You and the Night and the Moon

by Jeff Baker

The canoe soared through the sky as the aurora shimmered beside them and the Moon shimmered in the sky.

“Okay, is this thing safe?” Emory asked.

“Perfectly,” Sorkham said. “You steer with the paddles, just like this was in the water.”

“No, I mean the radiation,” Emory said, as he tried to steer the sky-canoe with his paddle. “That’s a real aurora over there.”

“We’re shielded,” Sorkham said, pulling his jacket tighter around him. “Just keep the goggles on, it’s bright. And we’re still in Earth’s atmosphere.”

“Need the oxygen masks?” Emory asked.

“Not yet,” Sorkham said. The two of them guided the canoe, circling higher in the night sky. They could barely see the lights of the resort below them through a thin film of clouds.

“Glad we bundled up. It’s cold up here,” Emory said.

“I could have rented a sky-canoe with a heating unit but they cost more,” Sorkham said.

“We already shelled out enough money on this vacation,” Emory said.

“Hasn’t it been worth it?”

“Heck, yeah!” Emory said. “You know what the best part of this canoe ride is going to be?”

“What?”

“Warming up together by that big fireplace in the hotel lobby,” Emory said.

Sorkham smiled and the Moon above them seemed to wink.

—end—