The Magic of Stars

Soren remembered times like these. Back when magic was real, and the unknown was nothing more than another adventure. Back in simpler times when life was more a dream than reality. Soren smiled to himself as he hammered a stake into the cold dirt. Four more to go and the tent would finally be ready. It was a blasted thing, bottom covered in mildew, and ripping at the corners. It smelt like an old garage, probably because that’s where it had been caged for eternity. But now it had finally been freed, to move a whole 20 yards to the backyard. That thought made Soren chuckle. He finished another stake and looked over just in time to tell Sarah to not eat the worm she had caught. She giggled, because when your 3, eating worms is funny. Soren sighed, and wrestled the poor thing from his daughter’s hand. She was promptly scooped up by her Mother, Maddie, who had two other children trailing behind her. How she kept up with all of them was beyond Soren.

“Is the tent ready?” She asked.

“Not quite yet dear, I’ve got a couple more stakes.” Soren replied.

“Well, you better hurry the kids are getting cranky.” She responded, as one of the kids tugged at her pants groaning in frustration, demanding TV. Tim may have been 7, a little old to whine, but TV was TV.

“Honey I’ve told ya, the power is out, nobody is watching anything!” Maddie protested. Tim didn’t like that answer and went boneless to emphasis his Point. While Maddie was dealing with collapsing Tim, Stewart walked up timidly up to Soren. Tall but shy, Stewart was big for a 9-year-old, but still had the heart of his Mother. Soren hoped that would never go away.

“Can I help?” Stewart asked.

Soren smiled, “Of course! Do you know how to use a hammer?” Stewart didn’t, but with a little help, the tent was staked in no time. Soren was proud, but Stewart was prouder. They worked on the mess of poles, trying to unravel the impossible jangle of metal and Plastic.

“When will the power come back on?” Stewart asked.

Soren cocked his head, “I’m not sure, those high winds yesterday were pretty bad, it could be days before the power’s back.”

Stewart grew pale, “so were going to have to live in this tent until then?”

“No, no” Soren said laughing, “This is just for tonight, a little adventure to pass the time.”

“Ah,” replied Stewart, eyes lighting up, “I like doing adventures! Just like Bilbo Baggins!”

“Indeed, my friend, now let’s finish this last pole, and then we can start!”

***************

A few hour later, Soren lay with the earth to his back, looking up through the mesh roof of the tent above. Stars twinkled among the vast sky, and cool night breeze filtered through the leaves. Sarah was nestled softly in the crook of his arm, snoring softly.The two boys chatted loudly, oblivious to the presence of night. There energy was contagious, but Soren countered it with his exhaustion. This power outage was another problem he didn’t want to deal with. Life was already as difficult as it was. Why the need to add unnecessary burdens?

Maddie attempted to hush the boys, bolstering their energy rather than stopping it. Soren couldn’t blame them. How could you when the night contained so much adventure? Monsters, stars, spells, rouges, and Orcs. For a child, the night was nothing more than magic, terror, and wonder. Soren remembered when life was like that. When you could go anywhere you wanted and do whatever you wanted. Go on adventures, fly spaceships, fight dragons. Not a care in the world, and nothing to stop you but yourself. But we all have to grow up eventually, and with that fades the dreams, the friends, and the places of wonder. Night was a time to sleep, day a time to work, and dreams were left in a box on a dusty old shelf. But it wasn’t always like that. Soren missed those days.

Soren looked over at his two boys, now earnestly listing to their mother tell a story about Space Pirates. He watched as she traced out stars to show different things from the story. A pirate ship, a brave hero, a terrifying villain, a beautiful princess. Maddie was amazing like that; Soren had picked well. Soren’s eyes fell on Stewart, who’s eyes were lit up by stars and wonder. Soon he would be too old to listen to stories like this. He was now at the age where life was about to become real. It was probably time to help him learn that stories were just that… Stories. Stewart wouldn’t like it, he liked going on adventures to much.

Soren turned back to gaze at the sky. Why did we bother? Why tell the stories, why give them hope? Why tell them about Santa, about magic, if it all was a lie? Wouldn’t that be better in the long run? Soren remembered the day he had found out magic wasn’t real. He had jumped out of tree hoping it would awaken his ability to fly. During the wait at the ER, Soren’s mother had explained very carefully that some things just don’t exist. That was the day magic died.

But Soren looked back at his son’s eyes. Right there, he saw the magic he once knew. It had never truly died, it had simply moved on. It existed in the eyes of Stewart, and the eye’s of Tim. In a way magic was still real for Soren because it was real for them. And yes, one day it would leave them as well, to die on a dusty shelf. Only to again be reborn through yet another pair of star-lit eyes. Soren felt wonder swell within in him. An old but familiar feeling. A smile crept across his lips as Maddie’s story finished, and the boys whooped for joy. Soren whooped with them, as Maddie shot him a look. Soren didn’t care, it felt good.

The boys finally settled; their energy drained. And Maddie joined Soren, curling up on his open side. Soren looked down at Sarah, who still lay sound asleep. He smiled, thinking about the day when his boys could teach her the ways of magic. Soon everyone else was fast asleep, except Soren who enjoyed the final moments of the lingering magic. Then he let the sound of stars and crickets lull him to sleep.