Janice, Gale, and Yesenia had done everything imaginable to prepare for the Williams’ child before and during Janice’s pregnancy. They wanted to make sure that they peppered her with the best they could offer after she was born. They had already ensured that their home was prepared to enrich, benefit, and supplement healthy living. Considering and implementing childhood safety measures, as well as security and an enriching ambiance, had been a top priority for them.
Intellectually engaging models replicating positive technologies, books for many age-groups which augmented quick and intellectual advancement, and even mentally stimulating and engaging toys for children combed the walls of their home. They had prepared their yard, so their daughter could harmlessly spend time out there, breathing in the fresh air on her infant swing, right beside Yesha’s. This bliss-enhancing contraption was placed near the pond with the angel statue, with its waterfall and sophisticated yet modest water cycling system. The frogs and coy fish her parents had put there together so many years ago had enjoyed the continuously-maintained system in a way that those who sat nearby found the ambiance therapeutic. Her parents had had a lifetime of commitment to living healthy and had encouraged physical fitness. They wanted their daughter to have a proper and well-rounded upbringing too. They prepared before Eliza was born, doing well by her when she came into this world, having saved as much as they could and invested their money well for her advanced education down the road. Eliza’s parents had prepared in every way for that first day of her life, to make this experience as seamless and smooth as possible.
With great foresight, her parents had also enlisted the aid of the best medical care team available and had scheduled well in advance the when, the where, the why, and the how of each aspect, giving credibility to their knowledge of when their baby would be ready to grace the stage of life. The day their daughter was born, both of Eliza’s parents had taken the day off from work, and together Yesenia and Yesha had accompanied them as they walked to the hospital instead of going about their own business on that lovely balmy Wednesday. Since the Williams were so keen on physical fitness and proper diet, their walk to the hospital was almost a part of their routine. Walking into their Doctor’s office was of little stress beyond that of carrying a precious package. Both Eliza’s parents and Yesenia had lived for balance in life, which included healthy diets, achievements in education, a broad love of music and the arts, and an insatiable appreciation for civil and intellectual dialogue, yet they were not pretentious or condescending to anyone, they simply desired to live as good examples of humanity.
At 10 o’clock in the morning, Eliza was born.
Two hours later, the Williams brought their healthy and happy baby home—a child who had opened her eyes and smiled at each of them not more than two minutes after she was born. Yesha had noticed intently and felt an instant bond with her new friend. Those precious first moments intensified her parents’ belief that their little girl was going to have a phenomenal future ahead of her. Since Janice was a theoretical physicist and Gale was a neuroscientist with friends at work and home who were into the latest of any of the bio-sciences, they had been quite a bit obsessive about providing the best to Eliza. Thus far, they had been thoroughly rewarded.
As they walked into their home, with their new baby in Janice’s arm, young Tyson stood waiting just beyond the door with a puppy smile, wagging his cropped tail and his little bootie.
Eliza and Tyson immediately hit it off. He licked her face, and she smiled with her hands waving about, almost as if to pet him. When she was in her crib sleeping, Tyson would lie down on the ground beside her, yawn, curl up in a cute little ball and be there for her when she woke up. When she awoke, he would wag his booty for her and lick her fingers as she poked them through her crib safety bars, until she would smile. Tyson would then go and nose Mom or Dad to let them know Eliza was up. Returning to her quickly, he would sit to watch her with kindness and care, and sometimes run in circles to entertain her.
Throughout Eliza’s first year, Janice and Gale looked for ways each day to come home from work early to see their young little girl as soon and as often as their careers would permit. After that first year arrived, they celebrated Eliza’s first birthday. Eliza, with her birthday hat on, observing her audience with her beautiful big round crystal blue eyes, her Shirley-Temple-curled and angelically-blonde hair, and her cute little finger-painted blue birthday girl nose, grew up well and had absorbed the world around her. This quiet and observant girl began to talk that day, which surprised them all.
“Mom!” she called.
“Tyson!” she called.
“Bottle!” she called.
“Daddy!” she gushed, as Dad came rushing into the room with a nutrient-dense, organic, yet tasty fruit and vegetable smoothie in a bottle, followed by a slice of a very exquisitely-designed birthday cake that was both tasty, interestingly healthy, and people-and-pet-safe.
Looking down, just below Eliza’s high chair, there was Tyson. Their adorable one-and-a-half-year-old dog wagged his cute little kinked and stubbed tail along with his cute little behind. He would do this whenever he wanted to let the humans in the room know he was happy. On this occasion, he was standing on the earth-toned stone tile below eagerly awaiting whatever reward might come his way as Eliza was eating.
Eliza caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye and surprised all in the room, when she asked, “Daddy, can I please give a piece to Tyson?” Amazed with what she had just uttered, her father shook his head, yes, she gave him a piece of cake, and Tyson wagged his bootie some more while licking the satin icing and buttercream from his chops and nose. On so many occasions he seemed to wear a doggy smile.
Janice and Gale, Yesenia and Yesha celebrated Eliza’s first birthday that day, and all of them were surprised that she was not just speaking her first words but assembling dialogue with full-on phrases. It was as if those first three words had opened up a treasure trove of highly logical and even sentimental conversations.
Eliza began walking around that day, and as she did, she trained Tyson how to shake his paw, by saying, “handshake.” She started solving puzzles meant for a four-year-old and colored each object in her Scientific American Children’s Coloring Book within the lines. Following which, she carefully removed her finished artwork and gifted a page to each person in the room. With medium length hair, side-swept spiral-curled bangs, her blonde piggy tails with Shirley Temple curls, and an unforgettable smile, she looked enigmatically adorable. There was something special about that girl, and it was as clear as day. She was growing fast. Her parents, as well as Yesenia, Yesha, and Tyson enjoyed spending their time with her and time flew.
By the time she was three, Eliza was reading books, magazines, and newspapers the level of a third grader. With her dear friend, Yesha, she enjoyed observing the Universe through her telescope. While taking Tyson on walks, they would play ball with him and at times play hide-and-go-seek together. Of course, he would always find them, peeking over whatever bench or object they were hiding behind in an almost hilariously creepy but caring way, he would give away each of their locations with his wag of the behind and the drop of his ball, to play fetch.
Long ago, Eliza had trained him to shake hands. Tyson also seemed very perceptive of quite a few human words and phrases, and his ears would perk up when told, “I love you,” and asked, “Do you want to go on a walk?” or “do you want a hug?”
Although Yesha was about three years older, by the time Eliza had turned two, both Eliza and Yesha considered each other as lifelong sisters and best friends. They spent a lot of time gliding down their Slip and Slide in the summer and splashing around in their pond. Tyson would splash around with them, and all were careful of the frogs and coy fish. While feeding and singing to them, Eliza and Yesha would sit down by the outdoor kerosene heat lamp on small sitting stones to warm and dry up, as Tyson would curl up in-between them and take turns putting his paw on each of their shoulders, as if giving them
a hug of affection. He would then lay down on his back with his feet spread if he wanted to be petted on his chest. Together, Eliza and Yesha would take turns giving him affection while singing the lyrics to “I Just Can’t Get Enough,” by their favorite musical group, Depeche Mode.
Settling down to read together under the moonlit sky as time would go by, they’d look up at the stars while studying the constellations and looking for deep sky objects. They rarely spoiled themselves with indoor sleep-ins. Instead, they spent many nights slumbering in their sleeping bags in a tent in their backyard with Tyson nestled in-between them. Sometimes they’d pull their sleeping bags out of the tent in such a way as to fall asleep watching the stars gaze down upon them, and Tyson would follow them wherever they went. As they did, they would talk about traveling out there someday. Tyson seemed to raise his ears at times as if he understood what they were talking about or as if he was a part of the conversation. When he got sleepy he would snuggle between them—yawn with his cute little curled up little tongue, lick their faces, clean his feet until they smelt like popcorn, and finally rest, while Eliza and Yesha continued looking up at the stars, talking and singing, until they too fell asleep—all three side by side.
At the age of three, seeing that Eliza was a rapid learner, her parents enrolled her in a school for the young, gifted, and bright minds. With Yesha at the top of her class, both academically and physically, and with Eliza thirsting for more knowledge at every moment, that year Eliza skipped to and completed the first grade at the age of three.
The following year, Eliza started the second grade and was in school with Yesha, who until then had actually been at the top of her class, both scholastically and academically. While most children would have felt jealous at that time in their lives seeing their top spot in class overtaken by someone younger, Yesha felt proud of Eliza. Yesha saw this as an opportunity for them both to hang out with each other even more, be productive, and enjoyed their time spent together. They completed their homework assignments at home and went over their finished products with each other, just to make sure—and always with Tyson nearby. They would occasionally throw the ball for him, run around with him, take him on walks, and then he would lay down nearby in peace and contentment. Eliza and Yesha were enrolled in advanced courses in Mathematics, English, Art, History, and Science and each year they shined physically and academically.
In the fourth grade, Eliza and Yesha learned how to play the piano while singing together in a college choir. No matter how dedicated they were in their studies, they’d still find time to go outside with Tyson at the end of the day, feed the coy fish, and sing their favorite music from Depeche Mode and other artists to the frogs in the pond and the stars in the sky. In 1984, Depeche Mode had come out with the song, “People Are People,” and this musical group by now was a family favorite. Without realizing it, Martin’s lyrics and Dave’s vocals had played an intriguing role in these two girl’s young childhood development. Quite interestingly, this gave them a unique perspective of their world and helped them think more profoundly than their peers.
Now that it was 1986 and “People are People” had been released two years prior, it had been one of their favorites for a couple of years and would be for quite some time. They loved every song Depeche Mode produced, but this song, along with “A Question of Lust” and “But Not Tonight,” were among their favorites at that time. Not only were these young girls gifted and highly intelligent, they developed a character of persona that was evidenced in how they handled heavy obstacles in life—in a very mature, impressively pensive, genuinely thoughtful, perceptively understanding, and even an enviably fun way.
Listening to each of Depeche Mode’s albums over and over again, they would mix in other favorite artists. Tears for Fears, O.M.D., The Pet Shop Boys, Duran-Duran, The Human League, Erasure, Red Flag, and New Order typically accompanied their playlists. They listened while petting Tyson, talking about what was yet to come, and singing to the stars in the sky, and time passed by quickly. For them life was second nature; they loved being outside, taking Tyson on walks, singing their favorite tunes, finding time to study the sciences together, reflecting upon their past, and embracing the present with their sweet and loyal dog, while planning their future.
Eliza could have easily finished schooling quickly, but she decided in the fourth grade, at the age of six, that she would appreciate getting more knowledge and social interaction and benefit from it by studying laterally with Yesha in more classes, rather than by speeding along and passing her up. Yesha could have hurried along beyond her peers as well, but they both had shared goals. Eliza’s parents and her teachers agreed that she and Yesha were terrific for each other and to satiate Eliza’s need for more academics, they allowed her to additionally engage in other advanced studies with Yesha while attending class for essential instruction with everyone else. Yesha and Eliza received the highest of grades at school. They also studied more subjects in depth and shared ideas with each other.
At this time in their lives, both Eliza and Yesha were already considered prodigies. Their teachers counseled with each other often and acknowledged both Eliza and Yesha as being phenomenally exceptional. The truth was that Eliza was actually known by the instructors as phenomenally more capable, but no one had the heart tell Yesha—she knew that for herself but loved Eliza all the more for it—she would support Eliza to the ends of the Earth if ever needed. It was as if Yesha was beyond brilliant, yet with a special gift of her own of selfless love; even still, Eliza was just as bright and loving, too. It was an intriguing union of friendship as they genuinely complemented each other. They were both extremely advanced with their abilities to learn and grasp deep subjects. They lived for demonstrating a concrete understanding of what they were taught and explaining in an in-depth manner the solutions to the world’s major problems.
Both Eliza and Yesha studied the typical classes and enrolled in multiple courses at the same time. While sitting in the back of class they worked on a variety of projects, and while studying their other courses, they participated with the other students by mentoring them and giving the teachers assistance as needed.
Each of their instructors was impressed with Eliza’s and Yesha’s abilities to process information and particularly amazed that despite Eliza’s young age, she had a very mature manner of dealing with the world around her.
During their science hour in class, in 1986, both Eliza and Yesha watched, as did countless students in many other classrooms throughout the country, the news on television as the Space Shuttle Challenger was being prepared for takeoff. Since Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher, a payload specialist, and an astronaut, was heading out to space, their teacher was excited about this as well. Everyone in the classroom was excited to see this historical moment of scientific achievement. Even though Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space, and Sally Ride was the first US woman with the same feat twenty years later, this was still another memorable moment. As the shuttle soared high in the sky, they felt a sense of pride. However, all feelings of joy seemed to turn to concern and a new reality set in as they witnessed a series of flashes emanating from the fuel cells. A sense of horror crept in as the tragedy of the shuttle unfolded.
Their teacher stood frozen in shock, unable to move. Eliza was stricken and shaken up too, but somehow, she had gathered her thoughts, gotten up from her chair, and marched over to her teacher. She then stretched out her six-year-old arms and wrapped them around Miss Sumita knowing full well what shock was. She knew what had just transpired and what it truly meant, from social and political impacts to psychological. Eliza understood that each of the astronauts had passed away before their eyes within the shuttle, and although it may mean a slowdown to the space program, most importantly and the gravest of subjects was the loss of life. She knew that her teacher was affected profoundly, worrying deeply about how this tragic state of events would affect her pupils’ young minds. Knowing this and knowing that her teacher was seemingl
y left helpless as to what to do, Eliza hugged her, bringing her back to her senses.
Miss Sumita looked upon this young and wise six-year-old girl, with the blonde little Shirley Temple curls and piggy tails, and kind blue eyes and smiled with tears welling up in her own eyes. She was then able to consult the other children and the day passed more smoothly.
Later on, shortly after class, Miss Sumita talked to and confided in Eliza about how she felt as the tragedy unfolded, her guilt for the shock she had let set in, and how she couldn’t understand why. She apologized for not understanding what had caused her to freeze. Eliza, with a look of compassion, then responded to her teacher with calm, wisdom, and resolve, “Despite great tragedy, to have remorse for life is a wonderful thing. Tragedy affects us all in different ways. Please know that no matter the tragedy, I appreciate, and I love you, Miss Sumita.” Needless to say, Miss Sumita was both calmed, filled with appreciation, and impressed.
Everyone was shocked by the events of that day and most of those who had witnessed the tragic moments unfold remembered where they were and what they were doing when it happened. Both Eliza and Yesha, after the school day had finished, walked home and found Tyson had somehow escaped the house that day, but there he was making his way down the sidewalk and wagging his booty upon seeing them. If one were to interpret his actions, it was as if somehow, he had sensed what was going on, and he too seemed to understand their emotions. After the sweet reunion, they then walked to a nearby park, sat down, and looked up at the sky, and released their emotions with tear-stained eyes, hugging each other. Tyson leaned between them as they embraced. When they sat on the park bench, with the trees and bushes to their back, Tyson hopped up and curled in a little ball between them. He stretched his neck and licked both Eliza’s and Yesha’s faces, as they confided to each other the anguish they felt at the immensity of the tragedy and their sorrow at the tragic loss of life. He looked at each of the girls and gave them both a doggy hug, as if to tell them, “It’ll be okay.” They smiled at Tyson, then at each other, were at peace with that healing affection, and continued to discuss their concerns over the possibility of a setback to science, exploration, and discovery, but these astronauts were heroes in their own right. They were pioneers in this new frontier for humanity and they had earned their respect and solace.
Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars Page 13