The Earth

2026 Write Now Winner - Grades 9—12

Her hands shook, brushing her long locks of hair away as she held the telescope. Her pendant dangled from her neck, a glittery mirror her mother had gifted her. It had to be near now. They’ve been searching for this their entire lives. She peered through her telescope when she saw the blue, round, and clouded orb.

The orb was surrounded by white foam that seemed to protect and envelop the planet, and it had the clearest dark blue she had ever seen. She gasped, then looked into her pendant, and saw Earth reflecting back to her. She slammed her telescope down, her smile hardly contained. She had finally done it. All these years on the spaceship, since she was a kid, waiting for a sign that showed her life had a purpose, and she had finally found it. It was right there, right in her reach. She sprinted over to her mic and headset. Still shaking from the excitement, she put on her headphones and turned on the microphone and recording device. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the record button.

“Hello my fellow refugees! Today is season 20, episode 3 of Planet Searching. Today is finally D-day! We’ve found the planet, after 20 years! Can’t you believe it? We can finally be free from where we fled.”

She felt her voice catch in her throat. Although she had never been on her home planet before, she knew her roots belonged there. It didn’t feel fair for her, to be talking about all the horrible things going on in her planet, when she didn’t even live there.

Still, she felt a twinge of envy for those on the planet who had their loved ones with them or didn’t abandon them. Out of everyone who boarded The Hero, she was the only one still there.

But it was easy to stay when The Hero was all she knew.

“We’re landing on the planet in 3 hours, but before that, let me tell you about what has been happening. This month, we’ve found 5 new planets, one of the most we’ve seen in a month! We’ve studied many ancient literature, and it seems the ancient inhibitors had names for these planets, but are unknown to us. They also all orbit around a star which the ancient inhibitors called a sun. So far as we’ve seen, planet Earth seems to have minimal movement, which means most likely limited living beings. We will continue deeper exploration soon, so get ready for some exciting discoveries! 3, 2, 1, The Hero Crew out!”

She pressed the recording device once more, and a little light flashed showing her recording had been saved. She slammed her fist into the table, her heart heavy. As if unable to hold onto the fraying string, the pendant snapped, falling to the floor and shattering. She looked at the pendant with a slightly saddened gaze, then shook her head. Her mom had never been with her. She didn’t need the pendant, nor the broken pieces.

***

Three hours went by, and she put on all the gear required for her to be able to get off the ship.

She was ready to leave the only place she had ever been in her entire life.

She slowly opened the door and stepped out, instantly feeling a force push her down. She carefully adjusted herself. Her lessons for training in gravity had actually paid off. She stepped down the staircase and looked around.

This…wasn’t planet Earth.

This was hell.

She looked around, confused, and then started coughing. The air stung her lungs and her eyes, and she could hardly breath.

It was…so different.

It was nothing like the literature had said. Everything was desolate, barren, and cold. Her eyes darted, confused.

Her entire purpose was to find and make a home here, but how was she supposed to do that when there’s nothing here at all?

Damn it! Arghhhhhh, why am I here?” She mumbled, her hands shaking and grabbing her hair. After 20 years of her life, they sent her to find this? Everything here was bleak, and it’s out of her control. It was like they were tormenting her. Her life purpose was breaking down, and so was she.

She looked back at the spaceship, and saw the wind had blown a shard of the pendant out somehow. She could recognize the glittery mirror anywhere. The piece just laid in the staircase of the spaceship, glittering somehow despite the bleak environment it was in. She sighed, walking over slowly to pick it up. The mirror showed her reflection, her face masking the emotions of…everything.

“Missus?” She froze. A voice. A human voice, who spoke her language, and was here? She whipped around and looked at a little girl, who couldn’t be older than five.

“Missus, why are you here? It’s very dangerous here.” The little girl said. Her wide, blue eyes stared at her as she scrambled to compose herself.

“Hey little one, what’s your name?” She asked, feeling her voice break. It had been so long since she talked to anyone.

“Ray. Missus, you should come with me. It’s dangerous out here.” The girl-or Ray, grabbed her hand and dragged her. She blinked, but didn’t oppose it. After all, what other choice did she have?

They walked for a while in silence before Ray stopped in front of a boulder. She grabbed a nearby rock and twisted it. The boulder slowly creaked, and she watched in amazement as the boulder opened and a huge staircase leading to a bustling city opened, full of talking, laughing, hugging.

“Let’s go missus!” Ray exclaimed. Her eyes filled with amazement as Ray directed her down the staircase. Once they reached the end, Ray turned to her.

“Missus, what’s your name?”

She looked into Ray’s expecting eyes, freezing again. But she relaxed before she slowly dropped the shard, hearing it hit the ground.

“My name is Hero.”