a fable
A satellite is launched into space. It travels for hundreds of years. It travels for thousands, for millions of years.
Then one day it smashes into a planet.
Hmm, says the satellite, looking around.
The satellite has no launching system.
I guess I’m stuck here, it thinks to itself.
So it decides to go for a stroll.
The satellite wanders around for miles and miles. It wanders around for weeks, months, years. It wanders all over the surface of the planet.
Then one day its locomotive gears lock up.
Hmm, says the satellite. Guess I’ll just sit here.
And sit there is exactly what it does.
The satellite sits there for hundreds of years– hundreds of thousands, millions, billions.
Then one day a great big asteroid comes along and smashes the planet to smithereens.
A zillion little pieces of the planet fly away, off into the darkness of space.
One of the little pieces of the planet is the satellite.
It’s been sleeping.
It opens its eyes.
The satellite flies on, looking at the stars.
This is more like it, it says. This is more like it– like it used to be.
For the satellite, the end just goes on.
***
Ben Loory
Ben Loory lives in Los Angeles, in a house on top of a hill. His fables and tales have appeared online and in print in Barrelhouse, Annalemma, Knock, Wigleaf, A cappella Zoo, Vestal Review, and more. His book Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day is currently seeking a home.
