Long Journey Home

Posted on Mon Sep 26th, 2011 @ 8:36pm by Jono Rafaelas

The day I left Earth was the most exciting day of my life. I was going half way across the galaxy to begin a new life on a city floating in space and I could not wait to get there. My anticipation had been mounting for weeks during which time I had put my affairs in order and had said goodbye to friends and family. By far, the hardest family members to say goodbye to were my parents. After expressing to them just how much I wanted, and how hard I had worked for years, to be able to go into space, they understood and accepted my decision. Ever the loving and supportive parents, they were all smiles and shared excitement once they realized how important it was to me. So too were my sister Ninfa and brother Martin for their little brother. My sister Flor, on the other hand, could not accept it. Flor was barely a year older than I was and we were very much alike. We grew up right next to each other. I know she must have been angry with me and hurt. She would not see me although I tried many times to see her before I left.

On the day of my departure things happened quickly. I woke early and got ready to leave. Having decided there was very little in the way of material possessions I needed to take with me, I grabbed my only suitcase in one hand and the lady of my life, Alia, in the other. Lying in her crate, Alia looked calm and collected as only a cat can; not even the transport to the shuttle pad seemed to faze her.

Upon arrival at the shuttle bay, I saw my parents there waiting to see me off. We had said everything we needed to the night before at a farewell dinner given in my honor so we sat mostly in silence for the few minutes before I boarded. Looking back, I know now they were nervous. I was just too excited and nervous about the trip to notice. After all, I was a thirty-year-old man who had been taking care of himself for a long time not a child about to experience his first day of school. I saw no reason for them to worry about me. Nevertheless, my mother did ask me three times if I had remembered to pack everything I needed and my father asked me several questions about the Starbase that he already knew the answers to, just to help the time pass. When the time came for me to board, we hugged and my father gave me "just a little going away present" as he described it. I kissed my mother's cheek, said "Goodbye" and "I'll keep in touch" to both of them and I was off to board the shuttle. I did not know why at the time because I had been on a few shuttles in my time but my heart was racing and my knees felt like rubber for some reason so I hurried on board to find my seat.

With all the pre-flight going on for what seemed like forever and my own nervous energy racing through my body, I was suddenly surprised and somewhat amused to hear purring all of a sudden. Looking into the crate sitting on the seat next to me, I saw Alia calmly sitting there like the Sphinx. She seemed oblivious to it all. Next to the crate was the gift my father had given to me. How it got there onto the seat next to me I could not remember. At that point, I could not even remember carrying Alia's crate onto the shuttle but I must have. It was obvious my father's gift was something rolled up and put inside a tube. I thought it must be a picture or an old poster of some sort. I un-wrapped it and was immediately taken aback.

All my life I had seen this map in my parent's home. Many times, my father caught me staring at it. It wasn't very old and didn't seem to have much value so I asked him once why he bothered to frame it so elaborately and place it in such a prominent position on the wall in his study? He said, "Because what it represents is an incredibly wondrous achievement. Don't you think so son? That man's knowledge and understanding has reached such an incredible distance is truly wondrous." It was a map of the known galaxy. On it were all the places man had discovered up to that point. I stared at it again, just like I used to when I was a boy. There was the Klingon Empire, Romulan, there were the Badlands, for some reason they always made me think of the ancient west, and the Delta quadrant and at the other end of the map was Earth. Written on the map next to Earth, in my fathers own hand and in the old style, was, NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU COME FROM. At that moment, I realized I might never see my parents, my family or my beloved Earth ever again. So enthralled I had been by the map that when I finally did look up and then out the window of the shuttle, it was only to catch a slight glimpse of my parents standing next to the pad waving goodbye and feigning a happy smile for my benefit. So loving and supportive they had always been I wondered if they would ever know how much I appreciated them.

Pondering all I had left behind, the first hour of my journey seemed to fly by. If only the next four weeks would go as quick, so eager I was to get to my new restaurant on Starbase 900, my new home.