Chapter 3

## Transcript

After finally being able to walk again, everyone shared their relief that I was alright. Buzz on the other hand, had his mind on one thing, that hyper-speed test flight. I had my concerns, Alisha did too, but she knew he could do it. Months flew by and that day finally came. I rushed to hopefully meet up with Buzz, hoping he would hear me out.

Walking into the room, there he was. His helmet tucked under his arm, ready to make history.

“Captain, may I have a word with you?”

I said, seeing him turn. He didn't smile at me like he did when I made my presence known.

“Cosmo, could this wait till after?”

He sounded annoyed, almost like this was a bad time to even try short talk.

“I would just like to express my concerns”

Buzz rolled his eyes and rested the helmet down, before motioning a finger for me to come over. He gripped my shoulders, making me jump, his eyes having a look of seriousness.

“You have nothing to worry about. I would report back to you if something were to go wrong up there”

He explained. I looked away, embarrassed to be told the obvious, and that was, he had it all figured out. Nothing to worry about here.

“Well, thought I’d give it a try”

I shrugged. He shook his head, probably disappointed by my unneeded concern.

“Now, sister, listen to me. I know what to expect up there, but this is going to get us home, and we can live our lives like we used to, okay?”

I nodded in defeat, hearing him pick up his helmet and walk past me. I walked back to the mission control, seeing him in the ship ready for liftoff. I looked over at Alisha who talked to Buzz.

“You have 4 minutes to be up there, and come back down to us”

Thoughts ran through my head. What if something bad happened to him up there. I wouldn't be there to save him. I’d lose a brother, forced to live with it till I die. Seconds felt like an eternity, but soon he was taking off for space. I felt my gut twist and turn, my fears sitting in the back of my head, waiting to present themselves.

A day went by, two days, 3 weeks, then a month. Alisha and I awaited his return, but it seemed like something had gone wrong, my worst fear come to light. A year had passed, 2 years, then 3. Alisha, once single, had found someone named Kiko. They were so in love, I could see it. Alisha would always talk about her when we got free time to talk. It wouldn't be till another year passed, and they were engaged.

When I thought all was lost. I saw something come crashing down, Alisha must have seen it too. We ran over, seeing Diaz with Buzz. She ran over, hugging him.
“We thought we lost you Buzz”

She said.

“Alisha, what happened?”

He asked, clearly confused. She let go of him, giving him a concerned look.

“Time Dilation”

She replied. I always believed that something like that was impossible. While Buzz aged by the minutes, everyone else aged by the years. I expected something like this would happen, cause now, Alisha was happily engaged and Buzz didn't even know it. When we were given living quarters, I was placed beside him, which didn't surprise me. Test flight after test flight, I saw Alisha;a life flash before me. One minute she was pregnant with her and Kiko’s son, then he was a 4-year-old toddler.

Then he graduated and got married to a nice woman. His wife was then pregnant with their daughter, who they named after birth, Izzy. Alisha had aged at this point, being in her late 80s. I was helping her son take care of Izzy. Teach her, feed her, and put her to bed. However, Alisha would see her final days, passing away from old age. Kiko handed me a little box, telling me to give it to Izzy when she was older.

I couldn't help but feel empty and lost. The one leader we thought could get us off this planet completely failed us, he failed me. I walked around the distant expanse outside the Star Command base, throwing small rocks. I heard a large thud behind me, expecting a ship containing Buzz. But it was some sort of container, where a robot walked out. It looked in my direction, walking over. It got closer before stopping.

The last thing I remember is it grabbing me, then in a split second, we were in a strange place I had never seen before.