Astrid the Astronaut's Arc

Chapter 10 of 10

After the car drove away, Echo wandered off across the grounds. Astrid let him go. She walked the paths alone, checking on quiet corners she hadn't visited in weeks. The wind moved through the planet structures. Somewhere past the outer buildings, she heard Echo's footsteps stop. She followed the sound past the Pluto house to the far edge of the property. There stood an old wooden tower she had nearly forgotten. Echo was already climbing the ladder. A tall mirrored arch caught the sun nearby, throwing light across the weeds. Astrid climbed up after him. At the top, Echo pointed to a small wooden platform with a disc on a pole. "Stand here," he said. Astrid stepped behind it and looked toward the horizon. The disc covered the distant view completely. From this farthest corner of Space Haven, Earth looked impossibly small — small enough to vanish behind a wooden coin. Echo was quiet a long time. Then he said softly, "That is what my teacher sees." Astrid lowered her hand. She had spent years trying to show people this view. Now she understood she had been showing it to Echo too. She left the platform standing, and walked down the ladder gentler than she came up.