Chapter 9: Whispering Leaves

The Green Walkway passed over a small portion of the lake to reach the library. I looked across it to the space center. Very faintly, I saw hordes of people on the walkways that led to and from it. That told me there was definitely something going on there. I begged that Dada and I weren't going to stay at the space center. Anywhere but the space center. I did not want to get involved in a space exploration. That was Dada's job. He was the astronaut.

The Green Walkway dropped us off at the library. There was a courtyard with a fountain in the center of it. The grass grew in a circle, and the pavement was circle-shaped. As a whole, the courtyard looked like a massive roundabout. On the outside of the circle were more moving walkways. There was the Yellow Walkway. It cut right through the city, parallel with the Maglev train track.

Dada gestured for me to follow him. "We have no time to lose, Dan the Man." He held my hoverscooter under his arm.

"But, Dada, how can we enjoy the library if we don't at least look at it?" I argued. "Come on, there's plenty of time."

Dada's face turned red, and he narrowed his eyebrows. "No there's not, Daniel! We need to keep moving!"

"But, Dada, I want to explore. Come on, I'm seventeen now. I'd like to have some independence."

Dad considered that. I saw it in his face. He let out a low sigh and admitted, "You're right. I can't hold your hand forever. Very well, Dan, I'll go on ahead, and you can follow. We'll meet up with each other at where we're staying. You remember the walkway to take after the Yellow one, right?"

"Yes, Dada. The Purple one."

Dada nodded. "Good boy. I'll hold onto your hoverscooter for now, just to make things easier for you." He tightened his grip on Hoverscooter 22. "No worries. I'll take care of her."

I trusted him. After all, he was my dad. "Thanks, Dada. I'll see you later," I said with a small smile.

He smiled back. Ruffling my hair, he turned on his heel. Officially, I was all by myself in Downtown Greenville.

Dad messed up my hair a little bit, so I fixed it. I let my bangs hang in front of my forehead. A sudden gust of wind blew my tufts. Let's do this, Dan.

I always found the inside of the downtown library just as fascinating as the outside. There was an opening in the center of it, and in it was a spiral staircase that never seemed to end. The library's reception desk was at the base of the stairs.

Androids and robots helped people find their way in the immense building, but I knew where I was going. The Ancient Collections were on the sixth story. I took one of the library's glass elevators to it. Inside, I could see the whole of Downtown Greenville. Seriously, did those skyscrapers and moving walkways ever end?

The sixth story, the Ancient Collections, had tons of bookshelves, windows, and desks. The number of windows made it unnecessary to use man-made lights. Even more, the bookshelves moved. I stepped out of the elevator and went straight to the prehistoric section. Now that was where I belonged! There were books about dinosaurs and other ancient animals, as well as geologic disasters, and ancient environments and climates. Strangely, the prehistoric section was full that day.

Parents grabbed books and sat down with their children. They read them out loud.

I jumped in on a few struggling parties, in order to help them understand geologic history more thoroughly. It was so much fun!

One pair of parents had a hard time explaining how the moon formed to their children, so they were the first people I helped. Greatly intrigued, the party listened to me.

"Not long after the Earth formed, a young planet named Theia crashed into us," I explained. "Chunks of both planets swirled into space, and gravity pulled the rocks together. From these rocks, the moon formed."

"Wow, thank you, young man," said the dad. "You obviously know a lot about geologic history."

The next party I assisted was a family of six who always traveled with their trusty android. I asked to borrow their holographic chalkboard so I could draw a diagram of the geologic time scale.

"Earth's history is divided into four parts: the Precambrian Time, the Paleozoic Era, the Mesozoic Era, and the Cenozoic Era. Within these eras are periods and epochs.

The Precambrian Time consists of the Paleoproterozoic Era, the Mesoproterozoic Era, and the Neoproterozoic Era. Earth formed in the Hadean Eon of the Precambrian. The Paleozoic Era consists of the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian Periods. The Mesozoic Era, the time of the dinosaurs, had the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods. Finally, the Cenozoic Era has had the Tertiary and Quaternary Periods.

Three mass extinctions to take note of are ones at the end of the Ordovician, the Permian, and Cretaceous Periods. While these extinctions killed off large numbers of animals, they also allowed the new generation to take over. This is an example of both natural selection and biodiversity. The era we're living in now, the Cenozoic Era, is known as the 'Age of Mammals'."

I finished my drawing of the geologic time scale and showed it to the family.

"Holy smokes, you're incredible," said the dad. "Have you ever thought about going into paleontology?"

"Well actually–" Unfortunately, I was not able to finish my sentence because I had another coughing fit. Ouch, my chest! I hugged it with both hands and fell to my knees next to the family's robot.

The dad wasted no time to ask me, "Kid, are you okay?"

"I don't know!" I choked out. It felt good when the fit ended. I could breathe again. I did not notice that I had drooled a little bit, until the family's mom drew a hankie from her purse and rubbed my lips with it.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She was legit worried about me.

"I'm fine," I replied. "Something in here must have triggered it. Maybe I'm allergic to geologic time." I laughed at my own joke, but I quickly lost my smile. "Anyway, I need to get going. Thank you for listening to me."

"Sure." The dad was obviously worried, but I gave him a reassuring look.

I left the library, both in a state of shock and amazement. Amazement because I literally spent an hour teaching people about geologic time, but shock because I had no idea what happened to me. Was it normal to have a cough attack like that from out of nowhere?

Don't let it bother you, Dan. Let's just find Dada, I thought to myself.

***

I spent no time at the art museum, only because I liked geologic time a little more. I also just wanted to get to where Dada and I were staying. Luckily, it did not take me long to find the Purple Walkway from the art museum. All the walkways weren't terribly hard to track down, but the Purple one was definitely the busiest. Like the Yellow Walkway, it cut through the city: past Maglev train tracks, skyscrapers, and more. The first part of it was straight, and then it started to curve. The second I stepped onto it, there was no turning back.

I avoided parties of people and found my own little spot further up the walkway.

"Coming through!" a voice suddenly shouted from off to the side.

I ducked under a hoverscootist who flew right over the Purple Walkway.

He smiled at me and waved. Weird, but whatever.

I waved back.

The ride on the Purple Walkway felt like it went on forever, but it wasn't until later that I noticed something unusual. It looked like the walkway was taking me away from the city and towards Greenville Lake instead. This did not look like the way to a fancy hotel, mansion or inn, but to... Oh no.

Sweat trickled down my face. I clutched my head and frustratingly told myself, "Okay, pull yourself together, Dan. Most likely, there is a fancy hotel on the lake. I am not going to the space center."

And boy, was I wrong!

From out of nowhere, I heard someone shout, "Ahh! It's Daniel Matton!"

Who said that? I looked all around me and eventually saw a girl who was about my age. She had long, brown hair and wore some sky blue eyeliner. Her dress was short, fancy, and brown, and she wore some leggings under it. Over her feet were golden, knee-high boots that had some ribbons tied to them. Behind her was her best friend. She had blonde hair and wore a short, red, blue, and black dress. She sported aquamarine high heels on her feet. In addition, both girls wore PPMC pins. The letters "PPMC" were black.

Both girls screeched to a stop in front of me, and both of them had stupid smiles on their faces.

The blonde-headed girl clapped her hands together and said, "We knew you'd come! You're Dan Matton! The Dan Matton! Please, please, may I have your autograph?" Before I could react, she shoved her tablet into my face.

I had no idea what to say, so I just backed away.

The girls refused to leave me alone. The brunette friend pushed the blonde-headed girl off to the side and offered me her own tablet. "Now just wait a minute! Don't mind her, Dan. She just gets a little overexcited. Why don't you sign my tablet first?"

"No fair!" shouted the blonde-headed girl. She used her shoulder to push her friend out of her way and again tried to get me to sign her tablet. "I was the one who read up on the PPMC Project and PPMC Day, so I should get the autograph first!"

Here came the brunette. "Oh yeah? I was the one who learned that you're going to be the lucky goat to travel through a wormhole! Sign mine first!"

The blonde-headed girl stomped her foot. "Don't listen to her, Dan! I'm an only child!"

I felt like my brain was about to burst. It was as if the meteorite that took out the dinosaurs hit me instead. A mental earthquake shook my head, and I glanced at each girl. "What? The? Heck?" I asked.

"She's lying!" shouted the brown-headed girl. "She's not an only child! I am!"

"You wanna bet?" her friend yelled. "Unlike you, Annika, I actually like geologic time!"

I finally just lost my temper. "Shut up!" I nearly fell over the Purple Walkway trying to get away from those girls. Slowly but surely, Downtown Greenville's skyscrapers started to disappear, and the lake came into view. To the girls, I said, "Look, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never met you in my life." I saw the lake under the girls and I, and my anxiety swirled like fruit in a blender. "What's going on? Why are we on the lake?"

"Aw, don't look so frightened, Dan," Annika said. "After all, Ruby and I are your biggest fans." Cheering, she jumped up and down.

With each passing second, my anxiety grew worse. "What do you mean you're my 'biggest fans'?"

"The PPMC, Dan! You're the star of the PPMC Project!" Ruby explained. "It says so in the city newspaper!" She pressed a button on her tablet. At her command, a holographic news article appeared between her, Annika, and me. It read:

This weekend, Downtown Greenville is celebrating the completion of the PPMC Project. Benjamin E. Matton, one of the scientists who helped build her, has agreed to send his son, Daniel Matton, into space to serve as PPMC's guinea pig. In a recent interview, Ben said that Dan is the "perfect candidate" for this breakthrough in history, and everybody at the Downtown Space Center agree with him. PPMC is scheduled for blast off Friday, August 6th at 10am. We hope you will join us to celebrate the star of the PPMC Project.

Dada freaking pulled me into a trap! I should have known! That's why he brought me to the city.

I hate him! I hate him!! I hate him!!!

The Purple Walkway did not take somebody to a fancy hotel on the lake. It took them to the space center. Oh, I was furious! If Mother were there, she would have never let Dada do that. Only Dada could pull off such a violation.

My anger grew when I saw that the Purple Walkway was directly in front of the Downtown Greenville Space Center. The city was behind me: its skyscrapers, its Permission Robots, and its holographic dinosaurs.

Ruby and Annika tried to calm me down.

Annika chuckled nervously and scratched her chin with her index finger. "Well technically, the PPMC Project is based more on geology rather than astronomy."

Fist clenched, I growled, "Aw shut up," but the two girls continued to babble.

Ruby lifted her hands high into the sky and announced to the whole world, "Good luck, Dan! You're blasting off tomorrow morning at 10am!"

That did it! I threw back my hand and yelled, "I don't wanna talk about it anymore!"

Ruby dodged my blow, but she still grinned her stupid grin.

I stomped forward on the Purple Walkway and folded my arms. I would never forgive Dada. I was going to get him back, and I was going to get him back good.

This is what you get, Dada, for plotting behind your seventeen-year-old son's back–a trap of my own.

***

I took the last ten minutes to plan a revenge plot, but nothing came to mind. The only thing I could think of was to just run away and hide in the deepest, darkest alleyway of the city until things calmed down. Dada would not hear from me for a whole week. Wow, I was so bad when it came to plotting. Well, it was somewhat difficult to think when Annika and Ruby constantly asked for my autograph. Seriously? And I thought Geico was annoying.

To support everyone's weight on the walkway, there were beams under it that gave it a beam bridge-like appearance. The space center itself was eight stories tall. It had glass windows, and the building was olive green. There was an advertisement on it for the PPMC Project. The hologram took on the form of a white and black, space shuttle-like spaceship, and then faded away to a message:

Come celebrate the PPMC Project! See how 200 years of research have paid off! August 5th- August 10th, 5022. Presented by NASA.

To the right of the center was a park that, like Greenville's Heart, had a display of holographic dinosaurs. I asked myself why dinosaurs so important to the PPMC Project. On the right side of the space center was a large garden, and behind it was the runway and launch pad. People leaving the space center and island either took the Purple Walkway back to the city or hitched a ride on one of the spaceship-like trolleys.

At the park, children played with the holographic dinosaurs. Other people checked out the garden, but a vast majority of visitors all headed to the runway and launch pad behind the center.

The Purple Walkway dropped Annika, Ruby, and I off at its main entrance.

Annika grabbed Ruby and started to dance with her. "Yoo-hoo! We're here!" she cheered.

"I know!" Ruby yelled back. "Come on, Annika! Let's go see the PPMC!" She grabbed hold of Annika's wrist and dragged her in the direction where all the crowds were.

I stayed behind, because I was still boiling mad. My eyes landed on a figure standing next to the main entrance–Dada.

He lifted his hand and called, "Daniel!" He had changed into a black, leather jacket with a PPMC shirt under it, black jeans, and black boots.

Fists shaking, I stomped to him. I fought the urge not to punch him.

Dada held his arms out to his sides. "Surprise! Welcome to the space center, Dan the Man."

"You lied to me, Dada! You said we were going on a father-son vacation!"

"I had to get you here somehow. The space center needs you," Dada explained.

"Why?" I snapped. "I don't want to be the star of a stupid space exploration! That's your job! Why didn't you tell me what the PPMC Project was when you got that letter in the mail?"

"I didn't want you to be suspicious."

"Oh, you went above and beyond!" I fought back. "Do you know what they call people like you, Dada? Traitors! You're a traitor! Find someone else to do your PPMC Project, but not me! I'm going home!"

"But, Daniel." Dada threw his hand forward and grabbed my wrist.

I ripped it free. "Don't touch me!" I brought my foot down on his.

"Yowch!" Grabbing hold of it, Dada hopped up and down.

I wasn't done with him yet. Next, I shoved his chest and knocked him to the ground. "I want Mom! Mom would never let you do this to me!" I shouted.

Even Dada started to lose his temper. "Your mother's dead! Until you're old enough to live on your own, you will listen to me! The space center needs you!"

"Then I'll live with Grandma!" I snapped back. I felt warm tears running down my cheeks, and I coughed between sobs.

Dada lowered his voice. "Dan, please, this is a great opportunity for you. Your mother would want this. At least give the PPMC a chance."

I shook my head and rubbed tears from my eyes. "No she wouldn't. Mom was never as selfish as you." With those words, I left Dada and headed in the direction of the Purple Walkway's back arrows. I ignored Dad, who kept trying to call me back.

After that argument, I felt alone. I cried the whole way to the back arrows. However, before I could reach them, something happened.

"Daniel." The voice was faint, but I recognized it instantly.

"Mother?" I asked.

"Daniel." A gush of wind blew some green leaves off a tree in the park, and they swirled in my direction. Mother was in those leaves, visiting me from the heavens above. "I want you to be happy, not sad," she told me. "Do you remember the promise we made? No matter the risks and no matter the impossibilities, we would one day see a real life Quetzalcoatlus. I know you, Dan, and so does your father. The PPMC Project will help you. Trust me." Mother's leaves danced around my head, and then they headed towards Greenville Lake.

"Mother, wait!" I called. I tried following them, but the leaves were too fast.

"Give the PPMC Project a chance. I will be with you the entire time, in forms both big and small. I promise. Dan, this is who you are." Mother's sweet voice tickled my soul. It reminded me of the time when she blew that raspberry in my belly at the Valley of Green.

I held my hand out to the leaves, but I never caught them. They moved over the lake.

"I love you, Dan," were Mother's last words. The leaves never came back, but I felt Mother's spirit inside me. Rubbing away fresh tears, I looked over my shoulder to Dada, whom sat on a bench, and then at the Purple Walkway. Mother's words echoed in my brain:

"I will be with you the entire time, in forms both big and small."

Sighing, I lowered my head and made up my mind. I won't let you down, Mother.

***

With Mother close by, I approached Dada in a calm but careful manner, just in case he was still angry. I noticed that his eyes were red and puffy. Had he been crying, too?

"Dada?" I gently asked.

"What?" He still sounded angry, but I think he was happy to see me.

I'll admit, I was, too. There was a moment of silence between us, and then I slowly nodded.

"I'll do it."