Return (part 2)

After a quick trip into space, two men come back to a different world.

Jul 10, 2026

— continued from part 1 —

“That is correct,” the old man said, leading Watkins and Prescott into the dilapidated command center. “It has been hundreds of years since the launch pad was used, and the knowledge of how it works has been lost.”

“Hundreds of years?” Watkins said, shaking his head. “We just left yesterday from that very launch pad.” He pointed through the window at the vegetation-covered site.

Watkins and Prescott took a seat in the command center cafeteria — a room they were quite familiar with. It was the very room where Watkins had stood just two days earlier and promised his wife he’d return. Now the place looked as if it had fallen into disrepair many years ago. Had it really been hundreds of years?

“The legend says, a long time ago, a cosmic event shifted Earth onto a different plane of existence,” the old man continued. “And that two astronauts were in orbit at the time, unaffected by the shift happening below them.”

“Cosmic event?” Prescott rubbed his chin. “You think whatever rocked our ship and took our system offline was…” He trailed off.

“Tell me more about this legend,” Watkins said to the old man. “What else do you know?”

“I am part of the Aattos tribe. We are the keepers of the history of our people,” the old man said. “Unfortunately, much knowledge of the past has been lost. For many generations, the faithful have eagerly awaited the return of the two astronauts who could restore what has been lost. Yet, over the years, many of my people have begun to doubt the prophesy and stopped believing.”

The old man paused a moment and looked at Watkins and Prescott carefully.

“But one thing I know,” the old man said, squinting at the two men. “The prophesy clearly said the returning astronauts would be women.”

“Sorry to disappoint you but—”

Abruptly, the door flew open and the man with the spear charged into the room, shouting something Watkins couldn’t understand. Watkins and Prescott looked to the old man to translate.

The old man seemed confused. Slowly, he stood and looked out the window. After a moment, he smiled.

“What is it?” Prescott asked.

“There is another craft approaching. A craft like yours.”

Outside, Watkins shielded his eyes as he looked to the sky. The old man was right. Another orbiter, identical to his own, slowly landed on the launch pad next to the one he had arrived in. Even the markings on the side matched, US-7902 Orbiter.

Prescott stood next to him and stared. “What is this?”

Watkins shrugged as the orbiter hatch opened and two figures stepped out.

Both female.

Watkins squinted to focus his eyes.

“The prophesy,” the old man whispered as he approached, hunched over his bent staff.

When the two women took off their flight helmets, Watkins couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Alice?” he said, stunned to see his wife on the landing pad.

“Emily?” Prescott said when he saw his own wife.

“What happened to the landing pad?” Alice asked. “And what are you two doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” Watkins said. “The question is, what are you doing here?”

“We’re returning from our test flight,” she replied. “What’s going on here? Why is there another orbiter?”

Watkins shook his head and looked at Prescott who appeared equally confused.

“According to him,” Watkins said, pointing to the old man, “there was a cosmic event that shifted Earth onto a different plane of existence while we were in orbit.”

“While you were in orbit?” Alice asked. “What in the world were you two doing in orbit?”

“Umm, Alice,” Watkins stammered. “We’re astronauts. You know that.” He stepped closer to her. “We were testing the new orbiter. It’s our job.”

“Your job?” Emily said in a cynical tone. “What’s going on here? You two are professors at the university, we’re the astronauts. It’s our job.” She waved a finger between herself and Alice.

“What?” Prescott said. “No, you two are the professors!”

“A different plane of existence,” the old man said in a mysterious whisper. “You are both coming from different planes of existence.”

“Hold on a minute,” Watkins said, turning to the old man. “You’re saying, these two are from an existence where they’re the astronauts and we’re the professors?”

“And they come from a world where they’re the astronauts and we’re the professors?” Alice asked.

The old man nodded. “Yes, it seems two planes of existence have converged here.”

The four astronauts stood for a moment, staring at each other and taking everything in.

“In your world,” Watkins said to Alice, “is this our tenth wedding anniversary?”

“Yes,” Alice said, a smile budding on her face. “And I’m sorry. I told you I’d be back in time for it.”

“But I owe you an apology. I told you I’d be back in time,” Watkins said. “You were the one who thought I would miss it.”

“No, no, remember?” Alice said. “I told you on my last trip that it would only be two days, then it turned into two weeks because of a faulty thruster that changed our re-entry window. That’s why, this time, I doubled checked everything myself so it wouldn’t happen again.”

“No, no, that was me who—” Watkins stopped and took a deep breath. He took Alice’s hand. “Never mind. We’re both here now. And we’re both right on time.”

Alice smiled and took his other hand. “So, neither one of us missed it?”

“Not even a cosmic event could make us miss a momentous occasion like this,” Watkins said. “Happy anniversary.”

— the end —

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