It was 1am the next day when we arrived back at Desertville. We were hovering right over Mrs. Susan’s (Marley and Naomi’s grandmother) house.
“We only have fifteen minutes, so you’ll have to make it quick,” John told me.
John let all of us out of the back door and onto the front lawn. Mrs. Susan walked out and screamed on top of her lungs.
“Oh my gosh!” She yelled as we made our way down.“Girls?! What is going on?!”
“It’s a long story Grandma, but we are all okay.” Marley said.
“Where were you two? How did you…”
“We’ll explain everything, Grandma. Let’s go inside, okay,” Naomi said. The both of them took Mrs. Susan inside before she had a panic attack.
Then out came my parents, Uncle Nathan, and Aunt Gracie.
“Benjamin!” Mom said. “We’ve been looking for you for hours! Where were you?” She and dad ran over to me.
“I’m okay,” I said. “We went to get their father.”
“Joseph? At the T.S.I?” Dad asked.
“Yes.”
“You could have died. You could have been captured!”
“Do you know how dangerous that was?” Mom said. “What if you guys were caught? It's too dangerous for you to be out here like this!”
“I know. I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I had no other choice.”
“What happened to your eye?” Dad said.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine, trust me.”
“Why would you leave like that? You were supposed to be at Grandpa’s house!” Aunt Gracie yelled at James. At the same time Uncle Nathan was holding James by the shirt and shouting at him. “Why would you take Kay-ani with you!” he said. “Your grandfather was worried that something had happened to you two!”
Kay-ani walked over to Uncle Nathan, “It wasn’t his fault Mr. Nathan! I asked him to come with me. Please let me explain!”
Aunt Gracie gestured to Uncle Nathan to let James go. They listened to what Kay-ani had to say.
“I have to go…” I whispered to Mom and Dad. They had not heard what I had said because they were distracted by James and his parents.
“What did you say?” Dad asked.
“I have to go.”
“What do you mean, you have to go?”
“This is my chance, this is what God wants me to do. I have to go help my people.”
“God?” Dad said. “You’re not serious Ben.”
I shook my head. “I’m serious, guys.”
“You think that just because you found a ship, you can just go to some planet you’ve never been to?” Mom said.
“You don’t understand. God told me that I have to go.”
Then they were silent. They had realized that this might be the last time that they would see me.
Mom started crying. She held my face with both hands and looked into my eyes. “But we waited for you for so long.”
Tears fell from my eyes and I hugged them both, “I know. I know. God was the one that sent me to you. I know this now…”
“God can’t just tell you to get up and leave!” Dad said. He still didn’t believe what I was telling him. “You’re not leaving!”
“Dad. I have to save my people! I don’t have much time to explain,” I took a deep breath. I needed to put it in words they’d understand. “I have to go to Rasad. I have to go to save Rasadians.”
“But, you’re just a boy.”
“I know but there’s something greater coming. Something greater than me that I have to do. On that ship...,” I pointed. “...there’s another Rasadian. His name is Rudy-John. He’s taking me to Rasad.”
“Is there no other way for you to help them?” Mom said.
“No. I have to go with him.”
“Okay.”
“We love you Benjamin. You’ll always be our son,” Dad said.
We hugged again. “Thank you for saving me that day,” I cried.
Mom kissed my forehead and dad hugged me tightly. I walked over to James who looked like he had seen a ghost.
“I’m glad Kay-ani cleared that up, I was almost dead,” he said.
I chuckled. Then I handed him six folded pieces of paper that I had been holding. “Here,” I said. “You mind getting these to everyone for me?”
“I got you cousin.”
Each one was folded in half and each had the person's name written on the front of it with a letter written inside from me.
“I love you man,” I said. “You’re my brother.”
We hugged each other. Before I finally left I said goodbye to the last two people; Naomi and Marley.
“Thank you for everything,” Naomi said.
“No problem.”
“I didn’t think he was alive, maybe I just needed to have more faith in God like you and Marley,” Naomi said.
“No, I needed more faith. Take care of yourself,” I told her.
I gave Marley a long hug. I could tell that she didn't want to let go. I felt her tears falling onto my neck.
“Thank you for believing in me when no one else would,” she said.
“Thank you for not being scared and telling me that day what God had said,” I whispered.
“No need to thank me. This was all His plan. He loves you Benjamin and it’s time for you to do what you were born to do, and go where He wants you to go.”
“I love you,” I told her.
“I love you too,” she said.
Then she ran inside the house. Those were the last words we said to each other.
“Bye,” I whispered, as I watched her runoff.
By the house I could see Joseph staring at the both of us. He watched with a gazed look on his face. After Marley ran inside, he followed after her.
After hugging my parents one last time, and saying goodbye to my Uncle and Aunt, Kay-ani and I went back to the ship. Car-ri was sitting next to John speaking to him in Rasadian about something.
“You guys ready?” John asked us.
Kay-ani and I looked at each other.
“We’re ready,” Kay-ani said.
John typed in our home coordinates into the motherboard.
“INCREASING SPEED BY 100MPH,” KAREN SAID. “IN THIRTY, TWENTY-NINE, TWENTY-EIGHT, TWENTY-SEVEN…”
“Thank you Karen!” John said.
“Omesa!” Car-ri said.
“Yes. Home!”
The light from the yellow and blue jewels began emanating once again.
Shortly after, we found ourselves in space, far from planet Earth. I rose from my seat and made my way to the rear of the spacecraft, where I could get a good view of space. God’s creation was truly breathtaking.
Leaving Earth was like leaving the human part of me behind. I was no longer Benjamin Harris but Ben-ani now. Soon, I would be meeting The Creator. The Lord.
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