text: [Themes: Science Fiction, coming of age, dog, child protagonist]
  
  > Look around
  The thundering of the waves is ear-splitting in this end of the
  island, and the air is full of the salty mist of their breaking. In
  the south the island has no clear waterline (except at high tide),  it just gradually vanishes under the sea, leaving tall rocks jutting up from the sea meters and meters from the shore. Father says that there are many shipwrecks close to the south tip because careless captains and sailors came too close to the shore. Often there's all kinds of flotsam floating between the rocks. Now there are only slimy and old sticks, leaves and algae mats, but sometimes you have found cans, bottles and once even plastic doll. In spite of the high winds,
  there's a stink of rotting seaweed and old fish.
  
  The rocket man is lying on the shore, looking scared and bewildered, hunching against a rock and away from Gogol.
  
  Gogol is barking his head off at the rocket man, who looks horrified!
  
  > examine the suitcase
  It's not really a suitcase, like you have for traveling. It's more of
  a black metal case with some letters you can't read, and it looks really heavy.
  
  > look at the helmet
  The helmet is large and it looks really heavy. The visor of the helmet is covered with gold, so the rocket men won't burn their eyes if they look at the Sun or the flames of the Atomic Engines.
  
  > sit
  Gogol looks at you, it's tail end doing a restless jig, and touching the ground long enough to it almost count as sitting. Sigh.
  
  > lie down
  "Be quiet Gogol!" you scream loud enough to get the dog's attention.
  He quiets down and walks to you, eyeing the rocket man suspiciously.
  
  > talk to the man
  As you speak up, the rocket man finally seems to notice you. He eyes your head and furrows his brow.
  You realize you are still wearing the pasta strainer you used for a helmet.
  
  "Soâ¦ kid, what are you supposed to be?" the rocket man says. His
  voice
  is gravelly, like he had a sore throat, and he has a strange accent.
  
  "I'm a rocket man!" you say.
  
  > Keep going
  The rocket man seems to be lost in thought for a moment, and then he raises his eyes at you. "Hey kid, is there any place you could help me hide in? I'm on a really secret mission, and I need to stay somewhere until it's dark outside. You can't tell anyone about me, you hear me! So, do you know anywhere?" A secret mission! Wow!
  
  You can think of several hiding places. You could tell the rocket man about the outbuilding, the equipment shack, living room (it's easy to hide under the table there), your room or the attic.
  
  > ask the man about the mission
  "Yeah, I'm on a secrâ¦" he begins, but then blinks a couple of times and shakes his head, as if to clear his mind. "Hey, kid, just please help me."
  
  > tell the man about the table
  The rocket man listens to you for a moment, and then interrupts. "Really, kid, you've got to help me hide somewhere!"
  
  > tell man about the living room
  "Our living room table is pretty big, I once hid an hour under it and my mother couldn't find me!" you tell the rocket man, who just stares at you for a moment. "Iâ¦ I don't think I can really fit under a
  table,
  kid." he finally says.
  
  > tell the man about your room
  You think for a moment before saying "I could hide you in my room!"
  The rocket man rubs his eyes, that are all red.
  
  "Are you really sure that your parents don't find me there? It's very important that nobody knows I'm here!" the rocket man says.
  
  > Yes
  The rocket man walks like he was carrying a ton of bricks on his shoulders, and he has to stop to catch his breath a couple of times.
  It takes you a good while to walk across the island and into the front yard. The house is cool on the inside, and you need to stop and blink for a moment before you can see anything in the indoor gloom.
  
  For a moment you think that the rocket man won't be able to get up the stairs, and when you finally get him in your room, he collapses on
  your bed that creaks in protest. He falls asleep almost immediately when his head hits the pillow. You happen to glance out of the window, and see your family ship a few minutes out of the pier. You run down
  to meet your parents.
  
  Father always wants you to help with unloading the supplies, and you work up a good sweat carrying the boxes of tomatos and flour and potatos from the boat to the cool air of the kitchen. When you are heading out, you bump into mother who's heading upstairs. To this day you don't know what happened - you make it barely to the front door when you can hear her scream.
  
  The next few moments are a panicky blur. Mother grabbing you and screaming for your father, the rocket man and father wrestling on the yard. Much later the serious men in uniforms, the endless questions from them and your parents, and the worst thrashing your father has ever given you.
  
  Not a day has gone by since without you thinking about who the rocket man was, and what happened to him.
  
  > tell the man about the attic
  "Well, our house has a big attic. But it's pretty scary place especially when it's dark. Oh, there's a lamp there, so it's not dark like that", you say. The rocket man coughs and wipes sweat and salt water spray from his face. "That sounds pretty good, kid," he says. "You have family, don't you? Are you sure your parents won't find us there?"
  
  > Yes
  It takes some time for the rocket man to get to his feet, and whoa - he's tall, way taller than your father. Not a big man, though, like dad, but now that his suit isn't all full of air, he looks quite lean.
  
  It takes you quite some time to reach the house, since the rocket man walks like he was carrying a ton on bricks on his shoulder. He has to lean on the door frame for a while when you reach the porch. His skin is quite pale, and but his cheeks are all red. He looks like you did when you had the high fever last summer.
  
  It takes a long time for the rocket man to climb up the stairs to the second floor, and even longer to get to the attic. When you get there, he almost falls down on the floor, and crawls to a corner next to a
  big pile of boxes. Oh man, he must be really tired!
  
  You take a step towards the rocket man, and catch a glimpse outside of the window. Oh, the family ship is just a few minutes out!
  
  The attic is a cluttered, low space with a slanted roof. It's a scary place with dark nooks and crannies, piles of boxes and all kinds of weird junk. The only light is a lone bulb that has gone dim and yellow with age.
  
  boxes.