[ WP ] Begin and end your story with this sentence : `` And yet , the city remained . ''

“ …and yet, the city remained; the last home to humanity upon the scorched Earth, built of stone and brick, homage to the old inhabitants that had pillaged from the planet to create monuments that lasted the sands of time. Darkness had descended on us by the time we boarded the ship taking us into space, and in the moonlight the city had looked radiant, the City of Hope as it was intended to be when it was built. ” The speaker cleared her throat and flicked her hand in front of the screen absently, and another image appeared in its place. 
 
 The eyes of her students grew large as they took in their past; took in the amazement's they had left behind when they had taken to the stars for refuge. The grass, the trees, the water that flowed from the mountains into the river – their world paled in comparison to the one Earth had once been – a living, breathing planet full of life. Looking up from the thin tablet in her hand, the speaker smiled into the eager faces of tomorrow. “ This is what the world was like, nearly two thousand years before we left. It was a planet that sustained itself, that breathed life back into itself by the animals that lived upon the earth and the wind that carried seeds and deposited them into the earth, to grow. ” 
 
 Hands shot into the air when she looked up, and a small laugh escaped her, “ Yes, Sam? ” 
 
 “ My father says we destroyed Earth, Mrs. Wailings, that we polluted it and took from it, and that we did not give enough back – and that if we return to Earth, the same thing will repeat itself, *if* the Earth is inhabitable again. ” Sam, always so eager to share his opinion and his knowledge, looked up at her expectantly. 
 
 “ Your father is right Sam, ” The Mrs. Wailings lowered her tablet, her words coming from herself rather than a teaching guide, “ but we as a human race are very different from when we left Earth. We ’ re united under the same nation, governed by people we have all elected to protect us, and to always have our best interest at heart. We ’ re not a divided world, but One World, and we are returning to Earth with that knowledge and that hope for the future to lead us and teach us to do right by our planet. ” 
 
 “ Why will that change everything? ” The question came from somewhere in the back, but all the faces looked at her for an answer. 
 
 “ Separated, we fought one another, we killed one another, we worried more about ourselves then each other, worried more about what the Earth could give us, then what we were giving back. If we take more than the Earth can replenish, the Earth can ’ t survive; we ’ re united in a cause to never allow this to happen again, and that is why you all are here today. To right the wrongs our ancestors created. ” She gestured to the screen and the image disappeared, the window it had been projecting onto materializing. Gasps of surprise and awe filled the room – even one from the teacher, though she recovered herself much quicker. It had been hundreds of years since they had been within sight of Earth. 
 
 “ Earth; so beautiful from above, and hopefully our home once more. ” She turned back toward the students, joy on her face, “ This is why each and every one of you were chosen, why you have all been taught your trades since birth; trades you would never need here, on the ship. Every skill that will be required for us to begin again on Earth, you all know and have. The two hundred of you here, today, are the future of Earth. ” The group of young people, ranging in ages from the oldest at twenty-six to the youngest at twelve, peered at one another, their eyes taking in the people who would become their family, their city. 
 
 An image appeared, blocking the Earth, of the Captain who was in charge of landing the Cloudgazer II on Earth. “ We ’ re going to be entering the Earth ’ s gravitational pull in five minutes. All passengers and crew are required to return to the boarding deck to fasten in. ” Just as quickly as the video had appeared, it was gone, leaving Earth in its wake. 
 
 “ Alright, that ’ s going to be all for now then. Everyone, please follow me, and we ’ ll begin the landing procedures. ” Voices hummed and buzzed with excitement as they followed her down passageways and through arched doorways, to the boarding deck. It was exactly as one would expect: a room full of seats with waist and chest fasteners. Several minutes later a warning alarm signaled, and the remaining crew members took to their seats. 
 
 The time traveling to Earth was relatively quiet as everyone on board held their breaths, hoping that the journey had not been futile, and as the landing gear came out, and the wheels landed roughly on the ground below, cheers erupted from everyone, because they had made history; they were the first group of humans to return to Earth after it was abandoned all those years before. 
 
 They crowded around the ship ’ s exit, which had never before been breached, the crew and the passengers holding onto one another as the doors slowly rose, revealing the City of Hope. The captain was the first to step forward, the first to step on the Earth, and when he did he turned to those behind him; the people he would be responsible for until the other ships could join them in ten years, “ Three thousand, forty-two years ago this city was built. They said it would be gone, and yet, the city remained. ”
