The Lonely Spy

by Mkululi Nqabeni

  They ran towards each other, Yolanda jumped to Charles’s arms, he grabbed her and they kissed passionately. ‘’You are alive, Oh thank God, how did you find me?’’ Charles asked. ‘’We met people at the isolated airport, they told us they have escaped and you were held captive in a drug factory deep inside the forest’’ Yolanda replied. Yolanda kissed Charles again.

  ‘’ I was nearly killed in Iraq and my life flashed before my eyes and I thought of you……’’ Yolanda said. Charles interrupted Yolanda as she was about to finish her sentence. ‘’You are safe now, thanks to these brave men who brought you back safely’’ he said. ‘’Let’s go home, we have unfinished business we need to do.’’ She said. The soldiers freed everyone in the forest and they burnt the warehouse and factory. They flew back to the United States of America.

  The United States of America media got hold of the information and reported that the navy seal are on their way back to the US. Yolanda and Charles are alive and well. Everyone was glued to their TVs and radios and people were excited on the good news. It was like New Years day celebrations, there were fireworks all over the country and people celebrated all around the world upon hearing Yolanda is back. Radio stations were flooded with phone calls from callers expressing their excitement of Yolanda and Charles’s return. The helicopter went straight and landed at the White House. Yolandaand Charles were welcomed by their family and friends. The moment was very emotional, as everyone thought they will never see each other again. President Sharon Washington appeared ‘’ Well, I don’t want no more surprises. Yolanda and Charles will sleep here in the White House. Your family and friends can also sleepover if they want. Tomorrow is a big day for both of you’’ President Washington said.

  Moments later they realized the president has organized dinner for them. ‘’Wow! We are eating dinner with the president tonight’’ Charles’s niece said. They enjoyed the meal and President Washington asked to be excused as she has other duties to do. ‘’Goodnight everyone, it was a pleasure knowing your family. Yolanda we will meet tomorrow morning’’ White house staff showed them their bedrooms and everyone enjoyed themselves as this experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

  The following morning, Yolanda and Charles had a secret meeting with the president together with the Defense ministers of North Korea, Iran, Britain, China and Russia. ‘’ These are all the nuclear codes of the nuclear weapons. They have been entrusted to me by the presidents and Prime ministers concerned. When you detonate them just use these codes and passwords’’ President Washington said. Yolanda looked at Charles and took a deep breath. We will not disappoint you madam president and we thank you for your cooperation and contribution, ministers’’ Yolanda said. They all shook hands and they left the conference room.

  Yolanda and Charles hugged and waved their families goodbye. A few minutes later, 30 black SUVs arrived at the White House. All SUVs will escort them for security reasons. They entered on one of the cars and it drove off. There were also military vehicles, fighter jets and helicopters escorting Yolanda and Charles. People on the streets of Washington DC were cheering with mixed emotions. Some were excited and had hopeful that they will pull it off. Some were crying and emotional.

  5 Billion People were glued to their TV screens watching this monumental event. Presidents, Prime ministers, kings, and Princes were watching this as if their lives depend on it. Yolanda was overwhelmed with emotion, Charles held her hand gently. ‘’It’s going to be alright’’ he said. They arrived at their destination. They got out of the car and were both amazed at the sight and beauty of the spacecraft. The spacecraft was huge; the architectural design was out of this world. People were amazed at the sight of the spacecraft. The US military sang a national anthem and the people broke down in tears during the national anthem. After the national anthem ended, president gave a brief farewell speech to the nation.

  Cameraman and journalists came closer ‘’ the world depends on you to reverse this enigmatic natural disaster that will destroy planet earth. Just know one thing and only one thing. You are already heroes in the United States of America and the world. Go out there and fight for your people and planet.’’ President Sharon Washington said.

  JOURNEY TO SPACE

  They all got inside the spacecraft together with the White House Staff, Defense ministers, the elite astronauts team and the members of congress. They looked around the spacecraft with amazement in their eyes. They were impressed with the state of the art technology. It was installed with 26 engines running with the aid of nuclear fuel energy. 13 of the 26 engines were powered by solar energy. The windscreen is Meteor, rays and radiation proof. They will be absorbed and stored as solar energy in space. Induction session was almost finished; President Washington turned and looked at both Yolanda and Charles. ‘’ There is no turning back now guys’’ she said. Everyone in the spacecraft shook Yolanda and Charles’s hands and wished them a safe and successful trip. They all went outside except Yolanda and Charles. As every citizen of planet earth was glued in their TV screen, another potential natural disaster occurred. The sun and the blue sky disappeared. The Black Hole appeared and covered the entire sky. It moved closer and closer at a slower pace and it stopped. People panicked and ran to their houses. Some people were amazed with the sight.

  The countdown began till the spacecraft launches 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. This was a not a usual spacecraft, when it was about to launch the ground shook. People who were 10 km away from the spacecraft felt it. Some thought it was a tremor or an earthquake. People waved as the spacecraft launched, some were emotional watching their TVscreens and were praying for their success.

  The spacecraft rose higher and higher until it disappeared up in the sky. Inside the spacecraft, Yolanda and Charles are strapped in their seatbelts. They are facing upward as the spacecraft is travelling at 85 million km/h. There is turbulence, the spacecraft is shaking and Charles looks at Yolanda. ‘’It’s going to be all right within 2 hours ok?’’ Yolanda looks uncomfortable but nods with reluctance. An automated voice message from the spacecraft alerted them. ‘’ Oxygen from this level is 0%, press the Oxygenex button for oxygen ’’ Yolanda pressed the Oxygenex button and she took a deep breath. 2 hours laterthe spacecraft stabilized. Charles sighed, took off his seatbelt. ‘’ Do you need anything from the kitchen?’’ ‘’ Sparkling water will be fine, thanks’’ she said. Charles stood u and walked to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, pulled out a bottle of sparkling water and a bottle of champagne. He opened the cupboard and pulled out 2 champagne glasses and went back to the work station.

  Yolanda felt nauseous and her head was spinning. ‘’ You know that feeling when you are in a boat or cruise ship. You get sea sick, well that’s how I feel right now’’ she said. Charles grinned and gave Yolanda the bottle of sparkling water. She opened the bottle and drank it. Meanwhile Charles also gave her the wine glass and opened the bottle of champagne. ‘’ This will help’’ he said.He popped the champagne and poured it on Yolanda’s glass and also to his. ‘’ What should we toast to?’’ he asked.

  Yolanda stared, smiled and shook her head. ‘’ I don’t know’’ she replied. They burst out laughing. ‘’Alright, let us toast to what lies ahead and save planet earth’’ he said. ‘’I agree’’ she replied. They both nodded with agreement. Yolanda’s body language suggest she is very calm and enjoying the moment. Few minutes later, they experienced the beautiful sight of the solar system from a different angle. As the spacecraft was moving upwards, the sight of the planets was so unreal. They were beyondcomprehension, it felt like they were in a 3D Cinema but 1000 times better, the sequence, the formation and everything moved in motion.

  They took pictures and switched on the video cameras installed around the spacecraft to record every moment in space from different angles.

  They travelled with ease for the next 5 hours. They took notes of the solar system activities, processed and entered them on their data files. They saw figures, few thousand kilom
eters away. ‘’ Slow down Charles’’ she said. Charles pressed and slowed down the speed of the spacecraft. These figures were shining, glowing and glittering in gold. ‘’ I think we are in the Orion’’ she said. She opened her mouth wide with amazement at the sight. ‘’ It’s the constellation figures’’ Charles said.

  The creatures were fast asleep and looked peaceful.The Sagittarius,Virgo, Aquarius, Taurus, Leo, Aries, Cancer, Gemini, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces and Libra. Their young ones were also asleep. Their snoring can be heard from inside the inside spacecraft. ‘’ Let us not wake them up, we don’t know what they will do to this spacecraft’’ Charles said. ‘’No problem, the video is recording so we will watch the footage later’’ Yolanda said. The spacecraft made a U-turn and went around these beautiful mythical monsters. ‘’ Wow, they are so beautiful Charles’’ Yolanda said.

  They passed the constellation figures without waking them up and sped off. They kept working on their data they gathered, pulled out a telescope and learnt a lot of insights.

  An hour later, Yolanda coughs hard. The automated voice from the spacecraft‘’ Please put on the oxygenex mask’’ They nearly fell unconscious but they quickly put on their masks. ‘’ I think it must be toxic gases’’ Charles said. ‘’ It’s going to be a long tough journey’’ Yolanda said. The spacecraft started shaking and rolled in different directions. ‘’ The winds are very strong, put on your seatbelt’’ he said. They put on their seatbelts. ‘’ It’s a tornado and we are inside of it’’ Yolanda said. The spacecraft lost control and rolled deeper inside. Charles struggled to take control but manages to fly out of the spiral of the tornado winds. The spacecraft managed to fly out but they nearly got lost. Charles managed to steer the spacecraft back to the right route. ‘’Phew, I didn’t know there are tornados in space’’ Yolanda said. ‘’I’m anticipating more, anything is possible’’ Charles said. Yolanda looks excited about the journey ahead. Charles held Yolanda’s hand and she blushed. ‘’I haven’t seen you this happy since we were dating’’ he said. Yolanda took off his seatbelt and stood up.

  ‘’ Are you hungry’’ She asked. ‘’ ‘’Oh yes I’m’’ he replied. ‘’Let’s go to the kitchen and grab something to eat.’’ Yolanda said. Charles took off the seatbelt, put on the spacecraft on cruise control. He decreased the speed and went to the kitchen. 15 minutes later, they were enjoying themselves in the kitchen, eating and drinking wine. They teased each other on who was scared during the turbulence. ‘’ Admit it Charles, you wanted to piss on your pants and you were shaking’’ she said. Charles laughed but later denied that ever happened. They discussed work and old colleagues at NASA. An hour later, they went back to their workstation and got back to work.

  Before they could do anything, the spacecraft was struck by large waves of water. Yolanda screamed. ‘’ Charles what is happening?’’ The spacecraft rolled in different directions. ‘’ We are in the middle of the ocean’’ Charles replied. The waves kept striking the spacecraft but couldn’t break it. ‘’ Do something, Charles’’ Yolanda said. Charles tried to steer the spacecraft away from the waters by going to the east side, which proved unsuccessful. He increased the speed of the spacecraft; he drove upwards and finally drove out of the violent waves. The spacecraft was stable and the speed was decreased to its normal speed. The spacecraft switched off and nearly all lights were out. ‘’ Did you do that on purpose?’’ Yolanda asked. ‘’No, I didn’t, it went off by itself’’ Charles replied. Charles took off his seatbelts and went to the engine room. A moment later, Yolanda was all alone in the workstation. It was dark inside the spacecraft but the stars were shining bright outside. ‘’Yolanda, come to the engine room’’ he shouted.

  Yolanda took off her seatbelt and rushed to the engine room. ‘’You see, the water did mess up our nuclear rocket engines, they are wet’’ Charles said. ‘’Is it really that bad?’’ Yolanda asked. ’’No, it’s not a train smash. We have the solar powered engines’’ Charles said. He switched on the solar engines and the spacecraft switched on and the lights were back on. Yolanda and Charles went back to their workstation and put on their seatbelts. ‘’ I think the nuclear rocket engines will be dry and start working within 12 hours’’ Charles said.

  As they were starting to relax, they notice large rocks approaching towards their spacecraft at a fast rate. They tried to avoid it but it was too late. The struck the windscreen, sending the spacecraft swerving sideways without direction. ‘’It’s the Meteors’’ he said. There was nothing Charles could do except to wait for the meteors to go away.

  For the next 15 minutes, large meteors kept coming, striking the spacecraft from different directions. Yolanda wakes up from unconsciousness; she looks around and noticed that everything is upside down including files, books and small equipment. She tries to wake Charles up. ‘’ Charles wake up’’ she said. Charles opened his eyes and looked around. ‘’Thank God, we are alive‘’ he said. ‘’ Yes we are, I think we should call it a day or night. We have been awake for the past 60 hours’’ Yolanda said. ‘’ I agree, we will clean the workstation tomorrow’’ he said. The automated voice machine sent an alert. ‘’ The spacecraft body exterior is partly damaged. Press the ‘’Regenerate’’ button now’’ Charles pressed the Regenerate button. The Spacecraft’s damaged exterior went off and new exterior parts came out automatically. Charles switched off the engines and the spacecraft stopped. ‘’ What are the chances that another ‘’Space storm’’ will strike our spacecraft?’’ Yolanda asked. ‘’I don’t know Yolanda but let’s hope nothing happens’’ he replied.

  ROMANCE

  As they walked to their bedrooms Yolanda looked at Charles and he noticed but she quickly looked away. ‘’ Can you believe it, we have survived this far?’’she said. ‘’Oh yes! The spacecraft is indestructible’’ Charles said.Charles understands Yolanda more than anyone else; he noticed she is avoiding eye contact with him. As they were about to enter their bedrooms, Yolanda looked back at Charles. ‘’You know when we kissed in Mexico, I wasn’t thinking straight. Just so you know and don’t get any funny ideas, Mr.’’ she said. Charles grinned and shook his head. ‘’ Alright no, problem’’ he said. They entered their bedrooms and doors were closed. Yolanda punched the air with irritation. ‘’ How can I be so stupid acting like a high school girl? She said. She went to the bathroom and wondered. ‘’Bubble bath would be ideal right now’’ she said. She opened hot water tap and went back to her bedroom. She took off her clothes. While she was undressingshe stared at the door with intensity. She smiled, shook her head and walked to the bathroom.

  On the other bedroom, Charles is running on his treadmill at a fast pace. His face is dripping with sweat and keeps running until he stopped after 45 minutes. He pulls out his towel and wipes his face. Thoughts of Yolanda came in to his mind. Was she flirting with him or just teasing him. Charles shook his with confusion, went to the bathroom and took a shower. He starts singing his favorite songs on the shower. Yolanda body is relaxed and calm as she is wearing her gown. She stares at the door again then walks towards it. She opened it and looked at Charles’s door opposite her bedroom. She takes a deep breath and gets out of her room. She stands in front of Charles’s door and knocks. There was silence, she knocks again louder this time and there was no response. ‘’He must be asleep’’ she murmured.

  She rushed back to her bedroom, banged her door and jumped to her bed. She covered her head with a pillow and screamed. A moment later she threw the pillow away. She got up from bed walked towards the mirror and stared at it. ‘’ I look desperate don’t I?’’ she said. Yolanda chuckled and fixed her hair. She jumped back to bed with excitement.

  She leaned on her back and raised her knees. She was deep in thoughts and a lot of issues troubled her. Will this trip to space be successful? Will she go to prison? Will she ever find love? ‘’ All I know is, I will try my best to succeed’’ she said. Thoughts of Charles crossed her mind, she smiled and wondered. �
�’Wait a minute, Charles only sleeps very late and is a light sleep. He could have heard me knock on the door, unless he is avoiding me. Maybe it’s because I didn’t kiss him back on New Year’s Eve?’’ she murmured. She pulls out her headphones, placed them on her ears and read her favorite novel.

  Charles comes out of the shower feeling relaxed. ‘’ Wow, that was epic, I feel refreshed’’ he murmured. He wiped his body with a towel, brushed his teeth and wrapped his towel around his waist. He went out to the kitchen to get some snacks. He opened the fridge and took out his favorite snacks and a bottle of red wine. When he came out of the kitchen, he stood in front of Yolanda’s door. He sighed and went to his bedroom. He put the tray with snacks and a bottle of red wine on the bed. He went out of his bedroom and stood in front of Yolanda’s door again. His heart beat faster, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He knocked again louder and longer the second time. ‘’What am I doing? Poor girl, it’s been a long gruesome journey for her and here I am trying to take my chances on her’’ he murmured. He taps his forehead with his fingers and goes back to his bedroom.

  Yolanda takes off her headphones. ‘’ I swear, I thought I heard a knock on the door or is my mind playing tricks on me?’’ she murmured. She stood, walked towards the door and opened it. There was no one on the door. ‘’ I knew it, there was no one’’ she said. As she was about to close the door, she heard footsteps. She gets out and sees a half naked man with a well toned arms and abs coming from the kitchen. Yolanda’s heart skipped a beat. ‘’Hey I…. thought I….heard a….knock on my door’’ she said. ‘’Oh yes that was me; I was going to ask if you need anything or something like snacks. I thought you were asleep but I’m sorry if I have woken you up’’ He said. ‘’No, you didn’t I was wearing my headphones. That’s why I didn’t hear you knock’’ Yolanda said. “That good to hear, cheers’’ he said.