Our lengthy conversation at the coffee table revealed that this could have been possible, but we’d lived in different cities. Perhaps elementary school cleaners have some characteristic that unites them. Back in Earth, Mrs. M had also occasionally substituted for cook and tinkered with cars in her spare time. She needed hobbies, since Mr. M often spent half the year in space. Mr. M’s incredibly calm and confident attitude toward space and suits makes sense now.
My childhood dream job was an astronaut. I’m sure I share this with many others. But it's a path that only a few succeed in. Mr. M's attitude toward my downplaying of my own capabilities was quite encouraging. He didn't consider himself a natural-born space hero. I will quote Mr. M's words directly: “I was by no means perfect, and I was certainly not even among the most suitable candidates. But I was more persistent than most.” When you think about it more carefully, those two sentences sum it all up. If you have motivation, all doors are open. Unless you happen to be too tall or too short for the cockpit of that fighter jet that some have always dreamed of flying.
With my fear of heights, flying a plane would never have been an option. The ground was just too close. Space, on the other hand, was somewhere so incomprehensibly high that I couldn't believe looking down could cause any more vertigo. Some things just don't make sense.
Even though I never got to fulfill my childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, I recently did take a space walk. And it happened in a place where not many have done so. Not many humans, I mean. There have been plenty of other creatures here, with or without suits. If I stretch this thought even further, being a real astronaut might just have been the force working against my current situation. Where did my aura get its strength? From lived life, I’d say. If it had been more stable… Who knows.
Stolen novel; please report.
Mr. and Mrs. M told their own story as we moved from salty bread to buns. They found their way here based on a newspaper announcement. The couple thought they were applying for a job at a space-themed restaurant. To their surprise, they were given a voluntary abduction at the end of the interview. So there are two kinds of that. When I compare this to my case, forced abduction might not always be the worst thing. Options are of course a nice thing to have, but now I have a mattress, pillow, and blanket — no need to sleep under a different pile of cardboard every night. Luckily, I have a bright enough aura to be seen from the narrow alleyway covered with trash.
But enough about that. The past is behind us, life is here and now, we can influence the future, but it doesn't always go as planned. That's why I decided to change the subject and ask who drinks or possibly bathes in 96% wine. The answer is that no one drinks it, and my question's other part is correct. I would get to meet these mysterious bathers, Twirppies. A new batch of “bath water” had just arrived, and I had helped move the load. “Colors that bounce around” was the best the couple could do when describing this species.
When I returned to the café, Winston told me to just wait. Twirppies are something that cannot be explained, but must be seen. And experienced. Babaru, Wurp, and especially Pearl didn’t enlighten me any further, no matter how much I asked. Gwendy (name given by Pearl), the music player living inside the jukebox, told me a little more. The fact that I know Twirppies are cosmic and colorful birds didn't exactly quench my thirst for curiosity. Well, I'm used to waiting.
The first space walk was very rich in terms of both events and discussions. Now I also understand better why there is a constant low hum here in my quarters and café. Something that could be heard in a cruise ship's cabin. The café uses Spongi (Cook's species) devices to create an artificial gravity of 0.8G, even though outside it is only around 0.05G. That's quite a lot for such a small moon, but it got its own explanation and a secret. Perhaps this too will become clear to me once I get more of that much-talked-about hang of things.
Till next time.
- Johnny