Space Man

A Story by cyrus glance

coming of age tale

There was a boy born to a man and woman that they loved dearly. He was quiet and played with his blocks and legoes, building towers and airplanes to reach the sky.

When it came time for him to choose a career he said," I want to be a space man and see all the places in the universe". So his parents with the love they had for him gave him a rocket though they knew he may never return to see them. When he saw it with its shiny rounded metalic surfaces that only the fastest of rockets have he whooped with joy and thanking his parents leapt up the rungs to the capsule, immeadiatly popping into it and closing the hatch waving his goodbye.

Now the boy traveled to planets, moons, and stars. He saw many things, he drew pictures and wrote books about his adventures. He saw the seas of Abante, the jungles on Hakkoda, and played with the people of Zdenka.

He became a man as he continued all these adventures. He did not notice the changes in him self being so focused on the thrills of being a space man.

He did not think of home only his space charts and where he would go next, what he would see next. He never felt the need for friends or a companion. He had so many things to occupy his mind and time. All the while as he moved futher he got older.

One day he landed and realized that entry into the atmosphere had been slower and the landing had been bumpier. He looked at the rocket and noticed that there were patches of rust and dents from meteors and other space debrie bumping into the rocket as it had sped through space. He thought about all the places this rocket his parents love had given him had taken him. He thought about his parents.

He thought," their love gave me the means to have all the adventures a space man can have. Their love took me to the stars. Their love knew that I may never see them again". With that last thought he said to him self, "it is time for me to return".

He leapt up the rungs and popped into the capsule and closed the hatch. He flew and flew and flew to get back to the planet of his birth. He did not know he had traveled so far for so long. After what must have been years he finaly saw the planet and set the coordinates for the only home he had ever known in all his years of life other than his rocket.

His rocket slowly entered the atmosphere and then thumped onto the ground. He slowly opened the hatch and climbed down the rungs.

He looked toward the house. There were no lights in the windows, no smoke from the chimney.

The lawn was a jungle.

He went into the house only to find that spiders and crickets used it to play hide and seek now. He looked out the cracked windows toward his rocket and remembered the day he had last been here. He remembered his parents smiles and goodbye tears.

He spread his arms wide and turned in circles, around, round, round and around he went until he was drunk from revolving around the room and fell looking to the sky. There were the planets, moons and stars he had chased,. there was the life of adventure he had lived, but here was the love he had lost, his parents and hopes of friends and a companion.