365 Days of Writing: Day 7

The Rocketship

*Write about a rocket ship on its way to the moon or a distant galaxy far, far, away.*

It hit Sam suddenly that he was living his childhood dream.  In less than five minutes, Albatross I would be clear of Earth's exosphere.  He would be in "outer space."

He smiled at the thought and remembered how he'd use to go around the house pretending to be an astronaut.  He'd draw pictures of the aliens and lifeforms that he'd discovered.  Sam knew that he wouldn't see any of those things now, but his heart raced at the possibilities of, "what if."

The silence once they reached space was overwhelming.  The stars were so close yet remained so far away.  It was breathtaking and beautiful.  There were no words that could express what he saw at that moment.

Jones let out an excited "Woohoo!" and slapped Sam on the shoulder.  The effects were slowed down with zero gravity, but Same smiled and laughed along with his comrade.

After they double checked the ships functions and checked in with command, the two sat back and enjoyed the vastness of the horizon.  There was no end to it. 

They would orbit the moon for a day or so before heading towards Jupiter.   Part of Sam just wanted to keep going.  To Hell with the mission.  How far could they explore with the resources they had? What would they find out there in the great unknown?

Sam thought of the young boys and girls who looked at the night sky in awe.  One day it would be their turn.  One day they would live their dream.  He was jealous of those that would forge ahead and be able to wander around the surfaces of these planets safely.  He marveled at the concept of one day, perhaps hundreds or thousands of years from now, people actually inhabiting these places.  He wished that he would be able to witness that in his lifetime, but even with all the advances in science, living in space was still too far away.