The Expanse of Space

 

The pinpoint of light expanded like a huge, fiery pom-pom in the vast nothingness that had gone before.  The harsh contrast of extremes was disorienting, and alarmingly beautiful.  They both ducked away from the door as some of the expanding material shot through, and leaked from the new universe to the one they were in.

 

“Wow," said Shiara. "That never gets old.” 

 

Geo gave her a quizzical look.

 

"And watch this!--" She reached out her hand into the air opposite the door.  She flailed around for a minute and then caught hold of the invisible handle.  When she pulled it down, there was a window opposite the door, and they could now look out and watch the fireball continue to expand out through the emptiness of space.  Several minutes later, it was too far out to notice the expansion.  To Geo, it just looked like the universe he had known before.  Being able to see the stars made him feel more comfortable.

 

“Eventually we will have a rendezvous point with a planet, when it is able to sustain life.  But for now we just sit here and wait.”  She sighed.

 

“I take it that this ‘waiting’ is going to be a little while…”

 

“You’re thinking of the eons of time it took to build your planet of origin, Earth,” she said.

 

“Please don’t tell me that it only took six days, and On the Seventh Day God Rested,” said Geo.

 

“Well—“said Shiara, and she scrunched up her nose, raising her hands in defense.  “If ‘he’ were sitting in a doorway that just happened to be in another Universe, that just happened to have that kind of time scale, then that phrase could actually be true.”

 

He winced.

 

“What’s wrong with being open to every possibility?  Have science and psychology made you a bit narrow minded?”

 

He sighed and nodded his ascent.

 

She reached out and jostled his shoulder playfully.  “Oh, don’t worry, psycho-man, things are gonna be okay.”

 

He recoiled from her touch and turned his head to look back at the ever-expanding sky.  He had a distressing feeling inside, which grew when he thought of Shiara.  But when he looked at the stars, he felt peace and security.

 

“Can we keep this window open for a while?” he asked.

 

She smiled and nodded.  “As long as you want.”

 

 

***

2:27:22 PM