1 Keep Your Head to the Sky

- Earth, Wind & Fire. (1973)

Earth was decimated. Humanity's desire for war took over and for the first time ever, there was no victor. Cities, countries, and entire continents had been left broken and in the dark. Families were separated, and many people left the Earth for a better life. Even the sun itself seemed to have lost it's color and grown dim. To say the least, Earth had become the poor man's home. And that's where Toru lived, in a place formerly known as Japan. For as far back as they could see, the Kitagawa family were rice farmers. They lived, breathed, and died as farmers. But they were good farmers and celebrities among the locals. At least that was how it was before the War of Worlds in 2040. That was 67 years ago. There were no celebrities on Earth. There was barely even people. However, Toru's family still followed their traditions and lived as though nothing had changed. And so, Toru Kitagawa, like her ancestors, was set to die as a rice farmer, had she not planned to do anything about it.

It was August 19, 2107, and Toru hadn't gotten any sleep that night. A combination of unnatural cold and excitement had kept her away from that luxury. She wasn't excited because it was her birthday. No. She hadn't felt so since she was a little girl. Rather, she was excited because it was finally the day she could leave Earth. She had been saving for and dreaming of this day for years, and it was all about to pay off. Toru jumped off her bed, and without knowing, landed on King's foot. He let out a loud yelp as he jumped back and started whimpering. King was a regular-sized Blond Havowart, similarly looking to a golden retriever. He was named King after his attitude, as he always seemed to be looking down with authority on everyone, but you'd see a friendlier side of him by scratching him in the right places.

"I'm so sowwy King!" Toru said in dog speak, which is to talk in a high pitch and curve r's to sound like w's. That was, naturally, the only way to speak to King. King didn't forgive her and proceeded to push the bedroom door open peering at her menacingly from around the corner. Toru liked to think, had King been born any differently, he would have been a cat.

Toru's room was well kept. She had a full-sized bed with a small bookshelf for a back frame. There she kept her diary, sketchbooks, and various illustration booklets. She got many of them from antique shops. They were very old. One dating back to March 2019 by a man with the first name Sui. His surname had been worn from the cover. They were well preserved considering how old they were. She had a drawing desk set in front of her window. She would spend most of her free time there either drawing or trying to see the news from other planets. Getting a connection on Earth was incredibly difficult, so it was a miracle anytime that happened. Aside from that, she had a large mirror next to her closet that reached from the floor to the roof. That would make it around 7 feet tall. In the mirror, Toru saw the reflection of a relatively skinny girl with short pink hair that stopped and curled around her ears. She wore baggy sweat pants and an equally large and heavy pink hoodie with a black smiley face in the middle. The girl was about 5'4", and of course, that girl was Toru.

After a short while of brushing her teeth and doing her wake up routine, Toru felt dread as she reached the staircase. Not too many days before, Toru had informed her parents on her plans once she turned 18. She told them how she wasn't content living a boring farmer's life and was leaving them for the excitement of other world rich with culture and experiences more interesting than the desolate planet Earth. They, of course, weren't thrilled at all, but rather very upset. They had worked so hard to teach her the ways of their family, and all the care they had to take for her while she lived under their roof. Toru wondered how they would treat her on her first day of freedom. She managed to stir up the courage to walk downstairs and could hear the stove sizzling from an early breakfast. She could smell the grease, fire, and the smell of the fresh paint on the walls from the day before. Toru felt sad that that day would likely be the last time she'd experience those smells, and so she cherished it.

She finally entered the kitchen to see her father and mother sitting down by the breakfast nook playing poker. Her father was a kind-looking man. He had a soft face and large eyes that portrayed him as much younger than he actually was. His arms were muscular from all the work as a farmer, and he wore a conical hat over his short black hair. In his mouth was a large brown cigar surrounded by puffs of smoke. His name was Hideki Kitagawa. His wife, Roma Kitigawa, was also a kind woman. She was rather large and wore a dirty apron with many grease stains. She had a chubby face with sparkling blue eyes, which had gone partially blind due to her diabetes. She could see fine out of her right eye though. It was the left she had trouble with. Everything would appear shaky and barely visible. Glasses couldn't fix it. On bad days she would wear an eye patch. Otherwise, she had grown used to it. Unlike Toru's short pink hair, Roma had long brown hair that stopped by the middle of her back.

Mr. Kitigawa put out his cigar and left it on the table while he turned to Toru. "Happy birthday. Today's the big one innit?" Even though he was fully Japanese, Hideki liked to fake an American cowboy accent. He often spent his free time watching old VHS tapes from America and attempted to imitate them. He wasn't so good at it though, and usually just annoyed Toru.

"Good morning Dad, Mom." Toru sat down to a plate full of eggs and bacon and a glass of orange juice. It certainly wasn't an average Japanese breakfast. For a family that valued traditions, her parent's certainly liked to mimic American culture. Or, at least what that culture used to look like. Toru took no time waiting to dig in.

"So, about your trip," Toru's mom started, sounding a little down. "We're scared of you going off on your own just yet, and you know we'll miss you."

"I know mom," Toru said with a mouth full of food. She swallowed. "But I'm 18 now, and I've been saving up forever. I'll still call and visit every day."

"I hope you do, but we thought it would be best for you to at least take King to keep you company."

Her father pitched in saying "Something to keep ya thinking about home."

"Really?" Toru asked surprised. "You'd have me take King with me?" King was her father's dog, and he was very protective of him, so it meant a lot for her father to make such a suggestion. He had raised King from a puppy and was the last living offspring of their former dogs Tofu and Kimi.

"So long as ya take good care of him. I'd like to see my little boy all fine by the time you first visit. Not cuts or bruises."

"Thanks, Dad. I'll take good care of him." Toru was glad her parents looked to be taking things better, even though they still seemed a little down. Not only that but she now had a friend to take with her.

The Kitigawa family spent the rest of the day on trivial celebrations, eating cake, giving gifts, and Toru said goodbye to the locals and friends. Not that there were many of those. They generally spent that day cherishing the little time they had left before they said their goodbyes. However, eventually, the time came. Toru's mother held her father's arm as Toru boarded King onto the Raven, which was the name of the small space ship she had built. She had built it well. Unlike a raven, the ship was blue and had a sturdy tetraglass window, which was a strong glass that could withstand various extreme pressures. As she set on foot into the cockpit, she froze in place. This was really it, this would be the last moment on Earth for her. Toru was finally going to accomplish her dreams and live a life in space. She took her foot down and ran to her parents to give one last hug.

"I'll miss you guys," she said with a tear festering in her eye.

"We'll miss you too," her father said.

Her mom managed to make out a "Stay safe," as she held back from crying

Toru wiped the tear from her face and gave them a thumbs-up while she stepping into the cockpit and started the engines. Then, she blasted off into space.

Her dad looked up at the streaks she left in the sky which danced across the stars and said; " See you, space cowgirl."