Dear Dad,

It’s me, Christian. I haven’t talked to you in a long time. It has been a while since you wrote your last letter, so I thought I would follow up with another. I am searching for you right now, and I will not stop until you are found. I love you very much and will not be discouraged by your silence.

Your son,

Christian

Christian looked up from his writing and sighed to himself softly. The warmth from the fire above him shined like a beacon of hope as he sailed through outer space. He carefully placed his worn number two pencil onto the bottom of the basket and folded his letter into a paper airplane. He leaned over the crinkly woven basket and smiled as he gazed out at the nebulas before him in his hot air balloon. Glistening stars could be seen twinkling like joyous laughter in the distance, and comets soured past in a gorgeous display that lit up the deep dark of space. Christian pulled his arm back and threw the little aircraft into space, where it sailed onward in one direction forever. He knew it would find his father.

He turned to the burner above his head, carefully lowered the flame using a small black knob, and pressed on through the mysterious expanse of the universe in search of his dad. It didn’t matter how far he had to go. He didn’t stop for a second.

The balloon descended slightly as the flame died down, and Christian carefully steered the vessel through the nebula ahead. Though he was only nine, Christian had been sailing his balloon for as long as he could remember. He had passed by planets and stars, nebulas and comets. All hoping to find his father again. He only remembered one memory of his dad from when he was young. The kind face, the joyous laugh, the warmth within his kind eyes, and an authority that loved him no matter what he went through. From day one, Christian’s father had been there for him, and the young boy longed to be with him again.

Once the flame within the burner had gone out, Christian crawled up into the balloon itself and looked about the inside. He had hung every note he ever received from his father within, and every time he looked at them, it filled him with a sense of pure wonder and joy. It had been six years since his father had left for his important business somewhere out there. He wrote to Christian often in letters, and the young boy enjoyed reading each. Every one of them finished with a promise that he would return. One day.

The child crawled up into a hammock attached to the sides of the balloon and snuggled into his blankets. He was going to find his father. He knew it.

Christian awoke to the sounds of a gentle nip on his face. A soft breeze could be heard whistling in the outer space air, and the boy yawned and stretched his legs. He carefully crawled down the sides of the balloon and reignited the burner after reaching the basket. The flame sparked to life as the balloon rose through space once again. Climbing higher and higher into the beautiful world that was outer space. After consulting a compass and a map, Christian nodded to himself and checked the basket carefully to ensure the sandbags were properly attached. He didn’t want to lose any of them. His father had gifted him the balloon when he was young and had taught Christian everything he needed to know about flying in space.

As he checked the sandbags for holes and fraying, a large shadow cast over Christian’s balloon, and the young boy looked up to see a massive sign right in from an expansive emptiness that stretched as far as the eye could see.

The sign stated: “Thank You for Visiting the Oort Cloud. Come Again Soon!”

The boy nodded and saluted the sign as he sailed past it into the unknown. Space had been so friendly until this point. What’s the worst that could happen? As he traveled briskly through the mysterious open black of space, the winds began to pick up, pressing the balloon forward faster than ever before, and Christian hoisted himself onto the sides and looked out at the emptiness with determination. He consulted his compass again and climbed back down, accidentally kicking his radio to one side of the basket, causing a brief flurry of static to rush out.

Now came the challenging part. His father had read to him all about the realm outside of the solar system and how dark and mysterious it was. How daunting unexplored territory could be. But Christian knew he had to keep searching for his father, and nothing would stop him from doing just that.

“Mayday, Mayday.”

Christian turned to his static-filled radio. Did he just hear a distress signal? He rushed over to the radio and adjusted the knob worriedly.

“Mayday, Mayday. My vessel is sinking. I’m losing oxygen. Someone. Anyone. HELP.”. Christian immediately increased the burner’s temperature, brightening the flame even more. He raised an old police microphone attached to the radio and said, “This is Christian Z. Wattson of the Faithful Flyer. Where are you?”

“I can see your burner,” said the voice on the radio. “I’ll ignite mine now.”

Christian looked up, and through the black, he could see a sputtering flicker of orange light off in the distance, and he immediately guided his balloon toward it. “I’m on my way.”

The sputtering flame was fading more frequently, and the balloon was sinking faster and faster. Christian got closer, and within moments, the sounds of a panicked voice could be heard through the darkness. “Mayday, Mayday.”

Christian pressed on, and when he was close enough to the balloon, he yelled, “JUMP!”

There was a leap of a silhouette, and a hoarse voice said, “Go! Go! Go! She’s gonna blow!”

Christian didn’t question the stranger and steered his balloon away as fast as possible. He could hear the burner of the other air balloon coughing and choking as the flame turned inward. The Faithful Flyer sailed through the black of space as the sputtering flame sank into the darkness.

BOOM.

The explosion was thunderous and rattled Christian’s balloon as the shockwave of the detonated aircraft spread throughout the darkness. Creating a frightening sight of orange and red. How could this happen?

The young boy turned to the ground, and there, laying piled in a heap, was a woman with scars and soot all over her body almost as if a savage animal had attacked her. She looked up at Christian wildly and said, “C’mon. Let’s go.” She got up and tried to steer the balloon around, but the young boy grabbed her arms. This wasn’t her balloon.

“What’re you doing?” yelled the woman wildly as she laughed hysterically and tried to steer the balloon again. “We have to get out of here.” She checked her cloak and pulled at her hair as she spoke, and the young boy looked at her with genuine concern.

“Out of where?” asked Christian.

“Out of HERE,” screamed the woman as she laughed hysterically through the empty black of space. The firelight of the balloon burner illuminated her older face. “Society has gone downhill. It’s not worth it! I can’t do this anymore.”

“What are you saying?” asked Christian worriedly. “Calm down. Everything is going to be okay.”

The woman grasped the basket weakly, coughed violently over the edge and looked at Christian through her sagging eyes and mud-encrusted body.

“What you need right now, is a friend,” said Christian with a warm smile as he gazed into the eyes of the anxious woman.

The older woman stopped her insanity and stared into the young boy’s kind smile. “A friend?” she asked with a croak.

“Yeah…” said Christian. “I’m on a mission to find my father. Would you care to join me?”

The woman thought for a moment, then smiled a toothy smile. Even though her pearly whites had turned yellow and many were missing, Christian didn’t care. He would ensure no harm came to her for the rest of the voyage.

“What’s our heading?” asked the woman as she gazed into Christian’s innocent, kind eyes.

“We head north,” said Christian. Until we see light again.”