Thunderbirds: Welcome to Tracy Island

Chapter 5

John admired the beautiful scenery from where he was draped over the lounge balcony railing, casually sipping herbal tea from a decorative china cup. He'd just finished tidying the kitchen and unpacking most of the homeware suitcases and was taking a well deserved rest by observing the tranquility of the island.

A light breeze blew through the palm trees framing the patio and pool area, making a gentle swooping noise as it caught the leaves. Tropical birdcall could be heard too, and John made a mental note to ask Gordon if he knew which birds they belonged to.

He then watched as the great machine known as Thunderbird 2 honed into view once more, still circling the island with his brothers and good friend Brains at the controls, who were testing the limits of the new aircraft. John could also see Gordon's little yacht down below the cliff tops, dwarfed and consumed by the mass of sparkling sea which surrounded it. He chuckled at how small it was in comparison to the massive green aircraft and how his new space station would probably dwarf that in comparison.

John's eyes drifted up to the sky and he smiled at how clear and vast it was. He knew it would be absolutely perfect for stargazing, and with little to no light pollution around, John knew it would be one of the best and most beautiful stargazing spots he would ever lay his eyes on.

"Hey, that reminds me, I better set my telescopes up and dot them around the house while I've got a moment." he spoke to himself, finishing his tea and placing his cup down on the nearest table.

John shuffled through the lounge and rummaged through the numerous boxes still scattered around the room until he found the ones labelled 'John's Telescopes - do not touch; that means YOU Gordon!'. Ripping open the first box, John started taking out the various different bits, pieces and components he had previously had to take off his telescope for moving purposes so it would actually fit in the box.

Once he took the entire thing out, he started reassembling it, the whole thing being an intricate jigsaw that the blonde had much experience in putting back together, having done the same thing with numerous different telescopes he'd had throughout the years since he was a child.

After he had finished assembling it, John stood up and stretched his arms out which had gone a little numb as he worked, before standing and lifting up his beloved possession as he looked around at the best places in the room he could keep it.

"I guess by the patio would do. Or the balcony. I'll have to try out a few places and see which are the best spots!" he spoke to himself as he hovered around the lounge with the bulky telescope in hand.

John made his way over to the doors leading out onto the patio and placed his telescope on the tiled floor, adjusting the stand so it was at maximum height. He peered out at the pool area and decided it would probably be better if he tested out which were the best spots later that night, as he had to plot a star chart for the island anyway and would probably move the telescope several times before settling on a home for it.

"Now that that one's out of the way, I beter move the other four. I'm thinking one for my room, one for the garden- hey, I wonder if Dad'll let me build an observatory on the island? I'll ask him about that when he gets here." John trailed off, thinking of how awesome it would be to own his personal observatory on their new home.

Speaking of which...

John turned to look back at the rest of the mess scattered around the lounge. That was a point. He didn't really want there to still be boxes laying around when his father flew to the island after his conference.

"Come on John. Keep it going."

John pulled one of the boxes closest to him in hand and ripped it open, finding it full of books. He started unloading them onto the couch and coughed a little as a cloud of dust seemed to form around him. After beating his chest to clear it from the dust, John stacked the books into piles. He pulled a few of the smaller ones into his chest, carrying them over to the bookshelf where he started tucking them in alphabetically order.

It was then that John realized the titles of some of the books were old romance novels - the specific kind that his mother used to read.

John froze. His ocean eyes drifted over the book titles, scanning the delicate scripture written on the front pages. The hairs on his neck pricked up. They were his mother's books alright. His father had obviously not wanted to throw them away after she passed, wanting to keep her memory arrive despite knowing none of his sons would ever read them.

Letting out a little sigh, John continued stacking the books. Like his Dad, he didn't have the heart to throw them away either, so made a mental note to tell his grandmother about them in case she wanted a new read.

"Miss you, Mom..." John murmured, continuing the task at hand with his late mother in his thoughts.