Escaping Earth’s Atmosphere:

Tessa’s Quest for Aerospace Dreams

Tessa always dreamed of reaching for the stars—literally. She wanted to become a rocket scientist, the kind of person who casually discusses the trajectory of space shuttles over breakfast. But her parents, ever the pragmatists, g

greeted her ambitions with a mix of scepticism and a “we’ll talk about it when you bring home better grades” attitude. At that time, Tessa was more interested in avoiding homework than in propulsion systems.

Fast forward a few years, and Tessa found herself at a crossroads. She needed to break into the aerospace industry, but she had no clue how. She missed the memo about Vellore being a launchpad for aerospace dreams, so she did what any confused yet determined young person would do—she went to the nearest engineering college and earned a degree in electrical engineering. After all, even rockets need someone to wire the circuits, right?

Her campus interviews landed her a job at Sun Solar Company, a firm that was more concerned with capturing sunlight than escaping Earth’s atmosphere. And that’s where she met Padmanabhan—‘Paddu’ to his lunch buddies—an enigmatic mid-level marketing executive with a knack for unsolicited advice. The two hit it off, bonding over cafeteria lunches that ranged from mildly palatable to borderline inedible. Soon enough, Paddu became Tessa’s confidant. She shared everything with him: her romantic misadventures, her battles with her mom, and, of course, her starry-eyed dreams of working in aerospace.

Now, Paddu was a man of action—or so he liked to think. He fancied himself as the kind of guy who had all the answers, even when no one was asking questions. Seeing Tessa’s struggle, he decided it was his duty to take charge of her life. He found courses to help her transition from solar panels to spacecraft and even gave her tips on how to handle her parents’ reluctance to let her leave home. Paddu was on a mission, but it wasn’t clear whether it was to help Tessa or to inflate his own sense of self-importance.

“LinkedIn, connect to people on LinkedIn!” he declared one day, as if he had just discovered fire.

Tessa, ever the diligent pupil, sent a connection request to the director of an aerospace startup. To her surprise, he accepted. To her dismay, he then proceeded to flirt with her before referring her to his HR department. The HR rep, in turn, promptly informed her that she was, unfortunately, underqualified for the positions they had available. The rumor mill at the office, however, had already started churning, and soon enough, everyone in the cafeteria was under the impression that Tessa had secured a job in aerospace.

But reality had a different plan. As days turned into weeks and weeks into a month, Tessa found herself unemployed and sinking into a pit of despair. Her parents, who had warned her against quitting her job before securing another, transformed from concerned to toxic in record time. Her siblings, having lost all sympathy, began a chorus of “I told you so” that echoed through the house.

And Paddu? Our self-proclaimed savior washed his hands of the whole situation. “She didn’t follow my instructions,” he declared, as if that absolved him of any responsibility. Tessa, still reeling from her dashed dreams, couldn’t see the pattern. She had handed over control of her life first to her parents, and then to Paddu, without ever truly taking responsibility herself.

Now, she was left with nothing but the crushing realization that she might never reach the aerospace industry—the one dream that had kept her going through the mundanity of being an electrical engineer at Sun Solar Company. What once was a hopeful, distant utopia now seemed like an unreachable star, forever out of her grasp.

Paddu, blissfully unaware of his role in all this, continued his righteous predation, unknowingly devouring the personal power of anyone vulnerable enough to cross his path.

Tessa, on the other hand, was left to navigate the wreckage of her dreams, wondering if perhaps the real lesson was not about reaching the stars, but about finding the strength to steer her own ship, no matter how choppy the waters.