I look at our planet from afar , it looks rather small from here . A drop in an ocean . In this vast expanse , known as the universe . We should not matter . Yet we do . All the wars , earthquakes , famine , money , animals , greed , insecurity , our inherent goodness , trivial matters of the heart , competition between friends and brothers all exist in this tiny blue planet . These things loom large in our minds , in our consciousness . Yet if you take a shuttle and travel a million miles away from our planet like I do , then all these things fade away . At least the things that do not matter fade away . The thing that sticks is love . Not money , or power or fame . Only Love stays behind . But sadly as you get closer to our revolving planet , so beautiful on the outside . Yet inside , it is filled with loneliness and terror and jealousy . That to me is strange . We have come so far , yet we are so behind .
My name is Plato and I'm a space traveler . And this is my story . I collect rare minerals from planets in our galaxy and other planets in far away galaxies as well . I was born in a poor family . I stayed with my parents until I was about 12 years old , and I moved away to make a living on my own . I remember my parents , they were not sad to see me go . There was a sigh of relief on their faces . I did not make too much of it , I had 5 other siblings . So I understood their reaction . My mother even packed me a sandwich for me . So , I made my way to Russia . From Greece , that is where I was born . And I was named Pluto after the great Philosopher Pluto . To this day , I do not know why they named me Pluto . There is not even the slightest of resemblance to the great man . So yes , I packed my bags and took along the sandwich my mother made for and headed towards Russia . I had a friend who moved there about a year ago . His name is Dimitri . He too was born to a family who was relieved to see him go . I had to reach this place called Minsk .
My father had already purchased a train ticket for me , the previous day . As I reached the train station . I took out the ticket and handed it to the ticket collector . The train station was grand and neat and tidy . A stark contrast to where I came from . The ticket collector guided me to the platform where the train was waiting for us . I boarded the train and seated myself in the assigned seat . There were hardly any people in my Wagon . Only a couple of old people and a few businessman . There was no one my age or even close to my age . But that did not bother me . I was considered large for my age . I had really broad shoulders and I was about 5 foot 8 . really tall for my age . Plus I was growing a stubble . And I certainly did not fear anyone . I could stand up to anyone . The neighborhood I grew up , certainly was not a fairytale . It had alleyways you would not dare step on in your wildest dreams . I could fight a bit as well, my father taught me to fight when I was about 5 years old . He used to always say to me . You are really strong son . You have to take care of the family one day . One day i would need to , I thought . But right now i need to be away from them . I looked outside the window and the train started to move away from the platform slowly . I was a bit nervous and even excited as well . This is a great chance for me to escape poverty . I just have to work hard and I will be fine . It would take a couple of days to reach Minsk . An old and cold Russian town . A perfect place for a nuclear reactor . Far away from civilization . The train was far away from the station and now it began to gather steam . This was the first time , I was stepping outside my hometown
Two days later
A couple of days had passed . And I was really sure that not a single word was uttered in the cabin , except when the attendant had come . There was a bit of a commotion when we entered Russia . The official had asked this one Gentleman for some documentation . And his documents had some problems . So , he was asked to leave . And this fine gentleman thought it was a good idea to throw a fist on the official . I think he was just desperate to reach Russia . And as he almost landed a punch on the face of the official .He started to whistle and a lot of there officers , this time in police uniform came in and dragged that gentleman out . They did not take a second look at me . I think they just thought I was harmless . So , the train reached cold Minsk . It was bout 7 PM . I looked out the window as the train made its way to the platform . I was indeed searching for Dimitri . I looked around and i started to worry , he would not be there . As the train halted , I looked at the entrance to the Train station , there he was Dimitri . Just beside the entrance . I was really relieved . I took my bags , and got down from the train and entered the platform . Dimitri was a couple of years older than me , but if you were to ask a stranger . They would bet their life that I was older than he was . He was a small kid , scrawny and there was no stubble or anything of that sort . Although he had the most beaming smile I have ever seen on a person . It was just pure optimism , it indeed was a rare quality .
