‘Beep. Be..’ He turned off the alarm before it finished its first cycle. The dial read 06:00, but the number meant nothing. Day and night had become indistinguishable over the past few weeks and sleep was something that didn’t come by easily. The adrenaline rush, the tight schedules and the compulsory attention to details, “nights” whizzed by tossing and turning. He was the chosen one, over other candidates (eligible no doubt). “You are going to make history”, he reassured himself.

He remembered, millions would be listening to his every word. He had to make sure that his words were right and people would remember for years to come. The pressure was enormous. “Damn!”, he cursed, these were the times he wished that his wife was with him. She had this innane ability to keep him cool and relaxed no matter what the circumstances. Over the past few days he had gone over the text in his mind multiple times. It was beginning to be the only thing that he thought about. He shook himself out of the current train of thought. He had more important activities to attend to.

The next few hours were hectic and he sat with his team finalizing details right upto the minute level. With his second-in-command, Ed, behind him, he climbed into the vehicle that was going to take him to his moment of glory. The ride was short, but there was never a moment when he was not talking to someone or getting updates. The vehicle stopped, he looked out of the window, the scene was unfamiliar but he was going to make himself as comfortable as he possibly could. The engine was stopped and Ed gave him a reassuring smile. Returning the thumbs-up sign, he opened the door and stepped out.

As he stepped foot on the surface of the moon, the words came out “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”