Chapter 4

Day 12,482: I had nothing much to do so I started reading old logs made by my Father. I wanted to know how he spent his days back when he had breaks. Since working in space while moving FTL is super tiring, not that I know how easy it is living on a planet, we had a lot of staff working the same job with tons of resting period in between. Before I took on my father's position, I had a lot of studying to do so I usually did not have much free time. But now it's all free time between shifts.

Day 4: Well my days off are over for now so it's back to the helm for me. We work in pairs for 12 hour shifts then it is rest for the next 2 and 1/2 days. Though the ship mostly moves in a straight path, we have to do minor course adjustments to avoid any star system in our path. And we also have to make sure we stay on the correct course.

Sometimes we might have to do the adjustment to avoid a star light years away because it got flung around by a nearby blackhole. It takes so much calculation to predict the course that this job is more of a mathematician or a physicist than that of a pilot.

Day 5: I decided to go around the ship again as I had nothing to do. I should familiarize myself with the rest of the crew so I decided to talk to people I meet while going around. I met Matt from the hygiene dept., Tori from the farm, Josh who was incharge of the water treatment plant. Josh was such a funny guy and really cheered up the people around him.

As I was going around, I came across the ship's school area. It is supposed to come into operation after few years when there are new crew members, the first humans born aboard a FTL spaceship. But it's supposed to be empty for the time being. but I could hear a voice coming from within. So I decided to take a look inside. And there I saw HER!!!

A woman with long beautiful curls and spectacles was standing in front of an classroom and was teaching Biology to an empty class. I don't know why but I found it strangely attractive. Maybe she noticed me standing at the door staring at her with wide eyes like a child, she suddenly stopped her lecture and tried to cover her face while her cheeks turned red.

I apologized for interrupting her and introduced myself. She was Sharon, the Biology teacher for the ship's school. Since the school was currently not operational, she felt bored with nothing to do so she came to the class and pretended to give a lecture.

We sat in the class and talked for a while. We talked about our lives before joining the space travel program. We talked about how our families were against us joining because they would never be able to see their child again. We found many common things to talk about and I felt like we had some sort of connection.

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I invited her to join me on my walk around the ship since we both had nothing to do most of the time. She agreed so I guess it's a date. But honestly I shouldn't get ahead of myself.

OMG!! Father met Mother after the launch of the ship!! I always thought they knew each other before they got on the ship. And father fell in love at first sight!! I must share this juicy info with Dum-Dum(brother) later.

Day 6, 9 A.M: Today I go on a date with Sharon. It's more of a friendly walk honestly but a man can dream, right?? I will update more after I return.

5 P.M: It was definitely a friendly walk. I picked up Sharon from her residence and we went on a leisurely walk around the most beautiful areas in the ship. There is a park filled with green grass and lush trees in the central level. Reminds me of Earth. Many people come around here for a change in pace and to relax after a long day of work. This trip is going to be long so we have to maintain our mental health. There are other places to relax but we will get there later.

We sat on a bench by the park and talked some more. A funny statement of mine made her laugh and I absolutely fell in love with her smile. So I was trying to be more funny. But I'm not usually funny and I might made some awkward jokes. She laughed at them anyway so it was a win.

We grabbed a bite at the cafeteria and went to the top layer where there is a large glass installed for the crew to be able to view outside. You would think that you won't be able to see anything outside while travelling FTL but that is true only for objects you are travelling away from. But you can still see everything else. The stars to the side appear as streaks of light and the stars that we are headed towards appear bluish due to blue shift. It was such an incredible view that both of us sat there staring into the depths of space without uttering a word. Without knowing, it was already 4P.M so we decided to head back as I had a shift the next day.

Day 7: My shift seemed a lot longer today. I couldn't help but think about Sharon all day. She did say that she would like to spend another day with me someday. I'm way too excited for that day.

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Day 178: Today I mustered up the courage to ask Sharon to become my girlfriend. She agreed. I'm the happiest man on the ship today.

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Day 812: Today I am asking Sharon to Marry me. I'm planning to propose in front of the window while a supernova explodes in the background. Let's see how it goes.

Update: She said yes!!!

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Day 840: Sharon and I got married today. It was a small ceremony involving few close friends. I wish our parents were here to give us their blessings. Today, we start our new life.

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Day 1230: Sharon gave birth to our daughter today. I'm so happy that I can't stop crying. Past me could never have imagined that being happier was even possible. We decided to name our little one June.

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Day 1572: We welcomed another young member of our family. Sharon says he looks just like a mini version of me. We named him August. I feel like my family is finally complete and i have peaked in life.

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Day 2310: My little June started her first day of school today. She was crying so much when we dropped her off to school but she started grinning from ear to ear when she realized her mother was also going to the same school as her.