A Whim of Fate

A Whim of Fate

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Ellison knew that was a lie. He could hear himself screaming right now. A routine spacewalk, something he’d done many times over his last year on the international space station, but this time, nothing went according to plan.

Ellison had been doing some minor maintenance, when a micro meteor shower struck. Missing him by inches, a meteor pummeled the panel he had just closed. Debris sprayed out, but by some miracle, none of it hit him. Turning to head back into the station, disaster fell upon him with full force.

Micro meteors pounded the station in multiple locations, increasing in intensity. Breaches and small explosions followed one after another. The station had begun to break apart. Now, in disbelief, Ellison knew there was no where to go.

A section broke off and veered toward him, growing quickly in size. Chest aching, lungs struggling for breath, he tried to avoid it, but the section slammed into him. The sudden force of it, made him feel every ounce of his weight. Ellison was launched out into the dark vastness of space. The remnants of the station grew farther away.

I’m dead, he thought, my body will float out into space forever. He realized he was screaming and stopped. There was no point, no one could hear him. No reason to look at his oxygen readout, either. Whatever he had left, was all he was getting.

A soft light touched the pitch black of space. Ellison focused and saw the Earth below him. No floating through the entire cosmos, after all. Instead, he would burn into ashes as he reentered the atmosphere. Wow, what a relief, he thought sarcastically.

Malia’s beaming face filled his mind. Strawberry blond hair spilled over her shoulders, blue-green eyes dazzled him. Such lovely laugh lines, so much musical merriment in her laughter. Hair moving, defying gravity, as she turned her head. Feeling her skin against his, holding her. Nothing could compare to that.

Malia’s eyes had a profound effect on him too. One look could fill him with love or devastate him with her disappointment. He ached for her, needed her, yearned for her. He should have married her and spent every possible second together. Why did he have to go on this mission?

That line of thinking was dishonest, he knew. Being an astronaut was his dream and she understood. She was proud of him and loved him. They were both doing what they were supposed to do. Malia was an amazing doctor, an amazing surgeon. Ellison was just as proud of her, as she was, of him. His heart broke at the thought of never seeing her again.

The Earth swelled up below him. Scorching heat would envelope him very soon. His spacesuit would rupture, his skin would burn and peel off his body, while he also began to suffocate. Not a pleasant way to go.

Ellison could feel the slightest pull of gravity, tugging at him and reaching out to grab him more firmly by the second. The globe of the Earth was rushing toward him, the atmosphere beginning to buffet him, and that’s when he saw it. A bluish electric, water like, amorphous shape floating above the exosphere and he was plunging toward it. What would it feel like? What was it? An illusion? A wormhole?

Before Ellison could give it any more thought, he was sucked into it, engulfed. The grip of gravity grew grossly, seizing him. Then just as suddenly, released him. His eyes were battered by bright blue light. Then the blue softened, spreading out like spilled water. A sense of weightlessness returned for a moment. Air rushed over him, water splashed around him, and then he felt the ground beneath him. The terrain was soft and giving. Water washed over his helmet, once and then again, repeatedly. He realized he was on a beach, just at the shoreline. Waves were washing up around him. Distantly, Malia’s urgent voice said, “Get up, Ellison. Now, my love.” An image of her face swam in his mind.

An alarm blared directly into his ears, a shrieking and bellowing insistence. Ellison couldn’t breathe, his head refused to clear. His vision blackened, stars bursting into and out of existence. Oxygen, no oxygen, he thought fuzzily. Reaching up, his hands searched for the clasp to his helmet. Lungs burning in their desire for air, his fingers fumbled futilely for their quarry. Finally, capturing their prey, they opened the clasp and removed his helmet. His lungs filled with fresh fragrant air. Crawling a little farther up onto the shore, Ellison collapsed, spent. That’s enough excitement for now, he mused, eyelids sinking slowly and closing.

Ellison woke to the pleasant comforting sound of waves breaking against the shore. He sat up gingerly, feeling hot, sweaty, and sore. The waves were hypnotic in their rhythm and seemed to send blue sparks into the air. Dreamily, he stood, a little shaky, and began to remove his spacesuit. Out of it, he felt the air cool his skin. Sand encrusted his face and hands. A short walk to the water and a leisurely rinse fixed that. Clean now, the tide tickling his legs, Ellison breathed in deeply and tried to pull himself together.

The shoreline stretched as far as he could see in both directions. Trees and other lush vegetation speckled the land with a few clearings here and there. Some mountains could be seen in the distance. Their caps were green and filled with vegetation, not a trace of snow. Looking out over the water, Ellison could see an island, shaped similarly to O’ahu’s Rabbit Island, maybe a hundred yards away. This island actually had two peaks that truly resembled ears and was an even closer approximation to a rabbit; an uncanny resemblance.

A desperate urge to figure out where he was, filled him. Malia would hear about the space station’s destruction and assume he was dead. Somehow, he had to get back to her. Ellison marched toward the trees and vegetation about twenty yards away. The sand felt good against his feet; soft, damp, and giving. A blue hew seemed to be interspersed within the light tan grains of sand. Ellison couldn’t remember seeing sand like that before. He knew there were black, green, white, tan, and even pink sand beaches. However, bluish tan was a new one, for him anyway.

Grains of sand gave way to grass, as he approached the tree line. Surrounded by vegetation, he found some type of fruit tree he didn’t recognize. Pulling a piece down from a branch, he examined it. Round with ridges, about the size of an orange, with a slightly reddish blue tinge to it. A primal hunger came over him. Biting into it, his eyes widened with astonishment. The flavor was incredible. Somehow like banana, coconut, kiwi, and white chocolate mixed together. Mouth watering uncontrollably, he devoured several pieces of the fruit before he sat fully satiated and content. Leaning against the thick bamboo like trunk of the tree of marvelous fruit, his breathing slowed and he felt a peaceful relaxation come over him.

With a start, Ellison woke up. Malia, he had to get back to Malia. Scolding himself for drifting off, he noticed the sky had grown darker. A dim blue light was emanating from back towards the shore. Getting to his feet, easily this time, he walked toward it. A glowing blue beach stunned him with its beauty, mesmerizing him. A small kick sent sparkling blue grains of sand raining down around him. Malia would love this place. He would have to bring her here someday. A pit opened within him, an undeniable fear that there was no way home. Never would he hold Malia in his arm’s again. He pushed those thoughts away. Stay on task, he thought, figure it out, one step at a time.

An image of the blue amorphous water like object floating above the Earth filled his mind again. Part of him did not want to contemplate what that had been. Examining its’ true meaning would be devastating. The implications for his desire to return to Malia, were not good.

Though, maybe it had just taken him to an island somewhere in the Pacific or some other place he’d never been to. There were many possibilities. Many different ways that this could turn out. Honestly, he should be dead. This was a strange whim of fate, a gift even.

Moonlight reflected off the sparkling water at the shore’s edge, sharing the evening with the last rays of sunset. Ellison’s skin tingled and shivered. Scanning the horizon again, he noticed the moon was larger than normal and had a strong yellow tinge to it. The shadows on its surface seemed to be shaped differently too. The orange light reflected on the water was not a sunset. A large, reddish orange planet hung in the sky before him.

Transfixed by the alien vista in front of him, Ellison asked, his mind clouded with dread and awe, “Where, the hell am I?”