2 © Strange Messages

Anna was at her best friend Julia's house. She often went there to do homework with her. It was their last year of school, and they always had a lot of homework.

Anna, what are you going to do when you leave school: asked Julia. Are you going to go to college: '

'Perhaps. I don't really know.' said Anna.

Anna didn't want to tell Julia. but she had a wonderful ambition: she wanted to go up into space.

'One day.' she thought. `1'm going to be an astronaut.' Anna wrote a letter to NASA in America. She wanted to work there. She said nothing to her mother and father about it. 7'hey didn't understand.

‘Anna's going to be a doctor.' her mother said to all their friends. When she heard that. Anna smiled. She didn't want to be a doctor. She had different ideas.

One day. Anna's uncle Bob carne to her house. Anna liked uncle Bob. He was different from her mother and father. He knew about Anna's ambition.

'Hello. Anna. Would you like this old computer? I have a new one now. You can do your homework on it.'

'Oh, yes. Thank: you. uncle Bob.'

Anna put the computer in her bedroom. That night, she went to bed and dreamt about going into space. At two o’clock. in the morning she suddenly woke up. The computer was on.

'That's strange.' she thought, but she soon went back to sleep.

The next night Anna woke up suddenly 'the computer was on again. This time there was a message on it.

`Hello, Anna. It's me. Follow your dream.' 'Perhaps it's uncle Bob,' Anna thought. The next day she phoned him.

'Thanks for the computer message, Uncle Bob!' `What message: ' asked uncle Bob.

'So who sent the message: ' thought Anna. Anna told Julia about the message.

'Wow!' said Julia. `What an interesting computer! 13ut Anna ... do you have a dream'

' Well, yes ... I do,' said Anna. And she told Julia all about the letter to NASA, and about her mother and father.

'I can't tell them about my ambition.' she said. "`Only boys want to be astronauts," they think. and "Our daughter wants to be a doctor," they say'

'O)h dear! What are you going to do, Anna%'

A fez, days later. Anna got a letter from NASA. It told her all about a good college in America.

After 1 go there 1 can work for NASA,' she told Julia. `13ut that college is in America,' said Julia. `What are you going to say to your mum and dad:'

`Oh. I don't know, Julia.'1'hey don't understand.'

That night there was a new message on the computer. `Hello. Anna. It's me. Follow your dream.'

Anna sat at the computer. She wrote: 'Who are you?

The message on the computer said: 'I had a dream like you. You can do it Anna. You can be an astronaut.'

For the next three nights, Anna sat at her computer and 'talked' to her new friend. Every time she sent a message, a new message came back. The messages were all about being an astronaut.

On the third night, the friend wrote: `Do it Anna. Be happy. I was happy, and you can be happy too.'

With the message there was a picture. It was a photo of a young woman, with dark hair and a friendly smile.

'I know her!' Anna thought. But she couldn't remember her name. She phoned Julia and told her about the photo. `What do you think, Julia: '

°Your computer friend is right. You must follow your dream. But when are you going to tell your mum and dad?'

The next evening, Anna was with her father in the living room.

'Dad. Can I talk to you about something?'

°Of course. Anna, but let's watch TV first. There’s something on it tonight about space. Are you interested' `Yes. Let's watch it,' said Anna.

The TV had a picture of some astronauts on it. One was a young woman with a big smile - the woman on Anna's computer! Anna suddenly felt very cold.

'Who's that woman, Dad?' she asked.

An astronaut. She died in space ten years ago.'

`What? She died?' Anna looked at the TV.  The happy young woman looked back at her.

`What did you want to talk about ? her father asked. 'It doesn't matter, Dad. Forget it.'

That night, Anna couldn't sleep. She wanted to read the next message on the computer. but nothing happened. For a week, Anna watched the computer and she only slept for two or three hours every night. But there were no more messages.

At first, Anna felt sad. Then she phoned Julia. Tm going to tell Mum and Dad about NASA.'

`Oh, good, Anna! You're doing the right thing,' said Julia. The next day Anna told her mother and father, and Uncle Bob talked to them. At first, they didn't like the idea, but they talked to Anna's teachers and read the letter from NASA. In the end, they said to Anna: `Of course you must follow your dream'.

So Anna went to college in America, and after five years she went to work for NASA. She took Uncle Bob's computer with her, and she never forgot the strange messages from space.