Sedgewick Island

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. I would have grabbed my camera, but I already had so many photos and videos of them. To me, they were beautifully extraordinary. But to the people here, they were commonplace. No one bought my pictures anymore. Still, I sat below, looking up at them in wonderment until it got too cold to stay outside. I retreated to my bed, snuggled under the covers and gazed at them through the window until I fell asleep.

I awoke just as the second sun rose above the horizon. It was definitely time to get up if I had missed the first sunrise! I quickly showered, threw on my clothes, had a bite to eat, and headed out the door with my camera. I was determined to capture as much as possible of Sedgewick Island while I was here. It had already been three months and my summer internship only lasted six. I had no time to lose! During the week I was busy working, but on the weekends I was free to follow my own pursuits. Thankfully, this was the start of a beautiful weekend on the island.

There was so much to see. I looked at the map. I had sectioned the island into quadrants to focus my exploration. Today I was headed to quadrant three. The terrain was rugged here. I would have to cover most of it on foot if I wanted a good close look at the land. My hover car had safety features that would not allow me to fly it in such close quarters. However there was a landing site nearby, I could go on foot from there. The hover car booted and I sped off in that direction.

It was hard to find parking at the landing site. Apparently this was a popular destination. I saw families picnicking and hiking in the area. As I stepped out of the car a beautiful yet chubby silver tiger ran up to me, followed by a boy holding a leash and calling, “Champ, come back!” Is he friendly I asked the boy, who simply nodded. “So you’re Champ,” I said, scratching him under the chin. Champ purred and rubbed his head against me, nearly knocking me over. “I’m sorry about that,” said the boy, clipping the leash on Champ. “He is super friendly and has to greet everyone he sees.”

“That’s okay,” I replied, still scratching Champ. “I like him!”

The boy smiled and pulled Champ away.

“Wait!” I called. “Can I take his picture? You too?”

The boy agreed and I got a fabulous photo to remember them by.

I headed down the trail, my rubber boots crunching in the black coal-like dirt. I wanted to go far enough to get away from the crowd. I liked exploring on my own. Eventually the din of laughter and conversation faded and I was alone with my thoughts. I picked my way through the dense vegetation hoping to find a lookout point where I could get a good view of the land. My hand brushed against something that was not the normal softness of the leaves. I looked down to see a neon yellow caterpillar. It really stood out against the bright pink leaves ribbed in white. Here was another beautiful photo. I snapped the shot and moved on.

As I climbed higher, the hill became steeper and gravity was greater. I felt heavier and it was harder to breathe. Eventually, the trail led me to a nice rock outcropping, more of a shelf, where I could rest. I grabbed my water bottle and guzzled the pink fuzzy water. Then I took a good look around. This was the view I was hoping for. White waves rolled across a watery blue sky, as two suns lit up the bright pink vegetation like wildfire. Hover cars glistened like fireflies as they caught the sun, their bellies reflecting the deep pink below. Stark coal black cliffs rose up as a contrasting backdrop to all the bright color. Of all the places I had been, this was by far my favorite. I sat on the outcropping for hours and took far too many photos as the scene seemed to change by the minute. I wished that I could stay here forever.

But as the first sun set, I knew I needed to climb back down before I lost the light of the second sun. Climbing down was easier than climbing up. As the gravity decreased, I felt lighter and it got easier to breathe. By the time I reached my hover car, it was the only one left in the parking lot. I took one more look around before taking off.

When I got home, I went straight to bed. I was too tired to do anything else. Contentedly I snuggled under the soft blankets. The second sun had set and it was now dusk. I glanced at the clock. It was midnight. I looked out the window to see the purple clouds dancing with the blushing sky like they did every night, and watched them until I drifted off to sleep.