Stars

Beyond and above the aqua seas, were tiny little shimmering balls. They twinkled in the twilight. Walking to the backyard with my blanket and looking up at the stars, I thought how bright and clear they were that night. I sighed. Oh, how astonishing and glamorous they were. I couldn’t bear to see them gone from this world, even for a second. If I had any joy at all in my life, it was because of the stars. I remember my first time I looked at the stars. From my bedroom window. Those were good times. I placed down my blanket and sinked deep down. I grabbed a wet patch of grass. I compared it to the stars. They were nothing if it weren’t for the stars. How, you ask? Grass is inexistent without the atmosphere (or so I thought), and exceeding it, were the apples of my eyes. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and looked back up again. There was something odd about the stars that I hadn’t payed heed to. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I blinked again and rubbed my eyes smoothly. It was nothing. What a relief. Normally, this would be a beautiful sight to behold. Normally—nature at its best. To tell the truth, I am downright worried to no end. I'm looking up at the black sky, looking up at the stars... but I don't see them. Instead, replacing them, was a big large space where they were supposed to be! I panicked. What should I do? I quickly stood up as if the stars were calling for me. I ran into my house and upstairs to my room. I grabbed my book about stars from my desk where I'd left it and settled back to read. I flipped through it till I saw this scribbled at the very end: “Stars. These constant companions we frequently think about. They place us firmly on earth and lift us in their beauty. Maybe because we see them at night when we are at our most thoughtful. Or because we are made of the same elements, the same dust. Whatever the reason, we understand stars more than ever and yet they deliver such imagined greatness.” What could this mean? I pondered and pondered. What could this mean? Were the stars gone forever? I read it over and over again. Suddenly, I understood. I went downstairs and raced outside, the book still in my hand. I cranked my head to look at the night sky. I was waiting for a sign, a sign to stop this madness. I gazed at the sky and thought about them once again. I tried to read the sky as if it were words from a book but gave it up as a lost cause. I sat down on my blanket and sniffed. I buried my head deep into my hands and cried. Was it my fault they were gone? Where were they? A light. The words jumped at me. I got up to read them properly and fell down again like I was dead. My life was flashing beneath my eyes. Then I saw a vision. The stars, the words said, they were coming down to greet me. To admire me like I had admired them all of those years. I realized the words from the light, before I fell, were written in a different language. I went back to the scribbled part in the book. It was the same language! What was this language? Therefore, there was no time to waste. I exited the backyard and dashed down the front door. I kept looking everywhere for the stars. A while later, I stopped for a break and looked around. I had gone too far. I was at the countryside! I shouted for help. Nobody was there. I tried to make a run for it, but I was trapped. I closed my eyes and wished I was back home. I opened them. I was home again! I moaned. All of this was exhausting, demanding work. I went up to my room to rest a bit before getting up again, and to think about all the craziness that had happened. Just as I was about to twist my doorknob open, I heard some sounds. Squeaks to be exact. Also a foreign language that I could understand. I put my ear to the door and listened. I snatched some whispers of: “She’s here! She’s here! Get ready!” and “I can’t wait! Can’t wait to meet her!” I kicked open the door, seeing that creatures were seated on my bed. They gasped. I faced them and then saw that they were the stars! It made sense! The line in the book: “and yet they deliver such imagined greatness.” The scribble meant that, where you dream, you dream about the greatness of stars. And the case was my bed! I went over, in excitement, to greet them. I took off my shoes and sat at the edge of my bed. We started talking. You guessed it. The special language. When I asked the stars about it, they chuckled and explained that the admirers of stars knew their special language, yet they didn’t know that they knew it, and every year, they planned an annual visit to Earth to call on one of their very faithful followers (in that case, me) and greet them. Their followers also had individual powers (which explains how I teleported). This year I was the lucky and chosen one by the power of the stars. They really wanted to meet me so they decided I deserved it. I hugged them all, one by one as a thank-you. The stars; they were so soft! We talked and talked about a variety of things, till it was time for them to go. I didn’t want them to go, and the stars didn’t want to, either. But they had to, and I knew that. They requested me to throw them into the sky, one after the other. So, I did that, till there was one left. He hugged me and whispered in my ear: “You can come visit our planet now if you like. That way you won’t go back to Earth empty-handed!” I agreed with his plan of action. I asked how the process was to be made to their planet, and the little star, called Jake, replied that I just had to hold his hand and we’d teleport with my special teleporting powers. Not more than a millisecond later, we landed on a wide, island-like planet filled with tens and thousands of shining stars in all shapes and sizes. My eyes widened. This was heaven for me! Skylines, buildings, shops, roads and transport completed it all, just like Earth! Jake filled me in on information about their home. The star planet, called Celestia, got its inspiration from Earth! No surprise there, it was a bit obvious. After explaining all about Celestia, he took me to a café named after our galaxy, The Milky Way. It served Milky Way bars, Milky Cappuccinos and other Milky stuff! I loved it. When it was time to pay, I complained I didn’t have any money on me except a few dollars. Jake payed for the food using their currency, called Constells. We explored more of Celestia, and then it was back to Earth. We went down there, and I said my goodbyes and threw him to the atmosphere. I looked back up at the sky, and saw the stars winking at me. I winked back, packed up my blanket, and headed back to my house.