[1-Minute Story] Playing Rocket

When I was little, I loved playing 'Rocket' with my father.

We would stuff futons into the closet, turning the cramped space into a spaceship cockpit. I was the captain, and my father was the co-pilot.

'Where should our destination be?'

My father would ask gently. I would close my eyes and make up random names for stars I had never seen in my head.

'Um, Omega Seven!'

'Omega Seven, roger. Preparing for launch.'

'Countdown starting! 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Blast off!'

The closet door would slowly close.

At that moment, our spaceship would quietly lift off into space.

My father would make a low engine sound with his mouth, 'Gogogogo...', and I would pretend to pilot the shaking craft. The light filtering through the gaps in the closet door looked just like the twinkling of stars.

'Captain, engine status normal. Cruising smoothly.'

'Good, proceed to Omega Seven!'

'Roger!'

The space journey was always exciting. We would encounter strange creatures on unknown planets, sometimes get caught in trouble, and work together to overcome crises by putting our heads together. The inside of the closet was dark and narrow, but it contained a universe that stretched on forever.

I repeated that game over and over without ever getting tired of it.




Eventually, I grew up.

The spaceship in the closet became unnecessary, and I stopped playing Rocket.

High school, university, finding a job. As I got busier, my opportunities to return to my parents' home decreased. My father fell ill and then quietly passed away. I couldn't answer anything to my father's last words, 'I want to travel with you again.'

In the days chased by work, I had stopped thinking about that game.



I returned to my parents' home for the first time in a while.



In the dusty room, I felt as if my father's presence still faintly remained. With a mix of nostalgia and loneliness, I suddenly opened the closet.

Inside, the futons were still stuffed just as they had been long ago.

When I sat down instinctively, the sensation of sinking into the futons brought back memories of my childhood.

For some reason, I tried closing the door.

Immediately, silence descended.

In the darkness, I closed my eyes.

—Slowly, I felt the sensation of my body floating upward.

Stars I had never seen spread out outside the window, and distant galaxies twinkled. A deep warmth spread through my chest.

At that moment, a voice spoke unexpectedly.

'Captain, what is our next destination?'

—It was a voice I missed.

With my chest feeling tight, I thought for a while. Then, I answered slowly.

'Anywhere, as far as we can go.'

Inside the closet, the spaceship quietly launched.