Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowsky Page B

streaks in the paint, the astronauts within—a true marvel of humanity.
    Then, while turning in the dead of space to follow the station’s path, Juniper and Giles found something even more spectacular. Looming oh so large behind them in all its magnificent glory was the Earth.
    It was a powerful moment, one that would never be forgotten. In the thick of space, the swirling orb was so peaceful. All the problems of Juniper’s life, all the news transmitted daily from every TV and computer, the flicker of a billion screens large and small, none of it existed up here. Only beauty and stillness. Such a sight made her heart swell, a sensation to end all sensations. It had the power to make one believe in anything, like a dream floating in space.
    Juniper was awestruck. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and instantly she knew she had to share this experience with others. People had to know. Witnessing such a sight . . . it changes lives. She tightened her grip on Giles’s hand. Was it true? Had they really left Earth?
    At unimaginable speeds they began to fly through space, gliding past the moon and out into the farther reaches of the solar system like tiny meteors each. They soared with the starlight and yet nothing was a blur. This was life outside of lenses.
    They reached Mars in mere minutes, floating past the red rock-strewn surface, spotting NASA spacecraft digging through the soil, mapping the planet, searching for evidence of water. They circled Jupiter, peering into its roving red spot and seeing the lightning crash incessantly within. That spot alone, Juniper noticed, was so large it could fit three Earths inside, while the planet itself was larger than one thousand. Such size was beyond humbling. Jupiter was coated in horizontal layers of clouds, each one circling the gaseous globe in separate directions and speeds like the turn of screws, as if the planet were somehow unlocking.
    They journeyed through the asteroid belt circling Saturn, which they discovered was composed of icelike particles, some as big as a car, some the size of pebbles, caught in orbit, remnants, perhaps, of a former moon. Uranus and Neptune, too, they noticed not long after, were wrapped in rings, albeit much smaller in scale. In silence they passed Pluto, and Juniper thought, indeed, it was not a planet.
    They traveled to the edge of the solar system and beyond, witnessing worlds upon worlds, extraordinary colors and shapes, stardust and meteors, moons and comets, asteroids, red, brown, and white dwarfs, gas giants, solar flares, pulsars, quasars, galactic halos, nebulas, celestial objects that rattled the imagination.
    Holding hands, they raced past stars and through galaxies, the happiest they had ever been. “This is a miracle,” Giles said. And to Juniper it did seem like that. A miracle. But was that the truth?
    And it was that question that moved her hands to the binoculars around her neck, setting the night-vision enhancement. For once, however, it was difficult to bring the lenses to her eyes—what would she see? She didn’t want to ruin a good thing. But she had to know the truth; she had been tricked and duped enough in her life. Her parents were no longer her parents, and she didn’t want to be fooled anymore.
    Slowly, she raised the binoculars to her eyes.
    Through the lenses, the expanding universe vanished. She saw the very same four walls in which they first entered. Beside her, Giles wasn’t floating but standing still. They’d never even left the ground. It was a copy, an imitation. As genuine as it seemed, it wasn’t the real thing. When this theme park ride is over, we’re going to walk out the same door we walked in. There was no miracle.
    Sadly, she thought, Is there even such a thing?
    Suddenly, as if she were a bolt of light from an exploding star, she was hurled through the universe. The speed was incredible, eliminating all sound, and she had no