Sunset

 

From my exploration journal on June 25 a few years ago...

The sun was setting outside Moonbase 3, and Sunteel watched me dig a small hole for a small mouse that had died.

But it wasn't any old mouse. It was Moustronaut Misha, one of the lesser-known mascots around the base.

He had been sick for a long time, but the veterinarian said Misha had lived way longer than anyone expected. I like to think it's because we took such good care of him. Someone was always checking on him or putting his small cage in their bed at night.

So, as the moon turned slowly toward two-weeks of night, five of us gathered around to say goodbye to Misha. I stood quietly in the long, black shadows, feeling surprisingly sad.

"He lived a good life and fathered many children," Sunteel said. "On the moon. Think about that! Think about the adventures he had. We should be so lucky."

Everyone hopped away in the low gravity toward a dark horizon, and I thought fondly about Misha, hoping that my life could be as adventurous as a mouse's.

What kind of adventures would you like to have on the moon? Tell me at

RamoneRocketeer -at- gmail -dot- com.