Jean-Pierre glanced to the left – the Japanese man was typing something on his phone and listening to music; he turned to the right and saw a postcard in the hands of the girl.
“Nika,” Jean-Pierre said in French with a smile, “goddess of luck.”
“Excuse me,” the girl said in English.
Jean-Pierre looked closely at the girl and realized he could guess where she was from. Blond hair down to her shoulder blades, smiling face, high forehead, and wide-set eyes. She was dressed in a very bright sweater, and she had a special travel pad around her neck.
“Nika brings good luck,” he said in English, “and good luck is always nice.”
The girl smiled and nodded understandingly. She liked that Frenchman with the gray hair and the tired but kind look. She looked again at the image and said:
“Yes, that’s what I’m thinking. My name is Debby.”
“Jean-Pierre,” he nodded briefly.
The plane accelerated down the runway and threw its nose up. Jean-Pierre leaned back and continued to mull over the report and the speech plan with his eyes closed. Debby put the card away in her purse and sank into her thoughts. In them, she was already driving with Sango in the car and telling her impressions of the Louvre. The museum had given her some interesting thoughts about how to get the children involved in learning. Debby imagined telling a friend about her idea. The name of the project was a draft, but she liked it a lot. “Attention conquers suffering,” she wrote in her notebook.
“Everyone wants to feel connected to great things and great people. Children need to feel connected to the history of the country and the world. They are the ones who create it and perceive it. They make it relevant and important.” Debby put her pen aside and thought.
The plane rose gently above the clouds and leveled off in the ocean of air.
People were gathering in the large hall of the European Space Agency. There were many more people than yesterday. There were representatives from various countries and different agencies. They were all seated around a large table.
“So, gentlemen,” Jean-Jacques Dordain’s voice rang out, “let’s begin our meeting. Today we are joined by colleagues from Russia, Nepal, and India. Representatives from NASA will be joining us a little later. I would like now to come up with a common position on the situation. Please.”