21st July, 1969
The figure loomed bigger and bigger in the sky, a speckled ivory sphere. It slowly was descending on to the Earth. We always hoped that it'd be something bigger. Grander. Might I even say, more luminous. But the moon looked just like the way it used to, in the sky. A mere dreamy globe of chalkdust and finely powdered seashell, and thousands of years of mythical dreams stored inside all that. Something which had made the cavewoman croon out, the pagan worship, the soldier homesick, the voyager backtrack, and the sniper find his target. It was the very cosmic representation of womanhood to me, personally. And I had convinced myself that I'd doubt my belief one day. But that day wasn't today, the day we were the closest to the jewel of the sky. Infact, the jewel itself was hovering above our existence at present, almost like an offering, to explore her virginity. The moon was almost touching the ground below our feet, an orb the size of a double storeyd house. It stopped.
"Get ready guys! Neil, you go first."
That was an order, an order I had dreamed to obey for so long. I approached steadily. My hands were now in the shape of a fist. The shape of the moon, of the Earth. A part of me was all of the whole celestial history.
"This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
I was now standing on the moon.
And swiftly, the moon started to rise up again, following its vertical path up into its astral abode. I could hear shouting and cries, some urging me to jump back into the world I lived, someone asking someone else to bring a lasso to tie down the moon. But both of us had left this world forever, and my journey had finally started.
...................................................................................................
That's the last time we saw Neil. He went away into his own world, maybe. We did hear him once more though, the last time, before he deactivated his transmitter. It went something like this -
"It suddenly strikes me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, is the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blots out the planet Earth. I don't feel like a giant. I feel very, very small."
The figure loomed bigger and bigger in the sky, a speckled ivory sphere. It slowly was descending on to the Earth. We always hoped that it'd be something bigger. Grander. Might I even say, more luminous. But the moon looked just like the way it used to, in the sky. A mere dreamy globe of chalkdust and finely powdered seashell, and thousands of years of mythical dreams stored inside all that. Something which had made the cavewoman croon out, the pagan worship, the soldier homesick, the voyager backtrack, and the sniper find his target. It was the very cosmic representation of womanhood to me, personally. And I had convinced myself that I'd doubt my belief one day. But that day wasn't today, the day we were the closest to the jewel of the sky. Infact, the jewel itself was hovering above our existence at present, almost like an offering, to explore her virginity. The moon was almost touching the ground below our feet, an orb the size of a double storeyd house. It stopped.
"Get ready guys! Neil, you go first."
That was an order, an order I had dreamed to obey for so long. I approached steadily. My hands were now in the shape of a fist. The shape of the moon, of the Earth. A part of me was all of the whole celestial history.
"This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
I was now standing on the moon.
And swiftly, the moon started to rise up again, following its vertical path up into its astral abode. I could hear shouting and cries, some urging me to jump back into the world I lived, someone asking someone else to bring a lasso to tie down the moon. But both of us had left this world forever, and my journey had finally started.
...................................................................................................
That's the last time we saw Neil. He went away into his own world, maybe. We did hear him once more though, the last time, before he deactivated his transmitter. It went something like this -
In celebration of the 43rd year of first man landing in moon (even if it may be a hoax).
