The Boy on the Moon

On the same Moon you and I can both see, a boy named Jack was preparing to tie down his dinner because, if he didn’t, it would float off into space. This was not as simple as it sounds. First, Jack had to collect the food delivered each day by the people of Earth. Then he had to heat it using a complex array of lasers and conveyor belts. Only after all of that could he fasten his plate to the small table, sit in the single chair and begin eating.

Today’s delivery was more complicated than usual because Jack had now lived on the Moon for one full Earth year. To celebrate, the people of Earth had sent his favourite meal: spaghetti bolognese followed by ice cream and doughnuts for dessert.

During that year, Jack had learnt exactly how long each meal needed beneath the lasers, which conveyor belt moved too quickly and which knots could hold a plate in place without crushing the food underneath. There were always straps to tighten, switches to test and small adjustments to make.

There was also a message tucked inside the container.

Dear Jack
Congratulations on saving Earth so many times and completing your first full Earth year on the Moon. Everyone on Earth is proud of you.
The Mayor of Greenvale

Jack smiled and read the message twice. He thought there might be another one somewhere inside because a full Earth year seemed important enough for more than one message. He checked beneath the empty dishes, looked through each fold in the packaging and then checked the container once more. Finding nothing else, he folded the packaging away and returned to preparing his dinner.

He placed the spaghetti bolognese at the beginning of the conveyor belt, pressed three buttons and watched the lasers warm it as it travelled towards him. The ice cream and doughnuts went through a different part of the machine because heating them in the same way would have ruined dessert. When everything was ready, Jack tied down each dish and fastened the Mayor’s message into a small clip on the other side of the table.

On Earth, Jack had become more than a hero. Wherever he went, people recognised him and called out his name. On the Moon, he had silence. He also had the stars, which he could see at every hour of every day.

Before moving, Jack had made two conditions. The first was that his family could visit whenever it was possible. His father and one of his sisters completed their space training together and had visited once for his birthday. The second was that Jack receive one home-cooked meal from Earth every day. The adults had agreed to both conditions, and every day since his arrival, a warm meal had reached him.

No matter how often Jack sat at the small table, he never tired of the view. Other people might have seen only grey ground and black sky, but Jack looked past both. On Earth, the stars could only be seen for part of the day and most people slept through many of their brightest hours. On the Moon, Jack could see them whenever he wished. He preferred to look at one star at a time rather than gather them into clusters. Each star was different, and Jack thought each one deserved its own turn to be seen.

He sat in the single chair with his anniversary dinner fastened in front of him and the Mayor’s message clipped on the other side of the table. Beyond it, the stars shone across the black sky. Jack looked past the message, chose one and began to eat.