Goodbye

Curly brown locks bounce as the boy runs down the walkway. In his hand is a toy spaceship with lights and buttons. The boy wears a tracksuit uniform; he is five years old. Blake Sharp is his name. Onboard the magnificent spaceship he runs. On the sides of the walkway are windows made with thick, flexible material.

Rays of sunshine light the walkway. Docked at a station along with several other spacecraft is the Magnificent. Its grey body blends well with the other spacecraft. Around them is air in the stratosphere of a planet. The planet below them is emerald and aqua known as Planet Keet. Planet Keet has two moons. The daylight hours are twenty-six hours.

Throughout the Magnificent are various parts of the ship. One part is the bedrooms. Room sixteen is open, on the side table is a single ticket, the room has two occupants: Black Sharp and Jonah Sharp. Jonah Sharp, a man in his early thirties, is the father of Blake. Jonah packs the last of his clothes and his son's clothes in two packs hiding them in the wardrobe. Shuffling papers into file folders, Jonah prepares himself for departure, a scientific task. He does not know when or if he will see Blake again. Tears threaten to fall from Jonah's eyes as they accumulate. Distracting himself from today's work, Jonah sits down at the table. Turning on his handheld, he opens work documents and messages. He is needed at the gardening center.

Closing the door behind him, Jonah heads out of the bedroom area into the main hallway. Two right and down the hallway Jonah reaches the gardening center. Opening the door he is greeted by the smell of oxygen-rich air. Jonah walks over to the tomatoes to inspect them. A shadow walks behind him.

"Professor Sharp, I am glad you came by, how are the tomatoes looking?"

Johan Sharp turns around to see his colleague Professor Brussel carrying fertilizer.

"I believe I can make a special serum for these tomatoes, once I run a test on a sample in my lab."

"Splendid, I will let you work."

Jonah retrieves a sample from tomato and walks to his lab to commence work. Before work, he sends a message to Blake.

Blake looks down at his watch which displays the word ROOM. His father taught him to signal him to go to the room.

Blake can find his way around the Magnificent fine. He reached room sixteen. Blake sits down on the table and takes out a handheld device. He opened an application to start his schoolwork. His father had instructed him to finish his work as an event was happening later that evening. Blake played with letters and numbers.

Jonah slid some slides of tomatoes under the microscope for inspection. He turned the knobs on the side to get a better view. So that was the problem. He went to the chemicals worktable and started diluting chemicals in test tubes. Minutes later he had a new substance created. This would help the tomatoes. He wrote the recipe in his handheld work tab and sent the substance to Professor Brussel through tube mail vents. Jonah takes a heart-shaped necklace and a bracelet with heart charms from his pocket. He goes to his work table to fiddle with them.

After completing his work Jonah walks to his room. He opens the door and finds Blake sitting on the desk. Jonah greets his son and puts away his work supplies.

“It's time for a shower Blake, we have somewhere to be in an hour,” says Jonah.

“Where are we going, dad?” Ask Blake.

“A wedding,” says Jonah.

Jonah left out their formal wear in the wardrobe. It's a good thing Blake did not check the wardrobe or ask about the bags. Blake got out of the shower and into the suit and bow tie his father laid out for him. Jonah took a quick shower and changed into his suit and tie. The two of them walked hallways down into the conference room.

Holograms of flower adornments filled every corner of the room. Silk drapes hung from the ceiling in a magenta color to match the flowers. The bridesmaids also wore magenta-colored dresses. Easily spotted is the bride in an elegant white dress. Jonah went to congratulate the bride and groom who were together. The vows had already been said earlier in the ceremony as this was a food and dance reception. Jonah led Blake to a table and they served themselves food. The ship cook had really outdone himself.

Soon music started to play as tables were moved to make space for the dancing people. Men, women, and children moved to the music. The music filled the room from the speakers overhead. Professor Brussel asked Jonah to dance. The reception ended as the music faded. Jonah and Blake headed back to their room and changed into their pajamas. Jonah could hardly sleep. The next day was the farewell day at the docking station. He felt his heart swell in his chest.

It was morning, Jonah dressed Blake in plain clothes. He took out the bags from the wardrobe and included the handheld devices in each bag.

“Dad, what are those for?” Ask Blake.

“You will see, come with me this goodbye for now Blake,” says Jonah

“What do you mean dad?” Ask Blake.

Jonah takes Blake's arm and leads him to the docking station. It is at the far end of the ship. They are met by a tall man in a black uniform.

“You will be going with my friend Rex there,” Jonah says, pointing to the tall man.

“No dad, I want to stay with you!” says Blake.

“Listen Blake do as I tell you, remember to find me and follow your heart and put the heart necklace around Blake's neck,” says Jonah.

Jonah goes through the docking exit and boards a spacecraft. Rex takes Blake’s hand and leads him to a spaceship that is docked next to the Magnificent. Blake looks out the window of his new room as the ship the Oasis leaves Planet Keet.