A folded star-map slid across the kitchen table. Gustav grabbed it, his fingers tracing a glowing route zigzagging from planet to planet.
The family spaceship whooshed into the pink skies of Bounce-9. Giant rubber balls rolled lazily across purple grass below.
Siss giggled and kicked a ball. It bounced three times, then stopped against a silver sign. Gustav counted aloud: 'One, two, three!' The gate clanked open.
They landed on Tram-5. A tiny yellow tram waited at a platform with no tracks. A riddle was painted on its side.
Gustav tapped his chin, thinking hard. Then he pointed. 'A tram!' The engine purred to life and the doors slid open all by themselves.
The final clue glowed on the spaceship screen: 'Where numbers dance and colors spin, the moonstone waits where gravity lets go.'
Gustav squeezed his eyes shut, then snapped them open. 'Pappa — flip the gravity switch!' The ship drifted into a soft floating orbit around a crystal-blue planet.
In a meadow of silver grass, a smooth stone pulsed with blue-white light. Gustav picked it up. It was warm against his palm.
Siss tugged his sleeve and held up the star-map. It was crumpled now, covered in crayon marks from every planet they visited.
The family piled into a big hug on the glowing silver grass. Siss clutched the star-map to her chest.
Gustav looked at the star-map, then at the moonstone, then at his family. Every planet was behind them now.
The star-map was complete. And their next adventure was already waiting among the stars.
