Ticket to Tomorrow

My life was a blast, I'd spent most of it traveling the world. That's because both my parents were both world-renowned naturalists. This meant I hardly ever went to regular school, and when I did, I wasn't a good fit, and consequently, I'd learnt most of what I know from them. It wasn't exactly a home school, but whenever I did attend school, I was always put speed if not ahead in the core subjects.

However, this summer, my parents decided it was time for me, not to learn from the curriculum, but how to mix with kids of my own age. They enrolled me at there favoured mixed boarding school, they didn't want me to have a 'Who knows who', type of education, and become part of an 'Old Boys' network. They were also adamant about my need to know there were two equal sexes, inhabiting this planet, both sharing responsibility for its ecology. I didn't completely understand why this was necessary, because that's the way Mum and Dad had always dealt with things and naively didn't know it could be considered any other way.

As for the school, they chose, I wouldn't say it was boring, but it's not quite deep-sea diving off Seychelles or swimming with whales. But, by the end of the term, I was finally beginning to settle in and had even developed a friendship with a particularly interesting girl, who like me had parents overseas. We were going to break for the end of the term when the awful news came, I was rushed home from school, to be told my parents and their Diving Bell had not returned from a dive off the coast of Venezuela, near its capital Caracas. Apparently, there was no hope of survival, the Diving Bell had broken free of the tender, and lost its oxygen and air supply.

I didn't want to believe it was true, it was like a horrible dream, I went into emotional shock, and never returned to school. Thankfully, Jerry and Casandra, my parent's best friends cared for me and were amazingly understanding. They became my surrogate parents, and dealt with every little detail, including contacting my parents next of kin. It took several weeks before news arrived, confirming that my father's elder brother, my only surviving relative, was going to take me in. Having finally settled in at school, my personal preference was to stay with Jerry and Casandra, but being only twelve years old, what I wanted didn't matter.

I never got the chance to wish my new friend farewell and was surprised, how distressing this was. My troubled mind considered the possibility I'd never see Stephanie again and I wondered if I'd spend the rest of my life thinking, what if. I hoped she'd understand and wouldn't feel bad of me, in fact even though only twelve, my feelings were way deeper than that.

My uncle Henry mined rare opals in the Australian Outback, it's not the easiest of life choices, and where he and his family live, is virtually a desert, it's called Coober Pedy, a very strange name. I searched for it on Google, and to be honest, I wasn't inspired, but as my parents used to say, 'don't trust a book by its cover'. With those words in mind, I decided it was best to give it, 'the benefit of the doubt' and do my best to make the most of it.

It was some time before things were sorted out, but relatively uncomplicated as my parents left a will. When read, apart from some funding left for my uncle to care for me, everything they owned was left in trust, to me. It was to be managed by the solicitor, and Jerry and Casandra, who were its trustee's. They also made the clause, that if things didn't work out with my uncle, that Jerry and Casandra would become my legal guardians, and if I agreed, they'd adopt me.

The tickets for my flight, ordered on the Internet had finally arrived, the journey was going to take over twenty-four hours, with several pickups and drop-offs along the way, fortunately for me, there was no disembarking and overnight stays, to negotiate.

Jerry and Casandra accompanied me to Heathrow, where we said our goodbyes and shared tears, in the coffee shop, then loud and clear, we heard the call to board. Apart from my parents passing, these were the most difficult and emotional moments, I'd experienced. Casandra burst into tears again, followed quickly by Jerry and me, we stood there in a huddle, sobbing our hearts out, and didn't stop until we heard the final call.

Casandra held my hand, not letting go, hanging on to my fingertips, until slipping from her grasp. Not another word was spoken, as I stepped onto the escalator, and took my first baby steps on this journey I must make alone.

By the time we boarded it was dark, the aircraft was bathed in light, it was monstrous, I'd never seen anything like it, it was humungous. It was an Airbus A380, and it was impossible to imagine how something so large, could possibly, launch itself into the sky.

There were hundreds of passengers boarding the aircraft, it was manic like I'd imagined it to be at a pop concert, having never been. When I finally stepped on board I was politely asked if I could step to one side, being a child alone, they asked if I would like to go First Class. I pictured what my parents might say about this decadence, but that thought lasted barely a second and I eagerly accepted their offer.

It was absolutely stunning, equipped with everything you could need, I could even make calls in flight, and couldn't wait to ring Jerry and Casandra and let them know of my good fortune. Maybe another hour went by before we took off, to pass the time I sat in my booth playing games and awaited the message, that it was Okay to make calls.

I was on the phone talking excitedly when a familiar faced peeked over the wall of my booth, it was Stephanie, she said.

"I'd know that voice anywhere."

Squealing in delight, she adds.

"Finish your call and we'll talk."

I was instantly excited at the prospect of us sharing the same flight, going to Australia suddenly didn't feel quite so daunting.

When we finally got to talk, the subject of where we were going was the last thing on our minds. Knowing that Stephanie's parents were overseas I assumed they were in Australia and she was paying them a visit in the summer break.

Even when we shared the names of our destinations, we never asked questions, just commented that they were both strange sounding names and left it at that.

It was getting late and the Steward told us it was time to dim our lights and get some rest. Stephanie reached out across the aisle and squeezed my hand, tightly, in the way people who care about you do. I returned this obvious sign of affection, by wishing her good night, god bless sweet dreams. The smile on her face was all I needed, and I don't remember letting go of her hand or falling asleep.

When we awoke, we were still holding hands, but no longer on the aircraft, we were in a room filled with perfect lightness, and it took a while for our eyes to adjust.

Here's where I cut a long story short.

After lengthy discussion and debate, it transpired that we among several hundred people that were passengers onboard a totally automated, galactic space transporter. Apparently, we'd all been selected because of the skills and qualities we develop, in a future that we will no longer have. This was a fact, now written in tablets of stone as our journey had taken us one hundred years. This happened whilst we were held in some form stasis, during which we had been slowly genetically modified, to accommodate life on an Earth-like planet.

It seems that some time in what was our future the earth we knew, would rapidly decay, almost to the point of annihilation. The messengers who'd brought us here were from the future, not earth's, but ours. They had been charged with ensuring that a viable human colony evolved, that would return to Earth one day return to resurrect the dead planet. It seems that even in the future, it was not possible for a biological organism to travel through time, hence the fully automated ship. The messengers made it clear, that on planet preparations were already underway and there would be others awaiting our arrival.

You might consider this a daunting prospect; however, we had been chosen wisely and even though many were of a young age, we completely comprehended and welcomed the challenge we had been set.

The time land had now arrived, something the ship did without the slightest bump, the circular section in which we were seated, lowered from the ship and merged with the floor below. Our party was greeted by dozens of welcoming faces.

Stephanie and I, still hand in hand walked from the ship and what a surprise it was to be met by our parents, we were both overwhelmed and overjoyed. I began to wonder if this was an elaborate dream, for this couldn't be true, as my parents were dead. But, there they were, welcoming us with outstretched arms and eyes stained with tears of joy. It was impossible to resist, we looked into each other's eyes and spontaneously ran into their waiting arms.

© 2019