Sally and The Astronaut Parents

“Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him—and it was still hot,” Sally’s mom read, closing the book and setting it on the floor.

“That’s the end?” Sally asked.

“Yes, dear. You know that’s the end.”

“Read it again,” Sally protested.

“We’ve read Where the Wild Things Are so many times, and besides it’s now time for bed.”

“But mom,” Sally moaned.

“No buts, only tired eyes and wonderful dreams,” Sally’s mom said, rising off the floor and walking toward the door.

“Mom?”

“Yes dear?”

“Why do I have to go to bed?” Sally’s mom thought for a second and then looked at her daughter with a slight twinkle in her eye.

“You need to go to bed because me and your father have to travel to outer space and we can’t be parents and astronauts at the same time,” she said as she turned off the lights.

“You’re funny,” Sally said rolling over in her bed. Her mom wished Sally a goodnight and then closed the door, plunging the room into darkness. Usually Sally would fall asleep, but tonight she kept thinking about what her mother had said. Obviously, it was a joke. Her parents weren’t really astronauts. That would be ridiculous.

But the thought never left her as she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep. She tossed and turned under her covers, but still her brain wouldn’t go to bed. Finally, reasoning there was only one thing to do, she pulled the blankets off her, climbed out of bed, and crept towards the door.

As she stole out of her bedroom, her heart raced. She had never snuck out of her room at night before and the exhilaration was something altogether very new to her and yet, there was a part of Sally that wanted to climb back into bed. She knew it would be useless though, drying to fall asleep, as her heart was beating so fast. So, she pressed on, tiptoeing down the hallway toward the stairs.

She peered through the bannister to see the front room completely empty. She thought it odd, but perhaps her parents were in the kitchen. She carefully crawled down the stairs and peeked around the corner of the front room into the kitchen where to her astonishment saw nothing.

Her parents were no one where to be found. What if her mother had been telling the truth and they actually did go to space? It was then Sally almost hit herself. How foolish she had been. She forgot to check her parent’s bedroom. That’s where they were. She was sure of it.

Yet, as with all the other rooms, she found the bedroom empty. Growing more worried as to where her parents had gone, she searched everywhere in the house until finally exhausted, she plopped herself onto the couch.

Tears started to leak unto her cheek when she suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the fireplace. As she approached the brick fireplace the rumbling grew louder. Still, the fireplace looked just as normal as ever. She moved her hands along the inside and outside, running her fingers over the brick, trying to find where the noise might be coming from.

It was all rather frustrating, and Sally was just about to give up when she noticed a brick down at the base of the fireplace which was smaller than the others. She ran her hand over it and gave it a gentle push. The brick gave way and suddenly the fireplace started to change.

The inside dropped out revealing a small slide twisting down into the floor. The rumbling noise Sally had heard earlier was coming from the bottom of the slide. She looked around her and then with a gasp threw herself down into the depths below.

As she slid onto a cold tile floor she was amazed at the scene before her. Her mouth dropped, and her eyes grew large with excitement. She stood in front of a large glass window which opened up to the most incredible view Sally had ever seen.

A massive rocket ship sat on a launch pad as hundreds of crew members ran in and out prepping for its voyage into the unknown. They all had white lab coats on and some carried clipboards, but no one seemed to notice the little girl staring from the window.

Sally jumped in alarm as a door down the hall opened. Out walked two men. Both wore white lab coats and were huddled as the discussed something Sally didn’t understand. Being so wrapped up in their conversation they walked right passed her and pushed open another door at the end of the hall, which Sally noticed had a large sign above it reading: Mission Control.

Sally followed them into the room thinking maybe she could find out where her parents were. Inside were computers and desks with people rushing to and fro. Others were yelling over their collegues, shouting numbers and math equations. At the far end of the room, over all the commotion, Sally heard a familiar voice. Her mother’s.

As she ran toward it, pushing people aside in her rushed attempt to see her mother she suddenly stopped. There in front of her, stood her mother, but she was different. She wore a puffy, blue space suit, the helmet tucked beneath her arm. Next to her mother stood her father in a matching space suit.

She didn’t know who was more surprised to see her, but their astonishment soon turned to smiles as they bent down to hug their daughter.

“Sally? What are you doing here?” Her mom asked.

“How did you find us?” Her father asked.

“I couldn’t go to sleep and heard a noise by the fireplace. I found the small brick and slid down the slide.”

“You clever girl,” her father said, pushing his black spectacles further up his noise.

“I thought you were kidding. You really are astronauts!” Sally said turning to her mother.

“What can I say,” her mother said shugging her shoulders.

“Sally,” her father said looking at a clock on the wall, “we are running out of time. Your mother and I have a mission to complete.”

“Do you mean I still have to go back to bed?”

“Yes darling,” her father said, “I don’t think they will allow you to go to space with us.”

“But don’t worry,” her mother said noticing Sally’s sadness, “we’ll be back before morning.”

“But I want to go with you.” Sally’s parents looked at her and then at each other. Her father rolled his eyes and her mother grinned.

“Come with us,” she said taking Sally’s hand. Before Sally knew what had happened, she was sitting at a desk where a large man in a black suit was staring at her as he twirled his pen between his fingers.

“Now, tell me why you think you are qualified for space travel, Ms. Sally?” The director asked. With an encouraging nod from her parents Sally took a deep breath and told the director all about how she couldn’t sleep, walked around the house searching for her parents, found the fireplace and secret slide, and finished her story by telling him how she found her parents in Mission Control.

The director spun in his chair and looked out the enormous glass window from which could be seen the space ship. He sighed and rotated back toward Sally who sat breathless.

“Ms. Sally, your story amuses me,” he started as Sally noticed her parent’s disappointed looks. She knew what was coming. She wouldn’t be allowed to go to space and would be send back to bed. “You have proved yourself not only resourceful and smart, but also brave,” The director continued, “Every astronaut needs these qualities and therefore I approve your request to travel with you parents to outer space.” Sally jumped in excitement as her parents clapped. The director gave a faint smile and then told them he had many things to attend to and hurried them out of his office.

Sally was suited up in her own blue space suit and holding the hands of her parents walked the long bridge from mission control to the awaiting space ship. She smiled as her parents helped strap her into the cockpit. They climbed in after her and gave mission control the okay to blast off.

What a night she was going to have rocketing through space, flying past planets, and soaring through galaxies. Sally thought about how far away her bed seemed at the moment and smiled. Everything seemed too good to be true. As if it was just a dream.