by Doc Watto
Infinity’s eyes, now welling with tears, were fixated on the planetary at the centre of the globe as she began to reminisce; ‘When I was a child, my family would holiday on the moon simply to spend days gazing at Earth. My mother, father, two sisters and little brother would while away the hours on deckchairs between the craters. We would play rock & roll records and watch black & white movies projected into outer space. Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis - they are all household names on Hoolia.’
Infinity’s tone became resilient; ‘but I don’t just want to stare at Earth from the moon. I want to go there, holiday there and if we can break down the barriers between the planets, I want to live there! I want to create a better life for me and my family, on Earth. Can you help me Orrick? Will you be a spruiker for Earth?’
Moments passed. There was no answer from Orrick. Infinity was hurt by his silence after such a heartfelt admission of her obsession with his planet. Upset and in a sulk, she spoke spontaneously; ‘Of course, if you don’t want to stay here, you can always return to Earth. A Warp-worm will take you back to the moon and I will arrange for a Hoolien flying saucer to drop you off; right back into the South American jungle if you so desire.’
There was still no reply from Orrick. Finally, Infinity turned to him and saw the reason. He was nodding off into sleep. As a sloth, Orrick spent most of his life sleeping. While sleeping, most of his time was spent dreaming. He assumed that he was asleep now and that everything that had happened; the Apollo mission; the moon crash; the Warp-worm and the Intragalactic Expo; was all just a dream. He imagined himself waking up at home and hanging upside down from a tall tree in the jungle.
Suddenly the face of a ferocious jaguar sprang into his consciousness. Orrick recoiled in horror, lost his balance and experienced the sensation of plummeting to the ground. The shock jolted him out of his slumber. To his relief, he awoke in the arms of Infinity.
Unaware that he was awake, Infinity whispered, ‘Why do I always have to carry you?’ Orrick did not answer, closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
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You’ve reached the end of Intragalactic Expo. Thank you for reading.