Birthday on The Moon

First Edit, Part 24

The sun, a distant star, as a big blue and green circle started to dominate their view. A stubborn little planet in the solar system, the only one with life and where they truly feel at home. The moon may be quiet and peaceful yet boring and desolate, but while the sun is kept at a distance, earth is where the parties and fun is at. With Grandpa at the control and Adrian by his side, they began to rumble and jolt as they are welcomed by the earth's atmosphere. Woody rose from his sleep and poked his head up to wonder what happened - he just can't seem to get good quality sleep while they are flying, he thinks to himself.

They stream through the skies and breaking past all the layers of atmosphere wrapped around the earth, the heat tries to burn up their ship. A heat that welcomed them home, one that reassures them that they won't be burnt alive, but may roast them if they were not paying attention. The heat wrapped itself around the dry duct tape and with the help of oxygen it burns up as the plastic and glue melts. They descent through the ski as sheppard's and nomads across the vast steppes of Asia watch them twinkle and light up the night's sky.

"Pull it up!" shouts Grandpa. They both man the controls and heave down on heavy pedals, levers or handles - anything that gets them to crash land on the right spot. They billow across skies and towards Europe, almost visible in the summer sun in the naked eye. They hold tight as the rumble and jolts persist. The sun at a comfortable distance in the dry heat. The spaceship begins to cool over the continents and oceans whilst pieces break off and are scattered across the earth; foreign omens from far-flung places to those that find them.

"We are still flying," says Grandpa as they hear pieces tear off as the spaceship jolts on, "we are still flying!" He reasoned in the madness of the moment. "Slowly! Slowly!" they released the controls and the final descent approached to make a comfortable crash landing at home. The paint - guided by gravity - pulled them back down the silo and underground to his secret laboratory. A textbook landing - a crash landing, but definitely one for the record books.

The ground shook and jumped as the spaceship landed, the metallic terminal that housed and helped them build the spaceship in the first place is its refuge once again. A journey from earth across the stars to the moon and back again via the sun. They braced for the final thud as the touched down on solid ground. Solid ground: something that is friendly to walk on, breathe in and would not try to kill you so much. They slouched back in their seats and rested, their journey across the skies had come to an end.

"Well," said Grandpa," I am glad it took a beating and not us," he looked around the spaceship, "I wonder what it looks like on the outside." He looked down at his watch, "dead on time," and turned to Adrian, "happy birthday and welcome home!"

"Thank you", he replied while he looked across to him with a newfound posture and strength. "How do we explain the noise to my parents?"

"I don't know, yet", replied Grandpa as he looked around the interior with the mess and confusion around them, "it never stays clean in here for long." They got up and left the spaceship one more time while the door struggled to open, with some pieces partially melted, bent out of shape or cracked - everyone and everything was exhausted. The paint has evaporated in place, the hull had been further dented and the rivets were falling out of place.

"Well," said Adrian while they both look at it from the outside, "it does not look that bad," he comments about their wounded chariot that was misshaped, malformed and skewed out of logic. "Can we prepare for another adventure?"

"What, so soon?" as they took in the oxygen by the breath load and appreciated the firm ground they now had. The sun is at a much more bearable distance from the comfort of their home.