Night Shift on the Ring

Sven cleaned windows at night. His job was on the Ring. It was a big hotel in space. It went around the Earth once every ninety minutes. The guests slept, and the halls were quiet.

Sven liked the night shift. He had a soft cloth and a bottle of cleaner. He also had a small radio. He walked down the long hall with his cart. At every window he stopped and cleaned the glass.

The windows were his favorite part. Outside, Earth was big and blue. White clouds moved over the sea. Sometimes Sven stopped for a minute just to look.

On the fourth night, he heard a small sound. He turned around. A boy in blue pajamas stood in the hall. He was about seven years old. He held a toy rabbit.

"Hello," said Sven. "It is very late. Where is your mother?"

"She is asleep," said the boy. "I walked out very quietly."

"I cannot sleep," said the boy. "My name is Pavel. My room has no window."

"Ah," said Sven. "That is a problem."

Pavel looked at the cart. "What are you doing?"

"I clean the glass," said Sven. "Do you want to help?"

Pavel's eyes got big. Sven gave him a cloth. He showed him how to move his hand in circles. Pavel rubbed the window hard. His rabbit sat on the cart and watched.

"Is it clean?" Pavel asked.

"Nearly," said Sven. "One more circle."

When the glass was clean, they looked out together. The Ring moved to the dark side. The blue turned dark. Little yellow lights came out on the ground. They looked like sugar on a black table.

"Those are cities," said Sven. "People are home. They eat dinner, and they watch TV."

Pavel put his hand on the glass. "I see a big one!" he said.

"That is a very big city," said Sven.

"My grandma lives in a city," said Pavel. "She is very far away. I want to say hello."

Sven thought for a moment. "Which country?"

"A cold one. It has a lot of snow."

"Then she is up there," said Sven. He pointed to the top of the window. "Look. There is a line of lights by a black sea."

Pavel looked for a long time. He lifted the rabbit to the window. Then he waved a small, slow wave.

"She cannot see me," he said.

"No," said Sven. "But maybe she looks at the sky tonight."

Pavel yawned. He held his rabbit tight. His eyes closed for a second and then opened again. Sven took him back down the hall to his room. He opened the door. The room was dark, and the bed was warm.

"Thank you for the job," said Pavel.

"You are a good cleaner," said Sven. "Good night."

He walked back to his cart. At the window, he stopped and looked down. Far below, one yellow light in the snow blinked. It blinked two times.

Sven did not know what it was. He did not say so. He picked up the radio and kept it low.