I’m hereby announcing a series of tales of a an adventuring party called Anxiety Warriors!

In these tales, that I’ll write in the most mediocre of my capacities. Their stories shall be forever mortalized.

Ooook. Now what?
I don’t know what else to write in this introduction so I figured maybe I should already start with one of those tales. Right? Right.

This is the tale of Mr. John and the space in-between:

Mr. John was an astronaut. He had a boy called David, and a loving wife called Jolene. His favorite thing to do was drinking hot coffee on his front porch as he watched the sunrise. Mr. John was never a religious man, neither he saw himself as the sensible kind. Mr. John was great at math and an okay athlete.

It was during a Monday morning that he got the call. He was going to space! He didn’t knew what to make of it. It was great, of course it was. But. Why?

One thing you have to understand about Mr. John is that he wasn’t an competitive man. Most people, at that time, thought that being an astronaut was awesome for you would be one of the few apes, such as we are, to have the opportunity to leave this shell we call Home. But for Mr. John exclusivity was never an extra. The thing he liked the most was to accomplish. To start something and end it. Looking at the situation he knew it was an unique opportunity and a important service for his country, but deep down. Like, in the back of his head. Almost… whispering. He heard a little voice.

– What if you don’t come back? –

He took the news to his family. They were covered in joy! “Oh my god John, this is unbelievable” said his wife and his son’s eyes glimmered with the most pure light. The kind of glow that only children can bestow upon you. He felt heavier. One more, two more reasons to go.

The training began, he had to give up his quiet life at his house to learn the procedures. Work-out was from 6 to 11 AM. Simulations went from 12:30 to 18pm. He had leisure time from 19 to the time he went to sleep. It was fine, harder than he was used to, but nothing out of the expected. Mr. John was quite an specimen of a human. And so good at following instructions.

The days passed, one by one. Sometimes his family came to visit. Even distant cousins came a few times. That made him happy, he loved being around family. Even more now that he was isolated. But, he had never allowed himself to miss anyone for to long. He was a goal driven man. And that was the right way. People needed him, they counted on him. He couldn’t disappoint his son.

– But hey – he heard – do you remember Apollo 13? – Of course he did, it was a few months back. –

But hey. What? Is this really necessary? Of course it is. Really? For who?

The day was coming. The crew was prepared, the rocket was also prepared. He. He was prepared. They gave him one week to stay with relatives. He was never an extrovert. But the silence was visible. “We’re so proud!”, “You’re so brave!” “It must have been so hard”.

– Hey. What? Why? Too late. It isn’t. I think it is. You have come years late. Me? Me. –

The day arrived. Ready? Set. GO!

The rocker launched. No turning back. Full throttle up. There he goes. So many buttons to press and levers to pull. Don’t worry. It was all played out before in the simulations. G Force rising. Head feeling light. The rocket goes on. His part is done. Trust the others. Leaving earth atmosphere. Gravity lowering. G Force declining. Body feels lighter. He looks around. Crew is also fine. Everything is well. Breathe. Wait.

Silence.

Time.

Look around. Crew is fine.

– Are you? Yes –

Look around. The view. He wished for a hot coffee. What a beautiful sight. The sun. It was truly a star. It glowed, it warmed. Almost like. Almost like his son. He remembered. He would be so happy to see him there. Breathe. No smelling, but he felt many things.

The cool thing about the day is that we can actually see the moon. The night is certain. The end is coming for all things that start. But it’s during the night, even with no sign of the sun. We believe with all of our hearts that the day is coming.

He had that. He used to celebrate it, even if he hadn’t noticed it yet. He knew with no true evidence. Determination never meant knowledge. It meant something. It always would.

Fire. Look around. Space.

Silence.

– Can’t you hear me? Not now. Why not? Now I’m here. That’s good. It is good. –

Smile. The moon comes down.

End.