Insert 5

April 29

“But that planet is just in the orbit of Gliese 581… And if I get on the next ship, it’ll only be twenty-point-five light years to get there…” The Skater pulls on one boot. The dog watches, and thumps its tail…

“I’ve got to figure out how to get on.” And the dog licks the Skater’s hand. The Skater gently pushes the dog away. Clips and buckles are closed and tautened … Laces pulled; the first skate is secure, as expected…

“I don’t want to remain on this planet much longer.” The second skate is positioned and the left foot inserted… The Skater pulls… The dog barks… The dog knows that it wants to go…

“Gliese 581… It is a sun… and it has planets…” The Redhead nods.

“I really want to get there… I want to be a colonist.” The Skater stands up, and rolls to the front door. The Skater checks the stereo clock. 8:13 a.m.

“I’ll see you when you get home later this afternoon. I’ll be back in the house in about 20 minutes…” The Redhead nods.

The front door is opened. The Skater steps out… off the stoop… and begins a roll down the front path. Down the driveway, the skater steers, unsteadily toward the parked SUV… The Skater rounds the SUV, applies the right foot brake… and glides warily down the sidewalk… A quick right… and down the neighbor’s driveway… and onto the road.

An osprey flies overhead… some small rodent in its beak… on its way to its nest and its mate follows behind… two quick screeches… It trails its mate to the Cypress conservation area… Breakfast for the two of three hatchlings…

“I wonder what it would be like to be one of the first colonists on Planet New World. If the sun is red, does that mean I could live longer?”

Picking up speed the Skater lifts left leg and skate, and then right… At the corner the Skater rounds to the left. The Shepherd, tied in the nearby year, barks its welcome… and then turns twice, and lies down under the oak…

The Skater breathes, at the beat of the wheels, as each skate clicks to the pavement. Early morning sprinklers create a slalom course… slick black ice… A neighbor, in a robe, and disheveled hair drags a plastic recycling bin to the curb. The neighbor nods. The Skater waves in passing.

The Skaters rounds to the left and continues down the stretch. No cars, SUVs… down to the stop sign… The young teens are waiting at the corner… The 8:26 School shuttle… Maroon jerseys and beige chinos… The Redhead nods at the Skater’s passing… Seven youths… books and knapsacks… The Skater notices the shuttle at the end of the street… about three minutes from the corner…

In passing two dogs bark… The sun blinds the Skater, steering to the shaded side of the street… And the Skater continues…

“I could volunteer to farm… the virgin undiscovered land… Begin a new thanks celebration. Wonder if yellow corn grows under a red sun? It would take too long to ship it back to this Earth… The corn would only provide for the new colonists… Red corn… maybe? A new John Smith, a new Pocahontas… Oh, and if there are others already there, what then? Take me to your leader…” The Skater nods to the elderly couple out for their morning constitutional… The Hero nods back… The Angel holds the Hero’s hand… The Skater passes and banks to the right…

Squirrels scurry across the Skater’s path… One… Two… Three… Rats with fuzzy tails… flee the squishing of miniature wheels… One and Three rush to a scrub oak…leap… and spiral to the crown… Number Two’s confused… Pauses… a brief moment… turns back, and beelines to the closet oak on the opposite bank of the black river… Number Two zips up the bark… And the Skater glides by, chuckling…

The Skater continues on down the street… Breathing… Breathing… taking in the early morning… Now the Skater’s catching a right turn… Down the street, another right turn… Left, then right, then left… Then right…

Up the street the Skater sees the elderly couple, again… The Skater closes in on them, gliding silently, swishing… The Angel notices the Skater, smiles and nods… The Hero’s arm shakes… The Hero nods… and grins … The Skater speeds by… The Skater nears the intersection… At the road, the Skater banks to the right… and continues… left over right… right over left…

The Skater nears the house… The Skater jumps to the driveway and glides up to the front path… The Skater stops at the front door… The dog barks a welcome… jumps at the screen… The Skater removes the right skate… and takes off the sock… The Skater removes both wrist guards… and bends down to unhook the clasps on the left boot… The Skater takes off the left boot, grabs the right one, and opens the door… The dog jumps to greet the Skater…

The Skater enters the room… 8:46 a.m.… and heads down to the computer room…The Skater takes chair at the desk and signs in… The Skater’s head lowers… The dog curls down on the floor at the base of the chair. 8:47 a.m.