Here I go!

“3-2-1 and we have liftoff.” I could feel the shimmy of my rocket as I set off on my space mission. Going to the outermost corner of the Milky Way was a dream I had ever since before I could recollect. I needed to see what was on the other side of the universe.

Extensive, exhaustive physical, mental and emotional testing for this trip started two years prior. I had to be single, in excellent physical and mental condition, able to stand solitude for great lengths of time, be willing to leave everything and everyone behind knowing they will be long gone, when and if, I return. I had to agree to be willing to explore new life forms, new planets and new worlds and be completely non-claustrophobic. I passed with flying colors and was now on my way.

“I want to come home. I changed my mind,” I joked with mission control.

“I’m not sure that’s very funny. You have left Earth knowing you might never be back. I know that was part of the mental testing, but did it just really hit you?” the Director of NASA asked.

“Get over it,” I said to myself. “There is no going back.”

After I had journeyed for a day, making sure that everything was in order for a very long trip, I climbed into my sleep unit. “See you guys in about 2000 years,” I said to NASA as I climbed into my unit.

Several days later, while I was sleeping, the navigation elements on my time capsule went crazy. Sparks flew and the dials all turned counterclockwise.

I was now headed in a new direction and my ship was now dangerously off track, but I obviously wouldn’t discover that until I awakened. NASA lost contact with me when the unit shorted out. They would never know where I was going.

“By the time he returns to Earth, if he returns, we’ll all be long gone”, remarked one of the astronauts in the control room. He secretly was elated that he had decided not to go. “We’ll never know what happened to him either,” uttered the director of NASA.

Time passed but I didn’t age in my time capsule. The scientific discoveries that set me up for this trip were astounding. No aging, no muscle depletion, no hair growth. My eyes opened and I coughed, took in a deep breath and scrambled out of my unit. I checked my navigation to see where I was. The unit had long ago burned out. I attempted to recalibrate. Nothing. There was no way to tell where I was. I examined all the controls. Navigation was completely non-functional. I couldn’t return to Earth now even if I wanted to. I would just have to land somewhere and take a gamble.

Lush green landscape was very visible on the planet I had fixed my sights on. I could also see water from the ship. On the way to the landing, my ship started to vibrate violently and I crashed. Damage to the ship was irreparable. My head hurt and a little blood trickled down my cheek.

Earth was hundreds of millions of miles away, I was on my own and panic was now setting in.

There was no way to tell whether I could breathe the air or not. Was the water drinkable? Was the vegetation edible? How long could I live here before succumbing to disease, dehydration or loneliness?

I set out from the ship with trepidation to explore my new location. The grass was greener than any I had ever seen before. It was an odd texture though. More like sand than grass.

I hiked for hours seeing nothing apart from a few small animals, no bigger than a rabbit. Five legged creatures, cute and fluffy, but skittered like crabs.

I walked for a while on the green sand.

This was to be my new home. I wasn’t going anywhere and I don’t imagine anyone is ever coming here. I sat in the sand for a while contemplating my next move when I heard a rumbling noise. I turned and found a wall of green coming at me. “Oh my God, a sandstorm,” I yelled over the roar. I dug in a little and hoped it would pass quickly. It seemed like hours when in fact it was only about 4 minutes.

I had gotten turned around before the storm and now had no idea where I was, which direction to go. I collapsed and took a hand full of the green sand and let it slip through my fingers.

Engulfed in the desert's parched silence, I was nothing but another grain of sand in the wind.