Away From Here

There it was. Twenty thousand dollars. Geraldine held the flimsy cheque in her shaking, brittle hands, her rheumy eyes filled with tears. It wasn’t enough to get her to the newly cultivated planet but it would be enough for her grandson.

Geraldine shuffled to put another log on the dying fire as she waited for Henry to come home. He had surely already heard the news of her winnings. Earth wasn’t like it once was when she was a spring chicken. In her ninety-three years she had seen it all; a global pandemic leading to the collapse of already fragile economic conditions, a movement that pitted the poor against the rich for basic necessities, the fight for equal rights, and most importantly, the cultivation of mars. The wealthy and elite kept the upper hand by being permitted to buy their way off the dying planet.

Wind and rain battered against windows of the old house, threatening to bring the whole place down. Geraldine narrowly missed the leak dripping from the cracked roof. She shuffled to retrieve a porcelain bucket from the kitchen, a kettle screamed to be taken off the stove. By the time she returned the acid rain had already started to eat away at the wooden floor. She cursed under her breath and placed the bucket under the drip anyway then returned to the kitchen to poor herself a cup of tea.

“Grandma!” Henry slammed the door shut behind himself. The metal bar creaked as it was hoisted into place.

“I’m in the kitchen dear.” Geraldine sang with her voice raspy from the years of smoking. What she would do for a cigarette in these days.

“What have I told you about leaving that door unsecured?”

“I have survived a lot worse than a few looters in my day.” Geraldine winked.

Henry collapsed into the kitchen chair. The stress of the day weighed heavy on his dirty face.

“Eat up.” Geraldine handed him a mason jar of preserved meat and a cup of hot water.

“We should be rationing our food.” Henry slid the jar across the kitchen table.

“There is more than enough for me this winter.” Geraldine gave a gummy smile before handing Henry the cheque.

“How?” Henry jumped from the table to get a closer look at the piece of paper.

“The lottery. I still have some secrets to keep in my old age.”

A small smile crept along Henry’s face illuminated by the flickering candle, “Well at least we can finally get you that medicine you need.”

There he went again, always thinking about Geraldine’s health before his own good. If she wanted someone to consistently be on her back she would had stayed married.

“Yes, but I want to come to town with you tomorrow. The cheque is in my name and I want to be the one to cash it.” Geraldine crossed her arms in front of her standing strong as an oak.

“Fine,” Henry replied simply with clear exhaustion weighing him down. He hadn’t bothered to touch his rations before kissing his grandmother on the forehead goodnight. He rubbed his weary shoulders as he disappeared into his bedroom down the darkened hallway.

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The morning smog was somehow different in the colorless town. It only took about twenty minutes for Geraldine’s failing body to protest every grueling step but Henry was more than accommodating. The old lady held onto her grandson’s arm as he directed her through the crowd of hungry and dejected people. On the corner of the street stood a group of protesters. It wouldn’t be long until the government officials came to tear gas them away. There was no such thing as police now, just enforcers.

“Could we take a moment to rest my aching feet?” Geraldine started leading Henry into the building that disappeared into the grey sky.

“Just five more minutes.” Henry persisted but Geraldine stood her ground.

“At my age I have held my bladder for enough of my life, thank you.” Henry wasn’t one to fight his grandmother on anything. Precisely what she was counting on.

“Watch my purse,” Geraldine handed Henry the tattered old satchel and disappeared within the crowd.

Once far enough away she darted into the deployment station. The vast room was bare for all but a few employees dressed in expensive suits and trash talking the remaining civilization on earth. They quieted the moment that Geraldine approached the counter with a permanent scowl.

“I would like to purchase a ticket to Mars for my grandson please.” Geraldine slid the cheque towards the pale young lady.

“Just enough to buy a laborers ticket,” The employee forced her best fake smile, “Let me just verify that for you.” She held the piece of paper in front of herself like it was soiled underwear as she disappeared behind the counter.

Geraldine craned her short neck to watch the largest television she had ever laid her eyes on. Snippets of towering cities and flourishing farmlands, all of which compacted into developing glass like domes connected by tunnels and highways, flashed like an infomercial of the lavish life that was to be had.

“It was my father’s goal to send one million people to mars by twenty fifty,” A booming voice interrupted the daydream playing in Geraldine’s wandering thoughts, “And he quadrupled that without even trying. Now, Mars hosts five billion people; most of our previous homes population.”

Geraldine reflexively rolled her eyes. The boy on the screen was a spitting image of his father in spirit and body. She wanted to smack that smug look right off of his face. Did he know that his father only intended on taking the rich with him? That he abandoned earth and everyone on it. That he took the best doctors and scientist.

“Not only has my family saved the human race but we have created a better world for our young to grow up.” The arrogant man signaled for his daughter to join him on stage. She reluctantly appeared from behind her mothers legs with her hands covering her eyes.

“Alright, everything checks out. I just need his name for his new citizenship and to assign him a job.” The female employee interrupted the obnoxious propaganda as she strode back into sight and lazily tapped away at her keyboard.

“Henry Rifton,” Geraldine failed at stifling a coughing fit.

The room quickly became a blurred mess of light as her lungs were deprived of oxygen. Her knees buckled from under her but a pair of strong arms managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

“Thank you dear,” Geraldine finally managed to spit out as her erratic breathing stabilized but to her surprise it was not the unsympathetic woman behind the counter who came to her aid but Henry. The jig was up.

“What are you doing here?” Henry exclaimed with growing anger at the realization, “I am not leaving you.”

A blinding flash of a camera and thrust of a yellow envelope and it was over, “No refunds. Flights leaves in two hours.”

“Too late,” Geraldine replied through labored breaths.

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No one stopped Geraldine from laying on the rocky soil just outside of the boarding gates where she could watch the giant spaceship disappear into nothingness. Henry may had been furious but at least he would be safe from the complete desolation of the dying planet. It would be a quick trip thanks to rapidly evolving technology.

“Please clear the area. We will be launching in ten, nine,” the alarm was almost defining from where Geraldine rested. She didn’t mind.

A blast of smoke blanketed her in a toxic cloud. There on the ground she watched as the colossal hunk of metal made its way into the endless void that she once dreamed of, taking her whole world with her. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander to what could have been if the civil war would have gone differently. Maybe then she could have lived out her own dreams instead of simply fighting for another day.

Geraldine allowed her watery eyes to gaze at the spot where her grandson had once been.

“Thank you, momma.”

Cheryl? Geraldine shot up from the cold soil with both of her hands clasped over her gawking mouth. Her daughter stood in front of her clear as day dressed in the same white sundress they had buried her in all those year ago. Her once bald head was replaced with thick, flowing locks of chestnut hair, sunken in cheeks restored with plump rosy skin, dark circles no longer plaguing her from the many weeks she spent hopelessly fighting. Cancer had claimed her yet there she was with the most beautiful angelic glow around her…Oh.

“You are here for me.” Geraldine whispered.

Cheryl gave a slow nod with a toothy grin and helped Geraldine to her no longer aching feet. The gravel around her was transformed into a beautiful field of lush flora that had not been seen in a generation.

“Your job here is done. It is time for you to rest.” Cheryl turned to lead them into the blinding light. Geraldine paused only to look up at the blue sky to see if she was able to catch a glimpse of the spaceship taking her Henry away but there was nothing. She hoped she did the right thing.

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Earth was nothing but a blip in the black abyss. Images that Henry had been taught in school couldn’t be further from the truth now. The planet, once captured in its beauty with swirls of white clouds and blue blankets of ocean was now an ugly mixture of beige and greys. The sky link that had started it all swirled around the globe in a never-ending sphere.

Henry took in a long breath of recycled air and opened the envelope that contained his new life. The ID seemed counterintuitive considering that he was already microchipped upon entering the ship. He rubbed at the red spot on his wrist where the small metal disc was inserted.

According to his papers he would be a mars laborer until he worked off the remaining loan needed for his transfer. A whopping one billion dollars. The division he would be living in was shared with five others. Meals, showers and bedtime was listed in a strict schedule accommodating little downtime. Basically, he would be a slave until he had enough money to break free. Henry slowly exhaled the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. At least this way he might be able to start a family and maybe, just maybe, his children’s children would be able to live a happy life. He smiled at that.

Henry pulled out a little black notebook nestled within the papers and flipped to the front page. ‘If lost please return to Geraldine Rose’. Each page contained rows and rows of familiar names and goods traded for money. Money that she used for the monthly lottery. Insanity. Henry shook his head at the thought. His throat tightened the moment he flipped to the last page.

Henry,

I am sorry I went behind your back and that I won’t be able to see all of the things you will achieve. Whenever you feel lost, scared, confused or alone just remember that I believe in you. Your mother would be so proud of the man that you have become.

Love Grandma

A frail discolored polaroid fell out from between the pages and landed on Henry’s lap, transporting him back into time. Half of his grandmothers laughing face stared back at him as she snapped a selfie with his mother chasing him around the old garden the background. He sunk back into the plush egg-shaped seat and let the hot tears spill down his cheeks. No matter what this strange new life would have in store for him he was going to try his best to make his mother and grandmother proud.