by Gary Weston
Spacesuits were the attire of people in space, now. By a combination of adapting and a natural increase in oxygen, nobody had need of a suit to walk about outside. Trees were flourishing outside, even fruit trees, like apple and pear. Spring was now a delight, but Craggy loved the rich colours of autumn.
He would sit form time to time, on the bank of some meandering river, drowning worms in the forlorn hope of catching his dinner. That rarely happened, but Craggy always had interesting stories about the one that got away. After another lesson in futility, Cragg had packed up his fishing gear, still wondering what goat tasted like. He decided on a short-cut across the new cemetery where he saw a familiar figure.
Freddie Morcurry finished weeding the memorial flower beds, stood up and eased his back.
'Afternoon, Craggy.'
'Afternoon, Freddie. This place looks a picture.'
'A sad picture. All these graves. They deserve it to look nice.'
Cragg nodded. 'You do them proud. Well. I said I'd call in and see David Foreman. Yeah. It looks nice, Freddie.'
It was a slow and steady walk to Base Three. To Cragg, it was more than a badly patched up jungle. Priority had, quite rightly, been given to making new homes. There was no need for the airlock these days, and Cragg walked straight in. The jungle was mostly overgrown, but there were plans in motion to bring it to its former glory. In the meantime, with the help of a few volunteers, David Foreman carried on from his father. It was David who Cragg saw first.
'Hi. How's it going, David?'
David brushed the dirt from his hands. 'This place misses Dad.'
'David. You are not your father, and he wouldn't want you to be. I've seen you, early mornings, late nights, looking after this. You have nothing to prove, either to me, you and especially your dad.'
'Thanks for that, Craggy.'
As they chatted, two GenMops walked in. They were free to come and go as they pleased. It was Mango and his latest wife and baby. Tilly was carrying Lilly on her back, and Mango proudly introduced his new baby.
'Hello, Mango,' said David.
'Ooh. Baby.'
'We'll be knee deep in GenMops one of these days,' said Cragg. 'Hello, Mango.'
David let Mango climb onto his shoulders. 'Mango's the only one that can speak, now. Not enough time to spend with the others.'
'Maybe that's as it should be. I'll just pay my respects.'
David nodded and let Tilly present her baby to him. Tilly and Mango looked up proudly as David held the baby in his arms. Cragg walked along the centre path, so overgrown now, some places were challenging. At the end of the path was a new monument. A man was standing before it.
'Pottsy.'
The man leaning heavily on the walking stick didn't turn around. 'I still miss her like hell, Craggy.'
'Marcia was a wonderful woman,' Pottsy.'
This was one area that was well cared for in Base Three. Headstones marked the graves. Korlyn Num Sedindra, Andrew Foreman, Anton Forbes and Marcia Potts. A place had already been allocated for Tagg Potts, so that one day he would be buried by his wife. Above them birds still flew in and out of the gaping hole in the roof. David had insisted it should be left that way, to provide shelter inside for birds that needed it. A few were already nesting in the trees.
'I'm thinking of retiring,' said Potts.
Cragg said, 'About time you put your feet up, Pottsy. You've done your part and then some.'
'I'm not sure I'd be very good at retirement, though.'
'Nobody really retires these days. Are you coming to my ninetieth party bash?'
Potts smiled. 'Of course. Just for a beer with you. I don't socialise much these days.'
Cragg sighed. He remembered the Pottsy of old. 'You're welcome any old time. Ok. Misty will be sending a search party if I don't get myself home.'
Potts was still lost in his own world. Cragg walked slowly away, out into the sunshine and the bustle of busy people. As he walked home to Misty, he looked into the sky. He wasn't sure why, but words were going round in his head.
'One day we will return and we will talk of this help you can give us.'
'Sixpack.' Something was telling him, things were about to get interesting again. 'I'd better get some beer in the fridge.'
The end.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading my book and I hope you enjoyed it. Look Out for more “Craggy” adventures, in Craggy's Final Last Flight. If you liked Foreman and his GenMop's, you can share their earlier adventures in the One Way To Mars trilogy. Gary Weston.
# 3 in the Craggy series, Craggy's Final Last Flight.
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