Afraid of the unknown journey upon which he was about to embark, Simon tightly closed his eyes.  Gradually the sensation of light faded around him, eventually disappearing behind his eyelids like a sunset.

"Where am I going?" he asked without looking.

"It's okay.  You'll be with me," Morris responded enigmatically, still gently holding the boy's hand.

"That doesn't answer my question.  Where are we going?"

Again Morris avoided answering, opting instead to change the subject entirely.  "Simon, if you had one wish in this world, what would it be?"

Eyes remaining closed, Simon thought for a moment.  "Hmm, that's tough.  I don't know.  World peace would be nice.  So would an end to hunger.  Gosh, it's a tough call, Morris."

"Okay, then let's narrow it down a bit.  If you had to wish for something for yourself, what would it be?"

After another moment of thought, Simon answered, "Well, I guess I would wish for my family to be safe and happy."

"No, Simon!" Morris grumbled, a trace of annoyance detectable in his voice.  "I'm talking about a self-oriented wish.  If you could have one thing for yourself – not for the world or your family, for yourself – what would it be?"

Simon finally opened his eyes to answer. Yet, before the words could escape his mouth, the sight of his surroundings mesmerized him.  As before, he lay atop his bed, his hand still in Morris's.  However, now the two of them appeared to be floating through pitch-black outer space.

"Oh my God.  Where are we?" he asked in awe.

"We're traveling.  And you didn't answer my question."

"Dude," Simon's voice squeaked, "How am I supposed to concentrate on your stupid question when I could roll the wrong way off my bed and fall into complete nothingness?"

"You won't fall.  I've got your hand.  But if it will make you feel better, then why don't you look over the side of your bed and tell me what you see?"

Swallowing hard, Simon slowly moved his head toward the bedside.  Then, cautiously, he peered over the edge.  Below, he saw the same bedroom floor he had stepped onto every morning for years.  Startled, he jerked his head around to look at Morris and the utter blackness surrounding him.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"The…the thing you just did.  With my floor…and the outer space all around us?  How…how did you make my room go away but leave the floor?"

Morris's sly grin re-appeared.  "I didn't do anything.  Now, are you going to answer my question?"

Simon looked at him disbelievingly.  "No!  You didn't answer mine; why should I answer yours?"

"Simon, I answered.  Come on, man.  Be fair."

"No you didn't.  I asked how you did this and you said you didn't do it."

"That's because I didn't.  It was an honest answer, and I expect one from you in return."

"But, Morris, if you didn't do this, then who did?"

Morris flashed a tender, knowing smirk.  "Why, Simon, you did, of course."

"I did?"

Morris nodded.

"You're telling me that I vaporized my room and, in fact, the entire world, except for my bedroom floor?"

Morris nodded.

"Bullshit.  All I did was lie down on this bed and close my eyes and take your hand."

"And that was enough."

Furious with all the cryptic talk, Simon let go of Morris's hand, crossed his arms, and pouted.  "Fuck this!  I want my room back."

"Simon, no!" Morris shouted as he began to float away from the bed into vapor space.

Realizing what was happening, Simon reached out for his friend.  But Morris had floated too far away for Simon to reach him without leaving the bed.

"Morris, wait!" he shouted from atop his blankets.  "Please, Morris!  Come back to me!"

"I'm sorry, Simon.  You let me go.  It's too late," Morris shouted as he drifted further out, as if being sucked away by some giant, invisible vacuum cleaner.

"No!  Morris, don't leave me!  I'm floating through outer space on my freaking bed and I'm really scared, and I don't want to be alone!  I'm sorry I didn't answer your question!  If you come back I promise I'll answer it!"

"I'm sorry, Simon.  The pull is too strong.  I can't make it back to you.  But tell me now!  What would you wish for?"

"I'd wish for you to be back here with me, now!"

"No, Simon!  That's not a good enough answer!  It's not what you would have said before you let me go!"  Morris shouted from so far away that Simon had to strain to hear him.  "Look, Simon, don't be scared!  You're strong enough to make it through this journey on your own!"

"I am?"

But before Morris could answer, the darkness swallowed him.

***

Simon lay atop his bed, floating through silent, dark, boring outer space for what seemed an eternity.  Every now and then he thought he caught a flash of color in the corner of his eye, but whenever he turned, there was nothing to see.

To pass the time, he tried to think of a reasonable answer to Morris's question.  What would he wish for?  What one thing did he want most for himself?  No matter how much time passed, though, Simon couldn't think of a satisfactory answer.

"This trip is boring.  I wish Morris were still here."

"What do you want that mamby-pamby, sissy-prissy boy around for, Private?" boomed an intimidating voice, from somewhere.

"Oh no, please no," Simon begged silently.  "Please do not let this be who I think it is.  He's the last person I want to see right now."

"Grandson, I asked you a question and I expect an answer."

There, at the foot of his bed, several small, dusty gray clouds converged to take the larger form of his grandfather, the Colonel.

Simon raised his hand to his forehead in dismay.  "What are you doing here, Colonel?"

"What kind of a question is that?  I'm paying my grandson a visit.  What does it look like I'm doing?"

An impish grin made its way onto Simon's face.  "Honestly?  It looks like you're floating in outer space."  He failed to prevent himself from giggling a bit at the absurdity of the image.

"Oh, nonsense, Camden.  If we were in outer space right now you wouldn't be able to hear a word I was saying.  Sound waves require particles in order to travel, and there are none in outer space.  Don't they teach you kids anything in school anymore?"

Simon failed to gain control over his growing giggle fit.

"Boy, what's so damn funny?  Are you on drugs?"

Between giggles, Simon managed to blurt out, "Hee hee, I think, hee hee hee, I might be!"

"Well, dammit, son, there's nothing funny about that.  Here, come with me and we'll get you some water or coffee or something."

"No!"  The thought of leaving his bed and possibly getting sucked into outer space never to be seen or heard from again, as Morris had, was too frightening for Simon.

The Colonel sat down at the foot of Simon's bed and sighed.  "Fine.  I guess you can just stay here and rest until you come down again."  He shook his head back and forth and Simon already knew the words that were forthcoming, words he had heard recently from so many different people.  "I have to say, Simon, I'm more than a bit disappointed in you right now."

"I know.  Look, it wasn't my fault.  I don't know how this happened."

The Colonel glared at him.  "Isn't that the excuse you made when you got drunk that one time?  Your father told me all about that little episode."

"But…but this time it's the truth.  All I did was eat some brownies this morning.  They must have been laced or something."

"Oh, can it, Camden.  What does your mother keep in this house that she could possibly use to lace her brownies?"

Simon shook his head, realization gradually dawning on his face.  "No.  It wasn't Mom, it was Gabrielle who made the brownies.  And you!"  He pointed an accusatory finger at the Colonel.  "You're the one who sent her here!  This is your fault!  You did this to me!"

"Dammit, Camden, I'll listen to no more of this transferal crap of yours!  You're a sixteen-year old young man.  Isn't it about damn time you started taking responsibility for your mistakes?"

"Not when I'm not the one to blame, old man."

Fire lit behind the Colonel's eyes.  "What did you just say to me?"

Simon swallowed, worried that he had just crossed a line in space from which there would be no return.

The fire spread from the Colonel's eyes to his cheeks and then the rest of his face, causing him to glow a frightening orangey-red.  "YOU WILL RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!"  His voice boomed so loud that Simon's ears hurt, and the gust of air that escaped his lungs created a draft so intense it blew Simon over his headboard and into the surrounding void.

Simon began to panic as the gust carried him farther and farther away from his bed.  "Great.  I'm going to die in outer space, all alone.  Well, at least it's fitting.    I'm in my element:  a nothing, dying out here in the middle of nothing."

And then the earth rose from below and hit him, hard.