SG: Part 1

Chapter 1

by Kaliska

A.C. 187;

A passenger ship rocketed away from colony L2 toward its destination on earth. It was late
evening, and most of the passenger’s shades were closed to block out the constant rays
of the sun. There was one window, however, which was not covered. From it peered the
face of a young girl about seven years old. Her countenance portrayed the youth and
energy of a child. But as her deep, brown eyes stared unseeingly at the earth, they
held a hint of maturity beyond her years. Suddenly, the girl’s face vanished from sight,
and a shade was pulled down over the window.

****

Gathering her single piece of luggage, Delsie waited as the other passengers slowly worked
their way out of the shuttle. When the flood of people slowed, a stewardess walked up to her.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked kindly. Four other children stood silently behind her, holding
bags similar to Delsie’s. Nodding her head, Delsie slipped into the line of children and
listened to the stewardess’s instructions as she led them out of the ship.

The small group walked into a long, windowless tunnel. Hoping to entertain her sad-looking
charges, the stewardess explained how workers connected a tunnel to each space ship that
docked so passengers and staff could come and go easily. Some of the children listened
eagerly, but Delsie’s deep brown eyes observed her strange surroundings without interest.

"We are now boarding flight 129 to Colony L3. All passengers please come to gate C35 with your
boarding passes ready." A loud voice called from the speaker system, as the stewardess led them
out of the tunnel. The youngest child in the group jumped at the loud transmission.

A stocky, middle-aged man walked up to the counter where they were waiting. After a brief
discussion with the gate agents, he turned his attention to the four children and motioned
them toward him. His mouth spread across his face with a winning smile. "Well, kids, how
was your flight?" He began in an animated voice. Not discouraged by the hesitant looks he
received, he continued, "Welcome to earth. You guys can call me Mr. Trent. From what your
files say, this is your first time away from the colonies; but don’t worry. I’m sure you
will like it here."

The children smiled and slowly drew closer, unable to resist his amiable spirit. Mr. Trent
knelt down to their level. "In a few minutes, we are going to introduce you to your new parents;
but first, we’re going to take a short ride on that little car over there." Following his
gesture, the group spotted a small, golf cart-like vehicle. All of their eyes suddenly grew
large at the thought of riding a car inside the building.

Chuckling at their reactions, Mr. Trent and the nice stewardess helped the kids pile into the
motorized cart. With small hands waving goodbye to no one in particular, they headed down
the terminal toward the new parents awaiting them.

****

"Ok, everyone, come on in." Mr. Trent called, opening the door to a private waiting room.

As the first child cleared the door, he excitedly shouted, "Look at all the snacks!" In
seconds all the children gathered around a coffee table that was piled high with every
snack a child could wish. With an amused expression, Mr. Trent gave the go-ahead, and
four of the children began munching on the goodies.

Delsie stepped back from the snack-covered table with a sigh. Even if she was hungry, none
of the desserts looked appetizing. Seeing her disappointed face, Mr. Trent sat down
next to Delsie.

"What’s the matter? Don’t you like snacks?" He asked.

"I don’t like chocolate, and everything there has chocolate in it." Delsie stated matter-
of-factly.

"You don’t like CHOCOLATE?" A look of surprised unbelief crossed his face. "I’ve never
met a child who doesn’t like chocolate."

Delsie shrugged her shoulders, "It’s ok, but I like fruit better."

"Hmm." Mr. Trent muttered to himself. "What’s your name, dear?"

"Delsie."

"Well, Delsie," He rose to his feet. "I’m going into the other room for a second; and when
I come back, I’ll have some fruit for you." As he walked to a door nearby, he paused and
asked, "Bye the way, what is your favorite fruit?"

"Starfruit, but I like strawberries too."

Mr. Trent nodded before exiting the room. Turning back around, Delsie glanced at the other
children. By now, they had filled their dessert plates with treats and spread out around
the room. Three of them sat by themselves, and one girl sat on the floor next to the
youngest boy. From the older girl’s protective position, Delsie assumed that they were
brother and sister.

Five minutes passed, and some of the children began conversing with one another. One of them
pulled out a deck of cards and began setting up a game of Go Fish. When they asked if
Delsie wanted to join, she politely shook her head no. She thought to herself, "Why should
I get to know people who I will never see again?" Just then, Mr. Trent reentered the room
with a boll of mixed fruit.

"They didn’t have any starfruit, but they had lots of strawberries and other fruit." He said
handing her the boll. She thanked him and slowly began eating some of it.

The five children only waited for half an hour when Mr. Trent announced that some of the
new parents were arriving. A couple of the children’s faces fell, and the older girl clung
to her brother when he started to whimper. Understanding their apprehension, Mr. Trent
proceeded to explain that all the adults were very nice and that he would call the children
in separately to meet their new families.

As he closed the door behind him, the room fell into a dead silence. Delsie could almost feel the
tenseness in the air as the children looked at one another. Staring down at her single bag,
she became lost in her own thoughts until Mr. Trent opened the door and called the first person.
Heaving a sigh of relief that she was not first, she returned to her previous thoughts.

One-by-one the children were called into the adjacent room, except for the girl and her little
brother, who were called in together. After another half hour of waiting, Delsie was the only
child left in the room. Hearing the door squeak open, she looked up at Mr. Trent.

"Ok, Delsie, you may come in now." He held open the door for her.

Delsie stepped into the room and glanced around. There was no one else there besides Mr. Trent
and herself. Forcing back tears, she mentally kicked herself. Of course no one would be
coming for her. She was too unusual. I mean, she didn’t even like chocolate as the other
kids did!

Suddenly the door across from her burst open, and a tall man hurried into the room. Breathing
hard, he said, "Sorry I’m late. My name is James Raleigh. I’m here to pick up Delsie."
James Raleigh smiled down at Delsie before turning to face Mr. Trent.

"Glad you could make it." Mr. Trent began, with a slightly sarcastic tone. "Do you have
the remaining paperwork with you?"

James handed him a stack of papers and waited to see what he would say. Mr. Trent took
his time reviewing them, muttering occasionally to himself. Slightly unsettled by
Trent’s response to the man before her, Delsie shifted her weight so her bag could
rest beside her.

Noticing her movement, James leaned down and whispered, "I assume you’re Delsie?" When
she shook her dark head in affirmation, he continued, "My name’s James. It’s a pleasure
to meet you." His merry green eyes sparkled with amusement when Delsie slowly shook
his offered hand. "Would you like me to hold your bag for you?" She lifted up her bag
which he took after giving her another bright smile.

Mr. Trent cleared his throat, signaling that he was finished; and with a quick wink at
Delsie, James turned his full attention to man.

"Well, Mr. Raleigh, you and your wife are certainly able to provide for her; but this is a
big responsibility. Are you sure you are ready for it?"

"Yes, sir." James replied confidently. "My wife and I have already adopted a young boy, who
has been living with us for five years now. And since my wife is still unable to have children,
we wanted to adopt another child so our son can have a younger sibling."

"Hmmm. Well, very good. The agency will be calling and stopping by your house within the
week to see that everything is in order." Addressing himself to Delsie, he finished, "Delsie, I
would like to introduce you to your new father, James Raleigh. He will be taking you home now,
but if you have any problems, just give me a call."

Delsie was about to ask how she could do that without his number, when he handed
her a fancy-looking business card. With a few last instructions for James, Mr.
Trent let them back out into the terminal.

"So, Delsie my girl," James Raleigh said once they started down the terminal. "Are you
ready to meet your new family?"