Planet Earth
Lina woke. She blinked her eyes. It was still evening, but the room was gently lit by the light of the full moon that shone through her window. The moon floated big and bright in the night sky. Wide awake, Lina decided to lay there wrapped in the snuggles of her favorite blanket.
Looking around her room, she saw the globe of the Earth that her Nana gave her as a birthday present last year.
This year Daddy and Mommy were taking her to see Hawaii. They would have to fly on a Jet Plane to see Hawaii because it was a faraway Island in the Pacific Ocean.
Lina smiled; she remembered that Nana showed her the different countries on the globe.
Her daddy told her that he had been to Germany. That is where Nana was born.
Next, they looked at Australia. Lina thought about the Koala Bear named Herman at the zoo.
Thinking of Herman caused Lina to giggle a little. Herman moved really slow and liked to eat leaves.
After Australia, her mom showed her China. China is where Grandpa Chen was born.
Grandpa Chen had a big picture book of China he showed Lina when she visited him and Grandma Sue.
In China, the people had built a Wall that was so big; Grandpa says you can see it from space.
Lina thought about that great big wall, wondering why people would build a wall that big.
She imagined the people being afraid of giants like from the movie she watched with her brother.
Lina’s brother George showed her America on the globe and pointed to Arizona.
“that’s where we live,” he told her. America was a large country. As she looked at the globe, she thought about Aunt Julie in Montana.
When they last visited Aunt Julie, Lina got to see snow for the first time in her life.
Arizona was hot all the time. In Montana, there are forests and mountains, rivers, lakes, and snow.
Lina hugged her blanket as she remembered the cold of the snow and smiled. Lina saw people at the ski resort. They slid down the big hill on their skis.
“Can I learn to do that, Aunt Julie?” Lina had asked.
“Of course, you can, Lina. You can do anything you put your mind to. You will have to come back and visit next winter.”
Lina was excited for winter to come so she could visit Aunt Julie and learn to ski.
“Sweetie, it is time to get up.” Lina’s mother touched her shoulder.
Lina smiled, “I fell asleep thinking about Aunt Julie and snow Momma.”
“What a wonderful thing to fall asleep to,” Momma said. “Get up now. I’m making breakfast.”
“OK,” Lina said as she sat up in bed.
She spun the little globe as she left her room headed for the bathroom. Her finger landed on Africa. At breakfast, she asked her Momma about Africa.
“Africa is a continent, and it has many different countries,” Momma said.
“Are there mountains there?”
“Yes sweetie, Africa has Mountains, Deserts, jungles, and vast plains. I will show you a video on the tablet.” Momma said.
The video about Africa was very interesting. It showed Lina the different animals that lived in Africa. She liked the big cats the most. There were Lions, Cheetahs, Leopards, Servals, and Caracals. Egypt is in Africa, where the Pyramids are.
“OK sweetie, it is time to go to school,” Momma said.
Lina got up and took her dishes to the sink, where she set them on the counter. Lina then got the step stool from the pantry, took it to the sink, opened it, and climbed up.
She washed her dishes and put them up on the drying rack. Then she put the step stool away and went to brush her teeth.
Momma drove Lina to school in the car. Daddy said the car was made in Korea. Lina remembered on her globe that Korea was near China and Japan.
At school, Lina played with her friends. She told her friend Afia about the video about Africa she watched at breakfast.
Afia said, “My Mom and Dad are from Ethiopia, that is in Africa.”
Lina thought this was wonderful and couldn’t wait to get home to her globe so she could find out where Ethiopia was in Africa.
After school, at dinner, Lina and her family ate Spaghetti.
“Momma, do they eat Spaghetti in Africa?”
“Well sweetie, I am sure that in some African homes, they do, but Spaghetti is food that originates from Italy. Italy is in Europe.”
Now Lina wanted to finish her Spaghetti so she could go find Europe and Italy on her globe.
“Momma, can I watch a video about Italy tomorrow at breakfast, Please?”
“Of course, sweetie.”
After her bath, she was ready for bed. Lina found all the places on the globe she learned about. Ethiopia, Africa, Korea, Italy, and Europe.
She fell asleep in the snuggles of her favorite blanket, thinking of all the other places on the big planet they called Earth.
© 2021, T. Mark Mangum
T. Mark Mangum, a product of the unimaginable worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Conan, and the Lord of the Rings. Lover and writer of fiction tales. He is a Veteran, a father of six, and a game enthusiast.
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