before deciding to very slowly get up and walk outside.

She showed no excitement whatsoever. 

The tour guide smiled patiently and held Cecilia's hand as she walks out of the bus.

Cecilia didn't even look at her. She continued to stare blankly at whatever she saw fit.

Once the tour guide let go, Cecilia walked towards the group of children, who were being counted by their teacher so that the tour could continue.

The tour was going great. The tour guide showed them around the various areas of the observatory and explained the different parts of the telescopes and satellites there.

All the children showed enthusiasm and excitement except for one. 

Of all children, Cecilia peaked the interest of the tour guide the most. 

She was mostly staring at the ceiling, looking at the open sky of the observatory.

Occasionally, she would grimace, as if a part of her body hurt, but mostly, as she looked at the sky, she smiled. 

The tour guide let her be and continued with the tour.

Half-way through the tour, the teacher was explaining so the tour guide could take a break.

The tour guide, again, did a head count. Just to be sure.

As she sipped on her coffee, she realizes one child was missing.

There was a particular lack of a yellow summer dress within the crowd of children.

Cecilia was missing.

Cecilia wandered off away from the kids. They were too noisy she thought. 

Her face grimaced as a headache came and went. She wanted to cry. 

It hurts, she thought. 

She wandered off looking for a restroom where she could wash her face.

Cold water always seemed to lessen the pain.

She was met with a big door with a funny looking yellow triangle. 

There were words at the bottom, but she couldn't tell what it says. 

Her vision blurred from the pain of the headache. 

"Hello." a voice beside her said.

Cecilia jumped in surprise and turned around to see a big old man looking at her.

He wore a long white uniform with a pen in the pocket near his heart.

He held a clipboard like the pretty tour guide did. 

"This place is off limits to children." he said.

Cecilia looked down apologetically. She stammered "I'm sorry."

The old man laughed heartily, it reminded her of daddy.

"That's okay." the old man reached out to pat her head. 

As his hand touched her cap, the already loose beret fell to the floor.

Cecilia panicked and picked up the beret as quickly as she could and put it back on her head.

She would be so embarassed if anyone saw her hairless head since all the other girls had long and pretty hair.

She looked up at the old man as she puts her beret back.

The old man's face looked sad and worried.

"You know what?" he says. "Maybe you can come in. There are cool stuff in here."

Cecilia hesitated. Does she really trust this man?

Oh, but she was curious to see what's in the big room.

Cecilia nodded shyly.

The old man smiled.

"My name is Hans, and you are?" he said as he reached out his hand.

"Cecilia." said Cecilia quietly as she reached for his hand.

Hans held Cecilia by the hand as they walked through the door.

Inside they were met by the view of the satellite control room. 

Rows of computers filled most of the room. A giant panel at the far back showed the earth colored in red, orange and blue. A gravitational map of the earth. 

Hans looked down to see Cecilia's head snapping left and right. Her mouth half-opened.

She's very clearly engrossed with what she's seeing. 

"What's that?" Cecilia asked.

"That is a gravitational map of the world." Hans answered.

Cecilia let go of his hand and walked around hurriedly.

She picked something up and asked "What's this?"

"Oh that? That's a model of the SC-198 weather satellite." Hans answered.

Cecilia walked around and began talking to the staff.

Whoever she talked to ended up smiling and grinning as she asked away.

Hans kept an eye on her from afar as he picked up a cup of coffee. 

Cecilia ran into an open door on the right of the control room.

Hans put down his coffee in a nearby desk and promptly followed.

When he entered the Satellite room, he saw Cecilia looking amazed at the satellite.

The satellite was boxy in nature, and was about the size of an RV. 

40% of the satellite's structure was taken by the gray and gold solar panels folded on its sides. 

Hans tapped Cecilia's shoulder and walked her over to two chairs near the satellite, where he would do interviews with news channels about the purpose of the satellite.

"So, Cecilia, what do you think?" Hans asked as he waved his hand at the satellite.

"It's so cool." Cecilia asked, her smile revealing two missing upper teeth. 

Cecilia looked back at Hans.

"Are you like a scientist?" she asked.

Hans smiled proudly. "Yes, I designed this satellite." he said.

Cecilia nodded.

"I want to make a satellite like that." she says.

"When you grow up, maybe you can." Hans replied.

"If I grow up." Cecilia says.

Hans' heart dropped. It seems Cecilia was fully aware of her condition.

"Is it like building a lego?" she asks.

"Like building a lego, if the lego was a million, bajillion pieces." Hans replied.

Cecilia giggled.

Hans chuckled along with her. 

Hans pulls out a recorder, something he keeps in his right pocket for interviews.

This satellite will broadcast a message into outer space, Hans explains.

"For who?" asked Cecilia.

Hans leans in and says "aliens," and makes a 'shhh' gesture.

Cecilia's eyes widen, and she follows the gesture.

Hans holds out the recorder. "Want to make a message?" he asks.

The tour guide found Cecilia with the lead engineer of the observatory. 

She promptly apologizes as she approaches. 

The engineer stood up from his chair and put something in his pocket.

Was that a recorder?

He held out his hand and said it was ok. 

Cecilia was a sweetheart, he explained.

The tour guide took Cecilia by the hand and led her back towards the group.

As they walked, Cecilia looked back and waved goodbye to the engineer.

The engineer waved back and tapped his right pocket.

When he did that, Cecilia grinned. What was that in his pocket anyway?

Cecilia asked if they could ever come back here.

Next year, the tour guide explained.

Next year you'll see another satellite.

Cecilia grinned. As they approached the group, Cecilia ran off and began to talk to a select few of the kids.

Their faces turned into interest and surprise as Cecilia talked. 

Perhaps she was talking about her experience with the engineer? Who knows.

The tour was almost over, the kids packed and the bus arrived. 

Things were different this time. Cecilia was at the back of the bus, but now she was the center of attention. 

As the observatory faded into the distance, Cecilia smiled at the window.

Her expression, much to the tour guide's surprise, was hopeful.

A year of work went into the satellite. 

Hans was near the tipping point of his sanity, but remained calm.

The satellite was nearing its launch.  

Those kids from the tour last year will be here soon. 

The tour guide asked Hans if he could meet the kids.

She explained that some of the kids felt it was unfair that only Cecilia got to meet him.

Speaking of which, Cecilia would be in the group.

Hans wondered how she'd react as the satellite launches.

Hans met the kids outside the observatory. The tour guide promptly began to give a brief overview of who Hans is.

He scanned the group, but he couldn't seem to find Cecilia.

When the meeting concluded, he called the tour guide aside and asked where Cecilia was.

The tour guide's face darkened, and Hans understood why.

I'll meet the children later, we will be preparing for launch, he explained to the tour guide.

The tour guide purses her lips and nods. She rejoins the group.

Once Hans was all alone, he took his recorder from his pocket. 

He plays back the last file.

Cecilia's voice played on the recorder's small speaker. 

Hello, I am Cecilia, nice to meet you! We are the humans! We build and make cool stuff!  I hope one day you'll come here on Earth! It's pretty cool here in Earth, we have beaches, and mountains, and forests and other cool things. So please visit us! But if you don't, I'll make satellites when I grow up and put books and movies on it so you know what's here on Earth! Buh Bye!

The recording cuts off to Cecilia's laughter. 

A deep feeling of melancholy washes over Hans. 

Hans enters the satellite room, right before the satellite will enter the rocket and be sent into space. Out of the solar system.

Hans puts his recorder into a little metal box and connects it into a wire. 

The recorder will broadcast sounds of earth, its animals, and its culture into the cosmos for the rest of eternity.

He closes the box as a crane lifts the satellite and readies it into the rocket.

The tour guide waits at the launch platform. two minutes till the rocket launches. 

The kids are restless.

Hans appeared on her side, staring solemnly at the rocket.

The tour guide can tell he's thinking of Cecilia.

It's too bad she can't see this, the tour guide says.

Hans smiles.

She lives on, Hans says.

The tour guide looks at Hans' face curiously. 

How so, the tour guide asks. 

Her voice is in that satellite, Hans explains;

Her name, her dreams, her laughter will spread into the cosmos, now and forevermore. 

Once we're gone, when it's time for our voices to still, her voice will live on, far beyond the reaches of this tiny blue dot we call our home. 

One day, earth will cease to exist, but any life who comes after us may hear her voice, her laughter.

And they might think that we're still here, that we still exist.

Funny, if you think about it, maybe her voice will one day be the only proof that we ever existed.

And if so, in the short and tiny span of her life, she would've done more for mankind than all of us ever will. 

For her voice will resound into the universe our existence, our history, and our dreams.

Isn't that beautiful?

The tour guide was so engrossed with what he said that when she looked at the launch platform, the rocket was already half-way into the sky. 

Cecilia's voice in now moving up, towards the heavens, and maybe further. 

the tour guide smiles. 

Wherever you are Cecilia, know that your voice lives on, forever.