1917

JESSE

I didn’t know what to tell the man in front of me. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t interested by his prospect, but that was a weighty proposal. Travel to space. What kind of place was it? I didn’t know, and I’m sure Isa didn’t know either. She loves playing outside, I try to show her all the coolest spots I played at when I was her age—we have a wooded area back outside of our house that leads to a clearing where I made my hideout in a giant tree right in the center of the clearing.

I’m sure that she’d love to hear stories about the place off of our planet. Of course, that comes with the moment where reality bursts back to the forefront of my mind. How could this man know of a way to see what is out there when nobody else could?

“My, your mind is quite the inquisitive one,” the man named Friedrich says. “It reminds me of my own. I had questions long, long ago”

“So...you can really get to space?”

He laughs, “Most in your place would ask how they could get back home to their loved ones.”

“Most don’t consider how this could be good for all,” I say.

“Oh, do explain. I already know your answer, but I’d love to hear you say it.”

I smile. “My parents treat me like I’m fragile. My sister loves stories about adventure. I don’t care to go to school tomorrow. It’s a win/win/win.”

The smile remains on his face and disappears briefly after. “All right, works for me. So, here’s our plan.”

That was how he did things. We do this, this, and you do this part. Don’t worry about failing...I know you succeed. He knew everything. I didn’t believe much at first, but I got over that after I remembered I walked through a portal to Germany. I didn’t mention that initially, because I was so preoccupied with the man more than the surroundings, but yeah. I’m in Germany, and it’s amazing. I have to bring Isa someday.

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Mom and Dad can stay back and watch over the house, they’d just tell us not to do all the fun things. I’m not going to be like that when I grow up, I asked Friedrich. He told me that I was going to be much better than that, and then he smiled. I liked it when he smiled.

He tells me that I’ll be ready to go to space in twenty years. I groaned and moaned as anybody would when told that, but he told me everything about it, which helped the wait...I guess. I’d be getting inside this metal ship that uses explosives to propel itself upward into the sky, he tells me that nobody else knows about it yet, so I shouldn’t tell anybody about it. I asked him if I could tell you, and he said it was fine, because you come from a time where people already know about it. I didn’t get what he meant, but I shrugged it off and assume you know what he meant more than I do.

I spent almost half a day with Friedrich, learning more than I ever did at school from him—but he told me I did have to go back. I’d be considered a missing person if my parents found out I was gone and police would be searching everywhere. Of course, they wouldn’t find him in Germany, but Friedrich knows that I care for Isa, and I can’t well just appear out of nowhere to see her if there’s a manhunt for me.

The cost of all of this fun is that I do have to go to school, and without any sleep, no less. The thing is, though, is that even if I had the eight hours available to me I’d be too excited to sleep a wink. I look at the portal in front of me—it’s been here the whole time, so much that I’ve gotten used to its existence. Huh, what a strange thing for a young boy to say. I walk on through and notice that my cherry tree alarm clock begins ringing on my table just beside my bed. 6:30, huh? Well, it could be worse. It could always be worse. That was something Friedrich taught me, and I know it sounds like I’m going total googoo over the man, but I want to let it be known here that I’m simply appreciating the fact that I’m being mentored by a man who knows everything so that he can bring me to space before anybody else. I’m going to be the very first...he called it...astronaut. I don’t know the word so I’m just going to use it there and just say I’m going to explore space. Forgive me for being excited.

I can’t tell Isa just yet, I don’t want her getting to excited too early and telling Mom and Dad. I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to stop me from going back to see him—considering he can call me to him at any point and place, but it’d be much less of a headache. Well, I better get my nice clothes on and get ready for the day. Only twenty something years left. Time for school...I guess.