I stood before the apartment, with my head raised high. It was hard to find an end to the building. I felt like I'd fall on my back if I arched my neck back anymore. It was a fifty storey apartment. Julie's family had moved in on the twenty-third floor. As I continued to wonder at it, the city sounds in the background dominated by traffic and accompanied by the people on the sidewalk passing by in a rush, meddled beautifully into an amalgamation of an ambient background- characterising the vibe of the modern city life.

I didn't want to go to her place empty handed, so I made my way to the sweet shop right next to the building on the next lane. I bought some pastries and then went straight into the building. After finding the lift, it took me about two minutes to get off on her floor. The lift was smooth and premium. It had some type of scent in it that prevented it from developing stale air or catching the ever present odour of sweat from the ones who used it.

When the lift ringed, my heart thumped for an unknown reason. As I made my way through the hallway, I looked sideways. My brisk walk gradually decreased in pace, ultimately causing me to stop.

The scenery outside was irresistible. So many lights... and the view from so high up was incredible. This metropolitan lifestyle really was foreign to me as I lived in a bungalow with two floors. I had never become accustomed with this feeling. I had rarely stayed at any place higher than five floors. It just had never happened. That was the reason why when I came so high up, I always wondered at the sights.

The psychedelic colours of the city with the neon lights and shining signboards took me into a daze, forcing me to lose track of the real world and just getting lost into the world I lived in but failed to notice in the hurry of everyday. Or maybe this new perspective caused the change.

A door clicked open somewhere in the distance. It brought me back to my senses. I blinked rapidly to get out of my reverie and looked in the direction. There was a figure, that was walking towards me. In its hands was a polythene bag.

It stopped abruptly after coming in view. My eyes grew large.

"Is that you Josh?" she chuckled. "Really, you meant what you said. How you'll come here before I even knew." Her smile was so pure. I liked it.

Before I could say anything she threw another question at me, a type that doesn't necessarily ask for answers. "What are you doing here standing like that? Come with me."

She guided me with her hand behind my shoulder. We stopped before two large bins. She dropped her packet in the green one and then we made our way back to her apartment.

"Here's a treat for you," I said handing my little gift to her.

"Oooh, what did you bring?"

"Pastries." I winked.

"Really, you've quite the memory."

I grinned. I remembered that our fathers used to bring pastries on some days when they came back from work, and it was only fitting for me to follow in their footsteps.

She kept talking about how great the place was and compared it to where she previously lived and joked about how her father must have had planned it all years in advance. How he'll live cosily his later years of life.

I asked her if her parents were home. To that she answered, "They are. But," she turned her voice into a whisper, "it's been a tough day for both of them, arranging everything. They are taking a nap for that reason. A lot is still needed to be done of course. But my bedroom is mostly free from boxes and other junk. Before you leave, they should wake up. They can talk all they want with you then."

The inside of her apartment was massive. It was mostly covered in boxes of varying sizes but I could well gauge how attractive it would look once it was all set up. As I went past the drawing room, I found two rooms to my left. The doors were big, so I gathered they must be bedrooms. I could hear snoring sounds from the first door and immediately understood that the next one must be Julie's. She rotated the doorknob and welcomed me inside.

"Wow," I said. Her room was comparable to my parents' room in size. There was a pretty wallpaper of a forest on one side and the ceiling was painted in an emerald green shade. There was a mirror by the bed, which was large enough for two people to sleep comfortably on, and a drawer on the other side. I imagined her cosmetics to be laying in all those places and probably her other necessities. I didn't ask because I didn't need to. I asked if I could use her bathroom. I probably stunk.

"Of course!" she guided me to it which was near the balcony.

"I'd be quick," I said. I fished out my comb and towel from my bag that I'd brought, along with clothes.

And as I'd expected, her bathroom was large too. Slightly bigger than what we had. I took a quick shower, scrubbed the dirt and sweat away and came out in a little over five minutes. I put my school uniform in a packet and put all my bathing accessories back into my waterproof bag.

"Really nice place, Julie," I said grinning, resting my hands on my waist.

"Right! I was in awe how good a place he had selected!"

"When did you plan to come back?" I asked, sitting down beside her.

"Three months ago. That's when he retired. I had exams and mom needed time as well. So, he started looking for apartments here. I was very happy upon hearing that we'll be coming back, and it gave me the motivation to study well for the exams as well," she chuckled. "Within a month this property was chosen and mom and I were more than happy with it. Like that the other two months went in preparations and we finally came back!" she grinned, while finishing the sentence. "I am so glad to see you again Josh." Unexpectedly she pinched my cheeks and giggled.

"Ugh, that's embarrassing, come here for a hug, that's better." I pulled her in.

We chatted about both of our lives after that. How different experiences led to our present selves. While doing that, she offered me a pastry from the packet I had brought. I politely refused saying, "That's my gift to you. I will have dinner here so that's enough to repay it to me."

Julie looked embarrassed, but nonetheless she served herself a slice.

"Look at this," I showed her my new wallpaper.

"Mm, that's beautiful. Your love for space never ran out, huh?" she said while eating.

"Do you know where this one is from?" I asked, my eyes glistening in the wonder of the subject. She knew how strong my bond was with space.

"I know Josh. It's been on the news." She smiled.

I began to say something more when she surprised me with something.

"Dad worked on this project for many years. It was the reason why he transferred. He had been on the engineering team. His delight was unparalleled the moment the lander made it to the surface."

My mouth was in a big O. "How come I never knew about this!" I was flabbergasted. 'Really?!"

My voice was full of shock and wonder. She smiled. "He had been a busy man. Many of his contacts had diminished for that reason. Actually, he didn't like telling everyone about his job. He was also not permitted to speak of the details so it was only convenient for him to not speak about it at all. He probably faked a profession name when people asked." She sighed and looked out of the window. "He retired when the craft was ready and only a few tests remained. His work was complete."

I just stared in awe at her. She pulled my hand and laid hers over it. "Boy, it's okay. You can talk to him soon. He will wake up. Just don't ask him what's not to be asked, okay? I mean the specifics."

I nodded. This was big news. Uncle Mathew was a part of the second stage of mankind's mission to Moon. And I had never known.