«Geez, and you call it long?» Jordan joked.
«I’m sorry, you’re right. Sometimes I forget that you’ve travelled for six months. Therefore it will be a short trip of sixteen hours.»
«The real question is» Anna began with a serious tone, «How are we going to leave this place?»
Aurora Wolter made a face.
«The same way you got here, of course. By helicopter.»
Jordan and Anna exchanged looks. First of all Jordan wondered what a helicopter was and eventually the image of a vehicle with a huge propeller took shape in his mind. He had studied that genre of transportation in some classes of engineering and technology at the Aresland. An already familiar sensation of adrenaline ran through him at the idea of flying first on a helicopter and then on an airplane.
«And precisely what’s the destination?» the girl still asked.
«We’ll land at the Houston airport and a private shuttle will bring us to the Johnson Space Centre, it’ll take half an hour.»
They both nodded their understanding.
«So, now I’ll let you finish your meal in peace. After that go to your rooms to check if you have to take anything even if I doubt it since you arrived without any baggage» she chuckled, «And at ten to three we’ll meet in front of the exit to wait for the helicopter, okay?»
They both nodded again and doctor Wolter walked away. Jordan sighed and returned with his gaze on his meat. He hesitated, then looked at Anna, who was still staring at him with a face.
«I’m not missing the hens!» he screamed in a whisper.
At 1:55 pm, Jordan was in front of the exit, all wrapped up in sweaters, jumpers and jackets to get out. After lunch he had returned to his room as Aurora Wolter had suggested and, effectively, he didn’t find much to take away, apart from the photograph with his mother that had travelled so far with him. Among all those recent happenings, he had almost forgotten. He sat on his bed with the picture in his hands, as he was used to do at the Aresland occasionally. He had no idea of where she was, but at least now he was certain they were both on the same planet, which was already something. He wondered what was she doing, if she was thinking about him, if maybe she was waiting for him somewhere. He didn’t know if and when was he going to meet his mum again, he could not imagine the moment. He felt nothing but shivers every time he tried. The flow of his thoughts was then interrupted by a lady whose head appeared around the door to ask if she could enter to clean. He answered affirmatively right away and, with the picture hidden in his hoodie, he headed to the ground floor.
They got outside and Jordan struggled to keep his eyes open in the light of the early afternoon. He kept his gaze low until a merciful hand appeared in his line of sight with a pair of sunglasses, that he took and put on right away. He sincerely thanked doctor Huber next to him.
«How are you, guys? Are you ready?» doctor Wolter asked with a smile.
«Yep, we’re always ready» Jordan replied and Anna smiled at him.
The wait wasn’t long, soon they heard the rumble of an engine getting closer from above. A dark dot became eventually bigger and noisier. The propellers whirled rapidly, creating a strong air movement while it descended ten meters away from them.
When the wheels touched down on the snow, a hatch opened letting out a figure who motioned for them to approach the helicopter. He was pushed forward by an arm and he walked towards that deafening and storming vehicle together with Anna and the two physicians. He was grabbed by that dark man and literally pulled inside, followed by the other three, who underwent the same treatment. As soon as the hatch was closed, the air ceased and the roar attenuated. Without figuring out how, Jordan found himself sitting in a small seat and bounded with a safety belt. There was Anna next to him, while Wolter and Huber were in front of them. The mysterious dark man had disappeared in the cockpit.
On the right and on the left of the passengers there were two big windows offering an excellent view. Slowly the rumble of the engine intensified and they lifted from the ground, going higher and higher, before moving forward with a smooth movement. Someone squeezed his hand and he turned to see it was Anna, but her gaze was lost outside the window. He thought maybe she hadn’t even realized that act. He noticed the two physicians observing them with knowingly smiles and Jordan suddenly wished he could disappear inside the seat. But unluckily it didn’t happen, therefore he simply lost his gaze outside the window as well, in order to enjoy the expanse of white mountains running under them.
As the minutes passed, their eyes couldn’t move away from what was there outside the windows. As they went forward, the mountains became always less pronounced until they totally disappeared, leaving room to small settlements that seemed to converge in a big cluster of houses and buildings, always denser and always taller. Almost suddenly everything became grey and flat, in the distance he thought he saw the silhouette of airplanes parked next to a huge building and therefore he realized they had to be close.
«We’re almost there» Aurora Wolter announced simultaneously with his thoughts.
The helicopter lowered as they approached the main structure and finally touched the asphalt gently before turning off the engines.
«Anna, Jordan» doctor Huber recalled their attention, he had taken out of a pocket what looked like two white bands. «Here, wear these in front of your mouth and cover your nose too.»
They grabbed those masks and followed the order silently.
«Why do we have to keep these?» Jordan asked.
«The air’s not as clean as in mountain here, not to mention in this airport. A little precaution» the physician replied quickly while they jumped off the helicopter.
A kind of rover, that was actually called shuttle bus, carried them to an isolated airplane, slightly smaller than the others. Jordan noticed NASA’s logo on the white tail. They got onboard through a flight of stairs that would pull away before the lift-off procedures and Jordan and Anna took their seats next to two portholes, meanwhile they took off the masks, since they didn’t need them anymore. Jordan felt his heart pounding in his chest. The entire airplane was vibrating, showing that the engines were already on. A warning light turned on inviting them to buckle their seatbelts and Jordan did it immediately. Anna was sitting behind him, while doctor Wolter and doctor Huber were on the other side.
«Everything good back there?» Jordan asked addressing Anna.
«Never been better» the girl’s voice answered.
«Ready to launch?»
The girl giggled.
«Affirmative, commander.»
Right then the airplane began to move and went on the runway track. The engines roared louder. Jordan was taken by a sense of excitement and nervousness, until suddenly he was pressed against his seat, once again, and the airplane started at full speed. His head felt suddenly heavier when the airplane pulled away from the track and hovered in the air. Observing the ground becoming far he almost laughed at himself for having been nervous. That was nothing compared to a launch onboard Argus.
After about three hours that Jordan saw nothing but water or clouds, he fell asleep and slept for the rest of the trip. He was awakened by doctor Wolter right before the landing in Houston, during which Jordan was only half awake, recovering from those six hours of intense sleep. He completely reawakened again as soon as he felt warm air caressing his face. His gaze searched for Anna and he noticed a tired look on her face as well. The darkness of the night was illuminated by the lights of the airport.
«What time is it?» Jordan asked with a husky voice.
«Ten thirty» Anna Wolter replied. «You alright?»
The two simply nodded and soon they were loaded on a small shuttle bus with few seats. Jordan leaned his head against the window and sat like that for the following half an hour, with his gaze lost outside, where he saw nothing but a confusion of near and far lights in the darkness. He wasn’t sleepy anymore, but still he had to admit he felt tired after that trip. Without realizing it, he dozed off
again, but that time he felt like he was woken up right away. He noticed Anna had fallen asleep again, her head resting on his shoulder.
«Guys, wake up, we’re almost there» it was Wolter’s kind voice.
Jordan sat straighter and Anna did the same, passing her hands on her face. She had her hair all messed up.
«Five minutes till we get there» she continued, «I know you’re tired, but… Maybe try to make yourself presentable. You may happen to meet NASA’s administrator or other personalities who’ve been following your mission – I mean, your life – since the very beginning.»
Jordan nodded and frantically shook his hands in his hair in order to mess it up even more, now all the strands were shot in every direction. He turned to Aurora Wolter.
«Is that better?» he asked with a still sleepy look, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
Anna burst out laughing briefly and Aurora Wolter rolled her eyes.
«But is he always like that?» she asked Anna.
«Always» she replied laughing, «He will never change.»
They found themselves in front of a colossal structure displaying, on a wall, a huge emblem of NASA and, on another one, a big American flag. A white light illuminated the building from top to bottom, giving it a nearly spectral look.
«Come on, they’ll be waiting for us!» doctor Wolter exclaimed to encourage them.
The two began to follow her, keeping their gaze fixed on the building. They reached a glass door and, as soon as they crossed it they were met by a middle-aged man who was incredibly tall and wore an elegant suit that gave him an air of importance. He had a wide smile on his lips and he was accompanied by a young woman carrying a notepad, she looked friendly. The man addressed the doctors first.
«Doctor Wolter, doctor Huber, finally!» he shook their hands.
«Reynolds, hello. We’ve made it through the trip, the kids are fine, but they’re very tired and stressed» Simon Huber replied practically.
Only then the man turned his full attention to Jordan and Anna. He looked at them so intently that Jordan wondered if he wanted to eat them with his eyes.
«I’m Tom Reynolds, associate administrator» he said to introduce himself and shook hands first with Jordan and then with Anna. «It’s a pleasure to meet you.»
«The pleasure’s ours» Jordan replied, unsure, still reflecting on the meaning of “associate administrator”.
«Well, I suppose you want to rest» he said joining his hands in front of him, «I invite you to follow Grace, she’ll show you your private chambers.»
The woman at his side smiled and nodded.
«This way» she said turning by three quarters and motioning for the two to follow her.
They started down the corridors of the JSC and went to the upper floors. They stopped in front of two doors, one next to the other, that Grace opened with two keys and turned on the lights.
«Here we are, these are your rooms. You have a bathroom and if you’re hungry you’ll find some sandwiches in the pantry. Have a good night.»
The two thanked her and then slipped into their respective rooms. After closing the door, Jordan sat on the blue sheets of his bed and, sighing, looked around himself. It was a very cozy environment. In front of the bed there was a big wardrobe and Jordan imagined it contained some new clothes. Under a window that was hidden behind white curtains, there was a desk with a laptop and next to it there was what had to be the pantry. The laptop captured his attention. He wondered if he could contact the Aresland from there. It’d been a very long time since he last heard from them. So he grabbed the computer and definitely laid down on his bed. He was greeted by a very peculiar screen wallpaper: Mars. The icons of several programs lingered in the black of space around it. After various unsuccessful computer explorations he heard a knock on his door.
«Come in» he called aloud.
The door disclosed a little bit and Jordan saw half Anna appearing.
«Can I?» she asked shyly.
«Sure, take a seat» he said patting on the bed next to him.
«I didn’t feel like staying alone. And then, I wouldn’t be able to sleep right now» the girl explained sitting next to Jordan. «What are you doing?»
«I’m trying to figure out if it’s possible to contact Yan from here.»
«Mmm, let’s see» she meditated observing the icons attentively, «Did you try on Satellite? Look, there’s the icon of an antenna.»
He answered by clicking on it.
«Receivers…» Jordan read scrolling through a list. «Aresland!» he exclaimed, «But how is it that you always know everything?»
«It didn’t take much to guess, honestly.»
«Yeah, shut up» he tried to shake her away with a hand, making her laugh.
After several moments of deep thinking on the best words to use, they wrote a message.
[NASA JSC 0938]: Aresland, are you receiving us? It’s Jordan and Anna writing. You can’t really imagine… we landed! That’s right, we got on Earth with an emergency manoeuvre that was maybe a little risky, but we survived and we’re fine. The rehabilitation period has been quite long and only today we’ve arrived at a NASA centre, this is why we can finally contact you. The truth? We miss you. We haven’t had the opportunity to properly visit Earth yet, but what we’ve happened to see so far is gorgeous. Yan, we wish you were with us. Now’s very late here and we’re very tired. Surely we’ll have the opportunity to text you more often and tell you every detail of the landing in the next days.
A total hug.
Yours,
Jordan and Anna.
Jordan closed the laptop and reached out to place it back on the desk. They laid for a while staring at the ceiling until Anna yawned.
«Can I stay?» she asked.
Jordan turned to look at her.
«You know, recently at night I happen to have nightmares» she continued, «Only now, if I think about it, I realize what risk we’ve run. We could have died, Jordan. For real.»
The boy smiled and widened his arms to let the girl rest her head on his shoulder and cuddle up against him. He hugged her tightly.
«Of course you can stay» he whispered, «It’s alright. It’s gone, we’re here and we’re alive.»
«I’ve been afraid» she confessed, «As never in my life.»
«Me too. But… Deep down I knew it couldn’t end just like that.»
«How did you know?»
Some moments of silence passed.
«Well» he reflected, «Everything had only just begun.»
Anna pulled up to look at him in the eyes, illuminated by a serene twinkle. Then, without many compliments, she grabbed the boy’s face and kissed him, for the first time since they were on Earth. Jordan was crossed by a new vibrant rush while his thoughts halted. And he turned off the light.
The following morning Anna managed to sneak into her room just before they brought them a tray with breakfast. Jordan didn’t really know if they were allowed to sleep together therefore they simply decided to make sure nobody would know. They had been told to wait in their rooms until someone would come to call them and so, after breakfast and a shower, Jordan was crouching comfortably on a blue leather armchair, absorbed in reading a book on black holes written by Stephen Hawking. The breakfast tray laid abandoned on the desk, riddled with crumbs of toast. He was reading an interesting paragraph regarding time and light when his room door opened and doctor Wolter’s head came round it. He lifted his gaze from the book.
«Good morning» she greeted cheerfully.
«Hello, Aurora» he stood up and abandoned the book on the armchair.
«If you’ll follow me, in a few moments you’re going to meet some people who cannot wait to shake hands with you.»
And Jordan followed her, wondering if he was finally going to meet NASA’s director. They called Anna and headed to the building main hall. The corridors, that just the night before were empty, were now crossed by many more people who often stopped to introduce themselves and c
ongratulate with them. Few moments before they reached the hall, Aurora Wolter stopped.
«Oh, how careless of me, I’ve forgotten your medical records» she turned to the boy, «Jordan, would you do me a big favour? They are on my office table, straight ahead and down to the right, you turn in the first corridor.»
«Sure, I’ll go right away. See you in the hall.»
«Good, dear boy, thank you!»
Something in her gaze or a slight variation in her tone of voice destabilized him. It seemed like she was suddenly behaving oddly. What if she had found out Anna had spent the night with him and now she wanted to talk with her in private? He tried to ignore that thought and started down the corridor. There was nothing bad in asking to go take some medical records. He kept walking till the office at the bottom of the corridor on the right. He pushed the door open and entered. He noticed a woman sitting on an armchair in a corner, but he didn’t pay her much attention, while his gaze looked for the medical records on the desk. When suddenly…
«Jordan…» he heard his name whispered by a voice.
He stopped frozen where he stood, his gaze fixed on the desk. Out of the corner of his eye he had seen the woman standing up shortly after he had entered. That voice. He perceived his heartbeat accelerating. He felt as if he was suddenly dragged backwards in time by his own memories. It wasn’t possible, he had to be wrong. Slowly he moved his gaze from the desk to the only other person present in that room apart from himself. She had long, dark hair, a soft-featured face and high cheekbones. He found himself mirrored in her eyes. His same green eyes. He suddenly forgot how to speak, how to move, how to breathe. He didn’t need to check the photograph hidden in his hoodie to be sure. And it was inevitable. He had tried to be strong for too long.
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