Calio Coaster Jockey

The fragrance of campfire and the salty sea always reminded Ester of home, back on Earth. The twin violet-gold moons of Calio 1172 added to the nostalgic comforts Ester pined. In the morning, the Earth-standard annual Omicron Derby is set to begin. The race that would be her defining moment, her chance to make it into the big leagues. But Ester never imagined being a Coaster Jockey. Piloting a small metal craft that hurtled, hundreds of kilometers per hour along thin twisting rails. Now, she found herself millions of light-years from home. Living the dream her father never could, the dream he always wanted for her. At that moment, however, Ester wondered if this was what she wanted if this race even mattered to her or she only meant to do it for him.

She tried telling herself that her whole life led up to this moment. The thousands of hours of training she endured. All the practice runs and minor league competitions that she won with little effort. Yet, each victory only drove his determination for her to be more, slimming his view of her as a daughter. She considered the thrill she got from piloting the Light Coaster. Racing from the planet’s surface, into space, and back down again. She thought of the rush of working the few small switches and levers. Working with such pinpoint timing and precision that one false move could mean the end. But seeking a purpose only found at the brink of death left her more hollow than ever. So she sought compromise and gratitude for the opportunity denied to so many in the galaxy. After all, only a privileged few ever got to sit in a Light Coaster. Even less got to pilot one. But no matter the framing, she still felt like an imposter, a surrogate to someone else’s dream.

So she decided to try something new this time. To take a path always within reach yet always hidden behind fear. The fear only felt by a child yearning for approval from a parent unable to give it. So she stood, brushing the sand from her Jockey suit. Then set herself to do what took more courage to face than anything a Light Coaster Derby may throw at her. She pulled out her hand terminal and called her father. Speaking with a cool clarity unknown to her before, she told him she would not race. Not for him, not for the thrill, not for some false sense of privilege or pride. Not for anything or anyone other than herself. Her father listened to every word in silence. Through the holo-image on the terminal, his face remained calm and patient. At the end of her proclamation, he nodded softly. Then with a kind smile she never once saw before, he offered a simple reply;

He said, “I love you.”

These words, she so longed to hear, took purchase in her heart. In a place so deep it became the foundation of every success and every failure that would come after.