You see the library unfold before your eyes. The corners of the room snap together like a diorama. You're cradled up on a red bean bag chair with a book titled “The Large Scale Structure of Space Time.” Devon, is just walking back with a smaller book in his hand, you cannot make out the title. An older man sits off in a corner reading by himself. The only other person you see is the librarian on the far end of the room just past the shelves with a magazine propped open on the desk in front of her.

What catches your attention is that you can see the young boy's face. He looks to be ten or eleven years old. He has a short and stumpy nose that curves down near the end, bright blue eyes and a crooked front tooth from when you two played dodge ball in school. Your name is Alex...you were best friends with Devon...his last name escapes you. You think hard on it and then it finally comes to you, Campton. Devon Campton.

He lived a few blocks down from you...in San Diego. You lived in San Diego. Your name is Alex...Sharpe. Your head hurts, it doesn't all come back, but it does in chunks and at the same time you feel relieved. There are still noticeable gaps in your history, but you know your name. Yours and Devon's.

“All of the other ones on the shelves were too confusing for me,” Devon's voice calls out, bringing you back to focus on the memory.

“What book did you get?” You ask.

“The Martian Chronicles.”

“Dev, that's science fiction! That won't help us get to space!”

“I told you there wasn't anything else I could understand!” He says, prompting a hushing sound from the librarian reading a magazine at the other end of the room. The older man peeks out from his book and stares at your younger self and Devon. It gives you chills. He returns to his reading.

“What do you have there?” Devon asks, sitting down beside you.

“It's a book on space and time, at least that's what I think.”

“How are you going to understand that?”

“I don't know, I just thought something this big would help. It looks like a smart book, that's how people get to space, right? They're smart.”

“You have to be able to understand it first, dummy.”

“Ugh, this was a stupid idea. We shouldn't have skipped school for this.”

“Come on Alex, you can't give up that easily. Your parents haven't been the same since they lost your sister. Don't you want to find her? Find out who she is?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well then come on, put that stupid book away and let's go find a better one.”

“Excuse me,” you see the man in the corner look up from his book once more. “I seemed to overhear your conversation and it piqued my interest. You two are interested in heading to space?”

Devon's eyes light up at the recognition, “Oh boy yes!”

“Come on, Devon. We don't know this guy,” you say.

“It's to look for your sister, right? Forgive me my intrusion, but how did she manage to make it all the way up there? I'm a science professor, so I happen to know a little bit about space and am just curious.”

“See, Alex? This could actually be way better than looking in those dinky books, maybe we could ask this guy about it.”

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

“I don't like this.”

“C'mon, let's just ask him some stuff. There's nothing wrong with that, right? Maybe he can even help us if we tell him about it, okay?”

“I guess so.”

Devon's eyes go wide as he grabs you by the arm and drags you across the room. You notice that you dropped the book you were holding and it lands on the bean bag chair and sinks deep into the recesses. The man puts his book down as you both approach. He's a relatively small man, his head full of bushy brown hair and a big nose undercutting his hazel eyes.

“So, you see,” Devon begins, “Alex here was going to have a sister. That is until one day they lost her. I don't think we were supposed to know then, but we mistook it for something else entirely. This was a few years ago.”

“Is there something special with that period of time?” He asks.

“If it had been that long wouldn't they have found her by now?”

A flash of recognition passes in the man's eyes, “Oh, I'm sorry, I seem to have mistaken-”

“I mean, Alex's parents haven't so much as talked about it since it happened! I mean I know it's bad to lose a kid but they've gone completely silent about it! So, we've been thinking, where could a kid go if they got lost? Where would be the perfect hiding spot if you never wanted to be found? Space!” Devon cuts in.

The man is silent.

“So you see, we've been trying to find out anything and everything that we can to get to space. Maybe if we can find a way to get to space then we can find out where Alex's sister is!”

“I...see. And so that is why you were searching through those books on space,” the man says.

“Yeah...” you quietly reply.

“Can you help us? You're a professor of science, right? What do you know about space?”

The man seems to think before answering. You don't like that, you remember not liking that, like he wanted to find the right answer that you wanted to hear. “Space is a very large place, for starters. Some even think that it is almost like the ocean in a way. You know of the ocean, right?” He asks.

“Yeah, the ocean is big and blue,” you say.

“And it has a ton of fish!” Devon says.

“Right, well, some believe that the ocean and space are similar because they are a sort of bridge. Like how each of the bits of land on earth are separated by the oceans, right?”

“Do you believe that space is like that?” You ask.

“I do. I believe that somewhere beyond space there is more life. There are theories about aliens and other creatures living beyond our own planet, and maybe that's where your sister has gone off to,” he winks.

This seems to almost be too much for Devon, he starts bouncing up and down chanting some sort of “I knew it” over and over. “See, Alex? I knew there was some chance that she was out there!” You realize the idiocy of the claim, but remember that to a ten year old this must sound like concrete proof. This idea of life beyond the stars, of course it's crazy.

But then again...is it?

You know that life goes back beyond the stars, that there's something else out there...a lot of somethings actually. But of course you also realize what it meant by “losing a child.” You aren't stupid, but also, you aren't ten. You see almost a spark of hope in your ten your old self. You realize you now can see your own face. It fills you with a warm feeling inside, like finding an old picture book from ages ago, but living itself out before your eyes. You have green eyes and a small soft nose. Lips pursed as you consider this claim of extraterrestrial life.

“Unfortunately, I have a tutoring appointment with one of my students in fifteen minutes, so I have to get going, but if you're ever interested in learning more about space you can come by one of my classes. They're for all ages,” he says, standing out of the chair.

“Oh no, we cannot do that. We aren't even supposed to be here today, sir,” you say.

“I suspected as much, two kids not in school at this hour, but at least you're learning. That's one thing,” he laughs. “My classes are held on the weekends, specifically to help teenagers who can't make it during the week, but if your parents were willing to give you a ride my classroom is in town. I teach all kinds of wonderful things to those who want to learn, and sometimes we even learn new things. Maybe with all that you've learned we could even learn where your sister has gone off to,” he says.

Devon makes a humming sort of sound and brings his hand up to his chin, “Well, I'd have to ask my mom about that one, what is your name? I can ask if she thinks you're a good teacher.”

The man smiles a toothy grin, “The name's Mr. Marshall.”