Joy helms Bonny’s Revenge.
We sail past the moon, which Joy and Charlie visited only a couple of months ago. We sail past Mars, zoom past the asteroid belt and the solar system.
Joy doesn’t even look aside, checking for a facility that can hold a dragon.
“Joy, you just skipped over a lot of planets,” Suzy tells her.
“She’s not there,” Joy says confidently without looking at Suzy.
Bonny’s Revenge flies faster, until we reach a planet made of metal.
Joy brings in Bonny’s Revenge and flies towards the mountains. “Look for a cave, Master Mind.”
“I have seen no caves,” the robot reports as Joy zooms past.
“Next,” Joy pulls back on the wheel and Bonny’s Revenge returns to space.
We do the same for a couple more planets, and skip over a few more.
“Joy, Joy, hold on,” I walk up to her and try to speak calmly. “How can you be sure she’s not on any of these planets?”
Joy rolls her eyes and sighs at me. “She’s not there, Grampa!”
Suzy joins me, her voice also calm. Joy is clearly distraught, yet she’s driving a war ship faster than the fastest airplane. “How do you know she’s not there, Joy?”
Joy sighs as she continues to fly towards the next destination. “I touched Red, so Red stays behind forever. But I never touched Red’s sister dragons. I’ve never seen them. And I never touched the villain that Red fought. So Red isn’t a prisoner. Because the first time Dad would wake up, the villain and the dragons and the prison would all disappear. And Red would be free.”
“So?”
“So I’m looking for a really faraway place, with a good place for a prison for a lot of dragons…” she trails off.
“A-ha,” Suzy says at the silence, trying to get her to finish the sentence.
“And when I find one,” she says, looking forward. But I can see tears streaming down her cheeks. “When I find one, I’m going to look for dust.”
“Dust?” Suzy echoes.
Oh, no. I now understand what’s going on. “Suzy,” I say. “Dust is what permanent dreams like us turn to when we die.” I turn to Joy. “You think she’s dead?”
Joy doesn’t answer. Her eyes scour planets as she looks forward.
“But why, Joy?” Suzy says. “She doesn’t have to be dead!”
Joy looks at her and shouts through tears, “She didn’t come for a year! For a year! She can’t come because she’s dead! It’s the only reason!”
Suzy opens her arms, and Joy falls into them. “All right, all right, dearie,” Suzy hugs her warmly.
I try to grab the wheel, but thankfully Master Mind is by my side, moving my hands away. He takes the wheel and slows the ship as Joy cries.
“Oh, dear. Oh, dear,” Suzy says. “It’s so terrible.”
Joy cries while Suzy rocks her. Bonny’s Revenge comes to a stop in space.
(To be continued…)
—Told by Grampa Walt