Book 01, Chapter 00
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The sun was just beginning to set. Three boys slowly walked down the street to their own homes. None of them wanted the day to end. This wasn’t just the usual reluctance to end a summer day of fun either. One boy, Pip-is, turned to another, Geib, who was carrying a large cardboard box.
“Are ya’ sure you hafta go? Maybe your parents’ll still stay.” Pip-is again suggested to one of the boys.
“They told me that we’re definitely leaving,” Geib clarified while shifting the way he carried the box.
Nuta, the third, spoke up. “Pip-is, there’s nothing we can say. That’s why we stayed out so late this time.”
“I know,” muttered Pip-is, “I just don’t want ‘m to go. All the way off Essimiu too. He might never be back.”
The three boys reached the point where they couldn’t travel in the same direction to get to their homes. As they stood together for what could be the last time, they stood in silence. Geib set down the box and then grabbed the other boys’ arms. He brought them all together and the three shared an embrace.
Pip-is wiped away tears from his face and Nuta was forcing a smile to hide his sadness.
“We’ll miss you,” stammered Nuta as his voice cracked a little.
“I’ll never forget either of you,” promised Geib.
“Go–goodbye, Geib,” Pip-is said between sobs.
“Goodbye Pip-is. Goodbye Nuta. We better get home now…” Geib bid farewell, trying to act brave in the face of his departure. “I’ll miss you both.”
As the boys each turned away and walked on their own, Geib Patriz picked up the vessel of their childhood. This single cube had been their spaceship, their time machine, their ticket into the world of their imagination. He stood there for a moment. He then turned to his departing friends and shouted.
“Tomorrow I’ll leave, but someday I’ll come back. I promise you both.” As Pip-is and Nuta looked back, Geib held the box up. “I‘ll come back, and we’ll have adventures again in my cardboard box.”
Smiles formed on all the boys’ faces as they turned away, headed to their homes, and walked out of each other’s lives.
Anlov Record 