Porthole

Dream of water on Mars [266] (212 words)

"Can your dreams be long if your life is short?"

Albert asked his teacher in a calm even voice, knowing she couldn't answer. He could.

He dreamed of being an astronaut and setting up a colony in Mars. He even asked his science teacher how he could extract water.

His teacher laughed, "Ask your Dutch father."

So he did, but tears got in the way. Not his, never his. His dad's.

His mom had grown up in Indonesia on a small island. She would only smile and say, "Just find enough to drink but not too much." She feared tsunamis.

The teacher stood there stunned.

His friend Samantha waved her hand and blurted out, "I can."

Jimmy gasped; no one dared move or say a word.

"Even a fruit fly dreams of fruit. A short dream maybe but just as good. Lots of fruit means lots of flies which means lots of dreams."

The teacher sat down and put her head in her hands. Jimmy started to cry.

"I going to go to Mars someday." Albert said this in a soft steady voice. "When I die next summer my parents are going to put me in a container and have me sent there."

Now Samantha began to cry.

"It's my fondest dream."