Festival of Stars

“Altair, go get ready. And make sure you wear your proper clothes,” His mom calls to him from the kitchen where she feeds his little brother, Comet.

“Okay, Mom,” Altair complies. He has never been one to linger or disobey.

With a skip in his step, he heads up the stairs of their colorful, lively home. Altair’s mother adores plants, everything about them. He has to weave around them on his way to his room as pots full of brilliant green plants with flowers in bloom line the hallway. Altair loves his home and everything about it, unlike other boys his age. The other boys don’t play with their little brothers and paint with their mothers. They don’t look at the stars with wonder and love like Altair does every night. This twelve-year-old boy is special, and his mom knows and cherishes it.

His clothes are folded nicely in the drawers of his closet and, though no special clothes are required for the festival tonight, he puts on his best—a blue button-up shirt and a good pair of black jeans—for his mom who longs to see him look nice on this very special occasion. His mom wears a deep green dress with a gorgeous floral design while Comet wears what his fidgety little self would allow his mother to put on him. Still, he looks better than usual with a clean superhero shirt and khaki pants. Their mom brushes Altair’s curly brown hair complimenting him at least six times on it, causing his pasty cheeks to go red.

Around five thirty they head out, trudging down the sidewalk, not bothering to take the car when walking takes only ten minutes to get them to their destination.

The Festival of Stars is beaming with lovely lanterns hung from streamers and gazebos. Grills are placed left and right with people making delicious food on them. A large fireplace rests in the middle of the huge, grassy field helping people get warm in the early April chill. 

”NASA estimates twenty minutes until the Vanishing, people! Make sure you’re ready to watch by then!” A woman named Maggie—Altair’s neighbor—informs the groups. 

Altair and his little family find a spot to sit by the fire, though Comet has other plans. He decides to run around the fire pit and pretend to be an airplane. Altair listens to the old music playing from speakers. He prefers more modern melodies, but music is music. 

“Hey mom?” Altair says trying to gain his mother’s attention. She has been laughing at Comet for the past five minutes. 

“Yes?” She says, turning her focus to him. 

“I heard the stars disappear when the Vanishing happens.” His teacher had taught the class about the festival yesterday, but, though Altair would have loved to listen, his mind was other places during that class.

”Yes, bud. That’s why it’s called the Vanishing,” she explains, “for a reason no one is sure of, every eighty eight years on April 11th, the stars mysteriously disappear for an hour, and reappear like nothing had ever happened. This year is very exciting for us, because for the first time in recorded history, it’s a full moon on the exact night of the Vanishing.”

Altair is more excited than he already was. What interests him most is how no one knows why the stars vanish. 

“Only ten minutes now, people!” Maggie calls again. Everyone begins to douse their fires and turn off the lights, making the night sky beautifully visible. Altair is amazed by the sight but notices Comet is nervous about the darkness that has engulfed them, as five year olds tend to be. Altair grabs his brother’s hand, as does his mom. 

“Mom? Have you seen the stars go away?” Comet asks. 

“No darling, but my mom has,” she replies, “She used to tell me stories about it. How magical it was. She said, when the stars disappeared, it made her feel cold and empty, but when they came back, she had the most amazing feeling of happiness, comfort and peace. That’s why the stars are so important.” 

Both boys are amazed. They can’t wait to see. 

Altair looks at his watch to see only three minutes until the vanishing. Everyone is quiet, waiting so patiently. Altair looks at his watch again, only seconds to go. From now on, he only looks at the bright sky, twinkling with gorgeous stars. The moon is so full and so bright that you can see your shadow. 

Altair watches the sky, trying not to blink, and then it happens. It’s like someone flipped a switch, and turned off the stars. They’re all gone. The night sky is completely black except for the moon, which Altair is thankful for. 

He waits for the feeling his mom had told him about, but it never comes. He feels the same as before. He turns to ask his mom, but she isn’t there. Neither is his little brother. His head turns in every direction, no one is there. He stands alone in the middle of the dark, empty field. 

“Mom?” He says. Nothing. It’s as if they vanished with the stars. Did they? He asks himself. No, that’s impossible. But…vanishing stars seem pretty impossible too. No, I’ll go look in town. With that, he makes his way back to the buildings and lights and his home.

Down the sidewalk he takes step by step, listening for anyone to make a sound, to indicate that they are there, but there is no one. Surely some people wouldn’t be interested in the festival. They would be here. His logic is sound, so where are the people? The bakery that would be buzzing with customers on a Saturday evening is completely empty, but the sign hanging in the window says open. All cars are unoccupied and left in the road. 

He turns down the road to his house. His jaw drops when he sees two cars have collided. There is a mess of smoke and scrap along the road. Now he is running. Running past the crash, straight to his house. As soon as he reaches the door he starts calling for his mom. No one answers. It looks just how they left it. 

“Mom!” He calls again. The silence is overwhelming. What should he do? Where should he go? Maybe they are back at the field. Maybe I just…didn’t see them. Back to the field he begins to go. Past the car crash, past the bakery. He takes the side road to the Field. Everything is the same, just no one is there. He must be losing his mind, this can’t be what’s really happening. Where could everyone have gone?

He looks up at the dark sky. He misses the stars. Why did they have to disappear? 

Something catches his eye. Something he hadn’t but should have noticed before. A single star he knows very well. Altair. The star he was named after and the twelfth brightest star in the sky. Well, when they are all there. Now it is alone, only the moon outshines it. He sits and watches it, wondering what possibly could have happened tonight. Why everyone disappeared with the stars? Why he is the only one there? Will everyone come back? An idea comes as fast as lightning. “Mom said the stars should return an hour after they disappear!” He exclaims to his star, “Maybe everyone will come back too!” 

He decides this is what will happen, and though the thoughts of doubt in the back of his head try to say otherwise, we won’t allow it. He finds the spot he was standing when the stars vanished and sits there, waiting. His watch tells him there is ten minutes until they are supposed to return. He can wait that long. 

“I wonder if they know they went missing,” Altair says, beginning to make conversation with his friend in the sky. “Or maybe they think nothing has happened at all. I am glad you are here though, so I’m not the only one.” He imagines his star smiling. “Do you miss the other stars?” He asks. His star does not reply, but he doesn’t need it to. “There are only two more minutes until they should be back,” he states, looking at his watch. 

Now he sits quietly, just watching his bright, beautiful star.

It’s as if a switch was flipped. All the stars are back and twinkling with his. His mom and brother are back by his side as if nothing happened. 

“Mom!” Altair says, utterly amazed and relieved that they are back. 

“What? Are you okay?” His mom asks, concerned and oblivious to the goings on of Altair’s night. 

“You were gone, do you remember? When the stars disappeared, you all were gone.” Altair's hug around his mother tightens. 

“No, I’ve been here with you, waiting for them to come back. Are you feeling alright?”

Altair looks at his mother, knowing she can’t possibly believe him. What he’s saying is crazy. What happened was crazy. He looks up at his star and back at her. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he decides.

Everyone around them is cheering, “Most amazing night!”

Altair wonders what theirs was like.

Not long after the stars reappear, everyone heads home and winds down for the night. Altair wants everyone to know what he had experienced. How he felt. How his star stayed with him. …His star. At least his star knows. He thinks about it in bed, remembering everything that had occurred. He decides that his star knows, and that’s enough.

The end