The Next Four Months Together

The Next Four Months Together

     “I hate living on this ship – especially this one.” Thirteen-year-old Dioni sat opposite her father, Haris, an eating table. Her twelve-year-old brother, Patric, and ten-year-old sister, Oppale, sat across from each other. “I hated it before my mother died, and it’s gotten worse since her death. Everywhere I turn I see her.”

     “You are only saying that because you are at that age when you need your mother the most.” Haris got up to put his plate in the Recycler. Then he exited the Eating Room.

     “No, I literally see her everywhere I go.” Dioni never stopped eating.

     Haris re-entered. He had something else to eat that looked like an after meal snack. “Do you see her here now?”

     Dioni scanned that room. “No, she isn’t here – at the moment.”

     “Good, then let’s get back to what we were talking about.” Haris sat back down and started eating again. “What are we going to do together for the next four months before you go back to The Learning Center.”

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     “You know where I want to go.” Patric continued eating.

     “It’s the same place you always want to go. The only difference is which Outdoor Entertainment Center is it this year.” Oppale didn’t take her eyes off her food.

     “Which one have you chosen this time.” Dioni got up and did exactly what her father did.

     “It’s a Barbarian Lifestyle on the planet of Kassan.” Patric just took his last bit of food.

     “I don’t want to go there.” Oppale still had a lot to eat.

     “Neither do I.” Dioni returned with her snack.

     “It’s all agreed. We aren’t going there.” Haris could hardly be heard because he had a mouth full of food.

     “I didn’t agree. So it’s not all.” Patric went over to the Recycler – and threw his plate in it hard.

<<<<<>>>>>

     “The beaches on the planet of ViAn are the best in this Sector of the universe.” Dioni started eating her snack.

     “We aren’t going to that World.” Haris almost choked when he heard where Dioni wanted to go. “That planet has Adult Beaches.”

     “They aren’t all like that. There’s a lot of them that are family friendly too.” Dioni finished her snack first.

     “The only reason Dioni want to go there is to meet boys.” Patric’s now eating his after meal snack too.

     “That’s another reason why we aren’t going there.” Haris still couldn’t be heard to good. That time because of the choking.

     “I wouldn’t mind going to the beaches either.” Oppale finally finished her late day meal. She got up to put her plate in the Recycler.

     “I’ve seen what little everyone wears at those beaches. There’s no way I’m going to let my daughters go there – especially if there are boys there.” Haris got up and exited through the door behind him. His four children followed right behind.

     “I’m not going there just for the boys. I want to meet girls too. Don’t get me wrong – I love my family, but I also want some friends too.” Dioni’s left that room next.

<<<<<>>>>>

     Haris and his children retired to the Family Room. They flopped down in different chairs. Dioni and Patric took the three seat long chair while Haris and Oppale sat in the single chairs next to the long one.

     “Where do you want to go father?” Oppale sank into her chair.

     “I want to go to the mountains on the planet of Tumons.” Haris leaned back his chair.

     “Why would you want to go there? That world is one big Wooded Area. There isn’t even much of a population there.” Dioni practically slid out of her chair.

     “That’s where I meet your mother. We were attending separate Summer Retreats on islands near each other. Once a week both islands would meet for get-togethers. When I first saw your mother I fell in love. I was about a year older than you are now Patric. For the next seven years we spent as much time as we could together. We even sneaked away from the others to be with each other.” Haris had to stop talking for a minute.

     Then Haris continued. “We found this old cabin in the middle of nowhere. That’s where we meet off islands. It’s also were we got married too. We not only spent our wedding night there, but we went there for the next six years on the day we wed – until we started having kids.”

     All four kids got emotional hearing that. There’s not a dry eye in that room – including Haris. “You want to go back there because it’s been almost a year since mother died – and you want to go there to remember the good times you had.” Patric said that.

<<<<<>>>>>

     “You are the only one who hasn’t said where you want to go Oppale.” Dioni said as she sat back down into her chair after getting everyone something to drink.

     “I don’t want to go anywhere. There is plenty to do onboard this ship. We got our own Entertainment Center, and games.” Oppale took a long drink of her beverage.

     “You could still do that if we went to Kassan.” Patric only took a sip of his beverage.

     “At the beaches too.” Dioni spilled her drink as she sat down.

     “I love all of you – but I don’t want to be living on this ship for the next four months all alone with only the three of you.” Haris saw Dion push a button on the arm of her chair – and the spilled drink disappeared.

     “It sounds like that almost all of us finally all agree on something.” Patric suppressed a laugh at what Dioni did.

<<<<<>>>>>

     The ship they lived on happen to be a spaceship. A spaceship that’s parked in space near a planet with about five hundred other spaceships. That ship had just taken off. A couple of weeks later it landed on Tumons.