The Astronaut

British accent

Leo had dreamed of space ever since he was a child. While other kids played games, he watched the night sky from the roof of his house and counted the stars. His father once told him that space was cold and dangerous, but Leo only smiled. To him, space was full of questions and promise. Now, at thirty-five, he was finally an astronaut, sitting alone inside his ship.

His ship, Orion, moved quietly through space. Leo was on a long mission to explore a new planet far beyond the Moon and Mars. It was the first mission of its kind. No team. No return date. Just him, the ship, and the unknown future ahead.

For the first months, everything went as planned. Leo checked the ship systems every morning, sent long reports to Earth, and exercised to stay strong. He followed every rule. He followed every plan. At night, he floated near the window and watched the stars pass slowly by.

As the ship travelled farther, the delay in communication grew longer. Messages that once took seconds now took hours. Leo learnt to be patient, but the silence was hard. He missed simple things: voices, laughter, even arguments.One day, the messages stopped completely.

Leo tried again and again, but there was only silence. He felt fear, but he did not panic. Panic could kill you in space. Instead, he focused on his mission and moved forward.

Weeks later, the ship systems detected a strange signal. It was weak but clear. Not from Earth.

Leo followed the signal through a thick cloud of space dust. On the other side, he found a small blue planet. From above, it looked calm and alive, with oceans and wide land.

Leo landed carefully and stepped outside. The planet was warm. Tall creatures moved slowly toward him. They were alive and peaceful. They did not speak with words but with feelings inside his mind.

“You are far from home,” they seemed to say.

They showed Leo images of Earth and broken signals. Earth was still there, but its messages could not reach this far. Space had changed.

The creatures gave Leo a choice: to stay on the planet, safe but alone, or to return to space and try to find a path back to Earth.

Leo thought of his childhood roof. He thought of his dream. He returned to his ship.

Back on Orion, the creatures sent energy into the ship. The engines shook hard. Alarms rang. Leo held the controls and whispered a quiet hope.

Please.

Light filled the ship. Then everything was still.

A signal blinked on the screen.

Orion, this is Earth. Leo, do you hear me?

Yes,’ he said softly. I’m here.’

Tears fell from his eyes. He was afraid, tired, and happy all at once. He was not alone.

Leo turned the ship toward home, carrying the memory of the planet with him.

He was an astronaut.

And he had found his way back.

📒 Key vocabulary

• space – the area beyond the earth where the stars and planets are
• beyond – farther than a place or limit
• mission – an important job or task, often with a clear goal
• floated (float, floated, floated) – move gently in the air or in space
• missed (miss, missed, missed) – feel sad because someone or something is not there
• laughter – the sound people make when they are happy or find something funny
• detected (detect, detected, detected) – notice or discover something, often using machines
• dust – very small dry pieces of dirt
• creatures – living beings, often not human
• path – a way or direction from one place to another
• shook (shake, shook, shaken) – move suddenly or strongly from side to side
• still – not moving; quiet
• blinked (blink, blinked, blinked) – turn on and off quickly (for a light or signal)

🤔 Comprehension quiz

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