2. The L-Bo
During the first hour of our shuttle’s flight, I’m not entirely sure if I took a single breath. I have no memory of movement or how much time had passed before I was asked to sit down . However, the image of that familiar, small, white orb that hangs over our heads becoming something massive and unrecognizable is still burned into my dreams.
“It’s absolutely beautiful, isn’t it?” My mother asked as I returned to the seat next to her. A tear sat just below her eye. “I haven’t been back here since-”
She clinched her lips and shut her eyes before she could finish her sentence. I took her hand and let her squeeze it. There was no need for her to finish that thought. The portrait of my father down on one knee in front of her had hung prominently in our home my entire life. Their silhouettes in front of the massive glass wall of the Lunar Observatory, with only the orange-ringed Earth of a lunar eclipse hanging above their heads, caught the eye of every guest.
I could only manage a gentle nod to let her know that I understood. She placed her head on my shoulder and held my arm tight.
For the next few minutes, we sat in silence inside the shuttle. During that time, my eyes found themselves locked on the universe outside the small porthole next to my seat. Despite having spent many nights of my life staring at the stars, that was the first time I truly saw them. There is a clarity beyond our atmosphere that even the clearest nights on land can't match.
"We will touch down on the lunar surface momentarily," Commander Lee's voice said over the intercom, breaking my focus from the stars. "Please ensure that your buckles are secure and stay in your seat until Lieutenant Briggs or I come to assist you. We don't want you to misjudge the moon's gravity and get hurt."
The speakers clicked off for only a moment before the pilot's voice came back, "Oh, and Ptolemy. Do yourself a favor and keep an eye out the starboard. I think you'll find the descent interesting." Through the glass I watched the white, rocky surface of the moon come into view. As the shuttle lowered, the crater wall rose, overtaking the star-filled space that previously held my attention.
Suddenly, a jolt shot through the shuttle as the engines erupted from the back of the ship. However, opposed to the acceleration the engines provided during the aerial launch on Earth, the same engines now fired forward to assist deceleration.
After a few minutes the thrusters rotated down towards the surface and the nose of the shuttle rose. No longer flying horizontally over the surface, the shuttle was now approaching the surface while pointed back at the planet it left behind.
The trip took twelve hours, but our shuttle was finally above the Sea of Tranquility. Almost as suddenly as the engines roared to life minutes before, they shut off and the shuttle was no longer moving. Confused I looked at my mother to my left, then back at the window to my right.
"Was that it? Are we seriously on the moon?" I excitedly asked.
She took a deep breath. "We sure are," she said, unable to hold back her big, goofy smile.
"Mom, you're smiling?" I stared at her and returned a large, involuntary grin. Almost in unison, we both started to laugh. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, sweetie. It may be hard to believe, but just because I've been here before doesn't mean I'm jaded by it." I started to respond, but she cut me off. "Son. We are on the moon. Don't confuse this smile. I am not happy that we are here, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else for this day.
"This is a special place. Not only for the personal history that your father and I shared here. And not because Eduard worked here and you one day hope to, as well." This may have been the first time in years that my mother had acknowledged my childhood dream of working alongside my father as a Scout, and I think my face showed it. She stopped talking and raised her eyebrows as if challenging me to refute it. "No. This place is special to all of humanity and to Mother Earth, herself. If you are lucky enough to return here in the future, don't let anything else happening in life ever get in the way of the true marvels you experience."
She squeezed my hand and gave it a small shake. "Promise me that."
My head started nodding before my mouth could formulate a response. "Of course."
"Good."
The door to the cockpit, now above us, released and disappeared into the wall. Using the lip of the doorway as a grip, Lieutenant Briggs and Commander Lee lowered themselves into the main cabin. As if the impact of the moon’s lessened gravity was second nature to them, they swung to opposite sides of the shuttle with ease, using the insets of the porthole’s as grips. The uniformed distance of the windows, combined with their placement near the headrests of the passenger seats, now functioned perfectly as a ladder down the shuttle’s wall.
This was a revelation to me. Nothing in the shuttle was wasted. Everything served a purpose, and no purpose was aesthetic.
“Watch your head,” Commander Lee instructed as she climbed past my seat. There wasn’t much I could do while strapped in, but I moved my head the best I could to not be rude. Once her shoulders lined up with the back of my seat, she stopped climbing and turned towards me.
“Thank you for waiting for us. It is now safe to unbuckle and leave,” she instructed. “Just take it slow. You’re going to feel like you’re going to fall when you first start moving. Trust yourself, and keep a hand on a surface at all times. The good news is you are 1/6th your terrestrial weight here. You should have no problem catching yourself even if you do start to fall.”
Carefully, I undid the buckle and pulled the seat straps off of my shoulders and chest and began to sit up. It was far easier than I expected it to be and as I quickly rose, I felt myself get lightheaded for just a moment.
“Woah,” said Commander Lee as she placed her hand on my shoulder to stabilize me. “Not so fast. Slowly. Move over towards the wall and keep a grip at all times."
I sat up again, this time heeding the pilot’s instructions by moving almost too slowly. “There you go,” she encouraged.
To my left, the navigator, Briggs, helped my mother out of her seat and towards the other wall. She moved gingerly, but with a purpose. Even if it had been almost twenty years she was last on the moon, she at least remembered the need to follow directions.
It took me a couple of minutes to make my way down the side of the ship and to the exit. I had this constant feeling as if I was about to fall, even when I knew I had a firm grip. My body needed a few seconds of stillness to recalibrate itself each time I moved.
With each step towards the doorway, I couldn't help but let my body leap back towards the seats. In my head, I was moving towards the exit, but in reality I was probably bouncing in place for a few seconds. I felt myself adapting and getting the hang of the gravity when my mom cleared her throat to get my attention. She and the crew were already beyond the door, staring back at me in the shuttle. They were patiently waiting. Yoonah smiled; Briggs looked annoyed; mom was some combination of the two.
Begrudgingly, I made my way through the doorway into the Lunar Base's terminal where the artificial gravity took over, and made me feel the full weight of my body once again. While my physical self welcomed the more familiar Earth-like gravity, my mind wished the new experience could have lasted a few minutes longer.
The second set of doors slid open, beckoning us into the hallway of the base. An officer saluted us, “Welcome to L-BO, Jones family. I am Officer Patel and I will be your guide while you are on site. If you’ll follow me, I will guide you to our quarters.”
With a nod to the officer, my mother turned to the duo that led our flight. “Thank you. I truly appreciate both of you for what you did today. Hopefully no one will give you a hard time about it.”
“It was our pleasure,” the commander responded. “You two deserve to be here, superstitions be damned.” Both Richard and Yoonah turned towards me and extended a hand, just as they had done a few hours earlier in Cardiff. This time, I took each handshake with confidence. They were where I wanted to be.
My mother and I followed Officer Patel down the long, white hallway. After a few turns and walking down what felt like the same hallway over and over, I was completely unsure of where we were. The doors only had minimal markings and there wasn’t a single window. A few more turns and I was certain that our guide had to be lost. Then suddenly he stopped.
“Here are your quarters for your stay,” he said, matter of factly. “I hope we have provided everything you may need, including your items from the shuttle. However, if there is anything else you need before the ceremony, please let me know.”
A simple “Thank you,” was all either my mother or I said as we entered our room. It was a very simple and bland room. Two beds, a table, walls that were made of compartments, and a door that led to the lavatory. Impersonal, yet purposeful.
My mother instantly walked to a tall and narrow compartment and found our finer clothes inside. She pulled both sets out, laid them on the bed, and began smoothing them out with her hands. Taking her cue, I began opening everything. I had no clue what I was going to find, but I knew there was going to be something of interest.
It took a minute or two, but I did find what I was looking for. I grabbed two pouches and held them above me head, “Hey mom, what do you say to an early dinner?”
