Page 42 - The Muse 2019-20 Issue

fact that so many people were suffering back home while she was at peace, not having to face the consequences of the struggle. Sam tried to comfort her, like he always did, but Joy backed away.
When she got back to base, her commander, Jack William, marched up to the living area with his intimidating, yet friendly stare, and informed the group that someone had to be assigned the task of reviewing the new satellite to ensure that all mistakes and hacks were fixed. Wanting to get her mind off of things, she decided to volunteer for the job. She didn’t really want to go, but it was a valid excuse to stop thinking. Before she knew it, she was back in space.
As she was reviewing the wires one more time, she caught sight of a strange looking machine floating in the distance. Squinting, she realized it was huge, maybe the biggest machine she had ever seen. Trying not to get distracted, she told herself to continue the checklist. Every few minutes, however, she caught herself looking back. At the end of the review, her curiosity peaked, and she went closer. With caution, she examined the outside. It looked like a huge metal sphere, just floating around. She looked for any labels or flags to see if it belonged to another nation or space station, but she didn’t find anything. As she was looking, she also realized there was no entrance. She was confused, but even more intrigued. Curious as to what it was made out of, she decided to touch it. Her hand simply fell through, as if there was no barrier. She quickly pulled her hand back and stared back and forth from her hand to the sphere, turning her hand over multiple times. Several times, she put her hand in, back and forth, as if testing the feeling. After talking to herself for a long time, she jumped in, closing her eyes at impact. She slowly opened her eyelids to see what she had found.
It was huge. Bigger than it looked like from the outside. She found herself in a rather wide hallway that seemed interminable. She looked around and saw names. There were hundreds, thousands, millions of names. Each was in a sort of drawer. She opened one titled, Maria Hathaway. It was rolled up and tied with a simple ribbon. The paper was scrunched up in the sides and the paper was made out of something she had never felt before. She carefully pulled the ribbon and opened up the paper. Inside was a list. A list of what seemed like goals. She went around opening other files. Joseph Langley, Aiden Falvey, Ella Stackpole, and she continued. She realized each list was composed with wishes, some crossed out, as if they already came true. Some were more important than others. Some wishes were necessity, and others pleasure. As she was looking around, she also realized that the machine seemed off. The lights weren't on and the drawers didn't seem to be working. It seemed that the machine was abandoned, or not processing. Confused, she decided to look for her own file. She jogged through the hallway until she found what she was looking for. Joy Sanders, she said to herself. She carefully opened the drawer to find her own list.
There were many things on her list. She began to read the ones crossed out. I hope I get picked for the mission. I hope that Sam and I are partners. I hope we land safely, she said to herself. She giggled and stopped as she read one that touched her - I hope there will be a solution to the war. She had made that wish earlier that day and realized it wasn’t crossed out yet. As she reflected on other people’s list, she realized that everyone’s recent wishes had not been crossed out. Did the machine stop working? Did someone break it? She had many questions but decided it was time to head back to the space station.
On her way to the space station, she didn’t know what to do. Should she tell everyone about her discovery? Would people lose hope in their other beliefs? She knew people would lose hope if they realized that what they believe to be their religion, was just a metal sphere, floating around in space, barely working.
Joy was constantly thinking about her finding for the next couple days. She was now on her way back home, and the image of the hallway was clear in her mind. The way the lights flickered every-once- in-a-while and the way the names were written on the drawers. She kept looking over at Sam, adjusting the control buttons making sure the rocket was stable. Should she tell him? She kept stumbling over her directions and Sam eyed her, knowing something was on her mind.
He asked, “Is everything ok?”
“Fine,” responded Joy.
Without asking further questions, he smiled and concentrated back on the directions.
When they arrived, Joy hugged her mom and dad so tightly, that they could barely breathe. She
was applauded on her way out. People all around the country thanked her for her service. She was
42