The Coaster

I had already eaten the food, drank the tonic, and left the clinic. I feel much, much better. Though before I ate and drank the tonic, I felt something in my stomach and private area. Like something had to come out, the nurse was about to bring the food and noticed something was wrong, and when I told her what was wrong, she smiled and showed me to a place called V.C. with a short alien word above its door. I had no idea what to do, but forty-two helped me out, it turns out I needed to urinate, and more.... forty-two explained that I had been in slumber for about ten months, so my body needed to offload its waste. Forty-two also told me to wash my hand, though he didn't need to tell me, for I already remembered that part. It was natural for me.

I went back, and the nurse had already left the food on the table near my bed. Now that I think about it, I did not pay much attention to the nurse... I really, really had to go, but from what I can recall, she had a suit similar to the doctor, except it was pink. Her skin was Teal with Neon Purple hair. Her eyes were yellow with green sparks at the center. She was probably the same race as the doctors. The food was a sandwich. Forty-two said my kind calls that particular sandwich BLT, which was quite delicious! I wonder how they got that food. The Tonic tasted good too. It was sweet, but it had a bitter aftertaste.

I am following my navigation to a gathering point provided by forty-two. This time we came to another area through a portal. It's a hallway. The hallway is wide square, the walls from both sides, the ceiling, and the floor is about four meters wide. The hall is metallic, and within every two meters, there is a bright white ball of plasma lights in all four corners. However, I can't tell which side is the floor since there is no gravity. There aren't many beings in this hallway, and it's fairly quiet. Occasionally I see droids like forty-two fly by me, and sometimes I see other beings fly by me and watch their surprised reaction to my presence here. It's not that my kind isn't allowed to come here. It's just that I am not using the way my kind usually goes through. Forty-Two said we would go through a different route, for the portals towards the gathering point are jammed with traffic. According to Forty-Two, other humans are using other hallways, but he knew that this hallway would be almost empty to the gathering point. I wonder why Forty-Two doesn't like crowds? Based on Dr. Rosita's warning, I won't complain; however, it would be better to avoid others for now. Who programmed Forty-Two this way? Was it on purpose? Or did he experience something? If so, how was he assigned to help me? Whoever assigned him for me... was it a coincidence or on purpose? I remember the green beast before I came out of the capsule. Was he the one who assigned Forty-Two?

Forty-Two is in the back of my suite and helping me fly. I am flying in the same 180-degree style. This time I am having an easier time navigating and controlling myself, so I didn't have to have all of my focus on flying. Instead, my mind kept on playing the conversation I had with Dr. Rosita. Why did she warn me to be cautious of others? What does she know? Also, we were about to be extinct. Did we lose the war that badly? I wouldn't be surprised if the war were against something advanced, but based on my flashback, sure, we were struggling, but it wasn't as bad to be on the brink of extinction. Then again, I was found in a critical condition, and now I am here. How many of our kind have they saved?

"Hey! You seem to have something on your mind! What's wrong?" Forty-two said. His sudden interference jumps me back into reality.

"I'm fine, sorry. Hey, Fort-two, how were you....." I couldn't bring myself to finish the question, for the scenery took me by surprise.

The hallway walls, floor, and ceiling had become glass; I had now entered a unique area. Beyond the glass above me, I see a huge blue plasma shape light ball floating in the air. Eight capsules could fit in it, and the light is so powerful that it is blinding! At that moment, my glasses turned black to give it shade. Neat! The metallic ceiling reflects the plasma light, making it look like a sky, though the wall lines give it away. It's like looking at shattered skies. I see a few groups of white steam passing by from both sides, making it look like clouds. To my bottom, I see a large grassland with trees scattered, with a river running in the middle. I see things moving, but they are too far down for me to see. Just how high up are we?

"What were you asking?" Forty-two jump into my thoughts again.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"Oh, this place is a sanctuary for the animals we have saved so from the earth so far," he replied

"You guys save the animals too?"

"Of course we do! Humans aren't the only creatures that need saving, you know! We will save and help any kind, no matter who or what they are!… As long as they are not hostile..."

Wow, such honorable beings, but that only makes me even more suspicious. If they are such noble creatures, why did the doctor warn me? I guess wherever the light shines brighter, and then there will be a darker shadow. For now, I'll keep this in mind and observe.

I notice how the moving objects on the ground are not floating.

"There is gravity outside of the wall?"

"Why yes!... Very astute of you, human! I'm impressed!... also.... heads up before I forget this time. Up ahead, the hallway will take a deep dive toward the ground. It will go down until we get close to the surface... extremely close."

Up ahead, I see the hallway turns a bit to the right, about 25 degrees. At the same time, it will rise upwards and then arches down to full dive. How did they build this place? What is this place anyway? Not to mention, how is the gravity not affecting the hallway? Looking at the arch, I find it strangely familiar. Have I seen something similar before? As I was going, I kept staring at it. I come to a complete stop and float perfectly still. The arch structure is so oddly familiar that I feel I already know what it is.

"Hey, why did you stop?" Forty-two asked in surprise.

"This arch is so familiar that... it's strange."

"Oh? How so?" he asks again. It looks like we are switching roles now.

"I don't know... but that rise... and that deep, sudden dive...."

Suddenly I feel a mix of emotions, my stomach dropping and spinning, my heart beating faster, my adrenaline rising. I feel excited! Why!? At that moment, images flashes before me, and they passed so quickly that they turned into a flashback.

I am in the same sense as my first flashback, but this time I don't have that much headache. It's much more tolerable. In this flashback, I was in moving equipment with a fence-like bar on my shoulders and chest, strapping me to my seat, I have a seatbelt holding me tight, and my feet are dangling in the air. A stranger is sitting beside me, another kid, though he has a worried expression. We're going up an arch on a bright sunny day. I can only see the clear blue sky and the arch's peak, which is gradually and dreadfully approaching, drawing near. I am feeling the same excitement I felt just moments ago, especially for what's coming next; the sudden drop at the 180-degree after the peak. As we came to the arch's peak and came to a stop, I remembered exactly what this was. A roller coaster, and I was in the front seat in the front row! We were all silent when the roller coaster was not moving, and then.... it dropped on the dive!

I was a bit older and taller than I was in the other flashback with my baba. Ever since I have loved the feeling of flying. I became interested in roller coasters, devices that drop, skydiving, riding planes, or anything close to flight. Later on, I fell in love with them, not just because of flight but how it felt. The momentary dread that you feel on a fast-moving object, knowing you'll be safe, but still feel that you might fall out at any moment, lose control and fall hopelessly. I felt... alive! Later on, I tried different things, skiing and playing in a device room that it looks like your flying a jet or a spacecraft. Playing any video games that resembled flight or anything involving flight. doesn't matter whether it was in the sky or space. My childhood dream job was to become a spacecraft pilot. I wonder why I didn't become one.

I blinked from the ride, and my environment changed. It was a few years after the roller coaster ride. However, this day... was a sorrowful day. It is raining; I am wearing a black tuxedo, standing beside Baba under a black umbrella. I was crying. He was also wearing all black, holding the umbrella, standing, tears rolling down his cheeks. His face isn't moving. He was crying silently. We stood before a coffin with a picture of a woman on top of the casket. The lady in the picture was laughing, eyes full of tears from laughter, holding her stomach on a seat, with a man tickling her. The man in the picture was baba, when he was years younger. This woman was my maman, a Farsi word for mother.

The reason I came to love flight was because of my maman. Maman had light skin, with brown hair. Her hair would come down until her neck. She had light brown eyes, which would glow in the light. She was tall, around 5'9 feet high, and she was fit. Baba always said, "Her beauty would outmatch even the most beautiful diamond in the world." At first, I hated space because maman was always out, and I would miss her, for she was an astronaut who would go on the space mission often. I grew envious of kids whose mothers were always nearby, whether in school ceremonies or a simple family gathering. Technology was advanced enough to reach my maman with communication devices and talk face to face, but being beside her was different. Nothing felt better than being next to her. Eventually, I became interested in flying, so maybe someday I could go on a space trip with her. I also thought baba would come too, for I knew he could do anything, or so I thought when I was a child. As I got older and studied more about piloting, I became interested in flight itself instead. Eventually, the reason to travel in space with maman became second place; however, she became my role model.

Maman at first did not take me seriously, for I was a small kid, but she encouraged me never less. As she saw that I was persistent, she would sign me up for science classes or buy me anything space or flying-related books for me to learn. She was strict sometimes, harsh even. "If you want to be a space pilot, you gotta work harder than this!" At some point, I thought she didn't want me to become a space pilot! At some point, I was on the brink of giving up, but just then...She would encourage me and guide me through, though still strict.

Once, she left for a mission, and at that time, I was planning to work harder while I was away to surprise her with the progress I made when she comeback... But she never returned. A group of space pirates attacked her ship. The pirates had gotten on board of the ship, and maman and other astronauts were all slaughtered on that ship. That was a devastating blow for me. For some time, I had lost interest in flying or anything at all. Baba was devastated too, and on top of that, he worked extra hours to support both of us, so I became focused on helping him. I worked with him in a mechanic and robotic repair shop, mostly with technology and computer work.

The flashback suddenly went faster, then slowed momentarily when bada and I had dinner together. This was roughly a few years after Maman's death. This time I could see baba's face. He has thick black brows, black eyes, and short hair, always curly on its tips. His nose was long but thin and had a hook on the top. His skin was also light but had a darker tone than maman's.

"Son, you remind me so much of your maman." Suddenly said baba, focused on his meal, "Your hair, eyes, skin, features, and even how you react or interact with some people."

I chuckled, "If Maman were here, she would say I looked more like you." I responded, focusing on my meal.

He laughed lightly and said, "Well, yes... She would say your face was a copy of mine when I was younger." *Sigh* He turns and looks at me seriously. "Son... I know it's been a tough few years.... but I have to ask, what are you planning on doing?"

"What do you mean, Baba?" I asked, looked back at him.

"Well.. within a few years, you will enter high school... I know it's early, but you should slowly start thinking about it," he explained.

"Well, I was thinking of helping you, of course! We can run the shop together." I replied.

He gives out a soft smile for a moment. "Well, son, you have so much talent! If you ask me, that's a waste for just the shop. What happened with your interest in air and space piloting?"

I looked up at the ceiling. My interest in becoming a spacecraft pilot had come back to me, but I didn't have the same enthusiasm anymore. I had mixed feelings about it.

"I'm not.. sure. I still like it but I don't think I view it as a dream job anymore." I replied.

Baba looked back to his half-finished meal, deep in thought. "Such a shame. Rina would always brag about how you had taken an interest in space like her." He chuckled.

I looked back at my dad in shock! Ever since maman passed away, he never mentioned her name until now! I was even more shocked that maman actually bragged!

He looked back at me and said, "If you even have a shred of interest in that field... go after it, don't let me hold you back."

"Ma-maman bragged to you? She would be so harsh on me that I thought she didn't want me to become a space pilot!"

"BAHAHAHAHA!" Baba bursts out in laughter... now that's a rare sight... no… a legendary sight! Baba rarely even smiled, especially after maman's death! "Well, she did it to show you how tough it can be to be one. Besides, she would push you to your limits even if you had chosen something else!"

He looked at me with a big grin but a soft look in his eyes. "Son... Your mother never once stopped adoring you. She was always... always proud of you. I will support whatever you decide but know I won't be here forever. Eventually, you have to run your own family."

"Baba, that's way too early! I have years for that to come!" I replied in revolt.

Baba's grin turned serious, but he kept his soft look. "That's true, son, but you never know the future, and death has no boundaries. One day, it will claim me too. So be thoughtful of your future, and even if you're unsure what you want, try. If not for you, then do it for me and Rina."

I was in tears. We hugged each other for a long time; I cried my heart out. A few weeks later, I find myself in an office, the office of a special academy for space. I saw baba arguing with a man behind the glassed office. The man kept shaking his head. It turns out that after they took my physical exam, they discovered my sight was deteriorating. It was a rare genetic disease. There was a way to fix it, but at the time, it was too expensive, and even if fixed, the chances for me to ever fly were no more.

The flashback is now being disturbed. I hear Forty-Two calling out to me in the distance. His calling is becoming closer and closer, louder and louder. Then I come back to my consciousness. I find Fourty-Two hovering in front of my face.

"Hello! Galaxy to you! You in there?"

I stare at him for a bit and realize my face is covered with tears still falling. I take a deep breath.

*Hec.. sniff* "Sorry... I'm here..." I respond

"You ok there? You suddenly started crying while you spaced out!" said Forty-Two, turning sideways and tipping its wings.

I brush off the tears from my face. In the end, I could never fulfill my dream.. maman's legacy. At that moment, an idea hit me. I stop robbing my face and look up at the arch. The more I think about it, the more I like it. I like it to the point that I get goosebumps. A smile slowly creeps up on my face.

Forty-two hovered back a bit, "Now you're smiling? Whyyyy?" Forty-two asked in a concerned voice.

**To be Continued**