The nights have always amused him. For some, nights are a mere bridge they cross to get over the hectic day that tails them; for poets they are insights for their works to come; but for him, it was love, his inspiration and a place where he could reflect upon himself. He would leave his home, his friends and the blinding lights of the city to escape to the solitary hills to accompany the warm misty grass and a billion stars as far as the eye could see.

He prepared himself and mounted his telescope up into the void. As an ardent admirer of classical music he got his headset tuned to Ravel’s piano concerto- Adagio Assai. In short, he was all set for the long night. All that was left, was for the evening clouds to part so that he could feast upon the dim yet soothing flicker of the tiniest dots one could see in the night sky. He knew they were just huge spheres of burning plasma but there was something else, something that evoked unknown feelings in man. Maybe it was all an illusion, but to him it wasn’t.

He was a simple boy. He did not have much, but when he was deep in the world of stars, he had much to offer. Untold legends, stories, music and poems thrived in his mind but there was no one to lend him an ear.

The pandemic has left everyone wondering how a mere non living thing froze the world in the course of a few months. Who would have thought in the slightest that such a thing would happen. But in this darkness we found light as nature began healing as human activities dwindled. It looked almost as if it was all intentional and predetermined. He thought the pandemic was a repercussion to everything evil we have done in the past few decades. It made our lives miserable for a year or so, but it sure has taught us a thing or two. Moreover, it made us think about the great questions of life. It gave the boy a new interpretation to life.

The sky got darker and the stars got distinct as they entered midnight. The damp grass and the rustling of leaves gave him the right ambience to stare into the void. He changed the music. Pas De Deux from the Nutcracker seemed to be a great choice.

The stars listened to his worries, he poured his heart out, cried , it comforted him in a way only they both knew. ‘Believe’, it said. The Geminids went past his eyes, conveying hope, not only to him but to all the children who witnessed the spectacle that night.

Not everyone feels the way he does. As a living being he wished to know his place in the universe. As a human he wanted to know his destiny. As a son he felt small at the love of his parents. As a student he chose to learn the matters of the world. As a young man he was accustomed to serve the society. ‘ The world is full of obligations’ he thought. It’s always about serving others and satisfying them. He failed to understand if that’s altruism or just fulfilling demands. While one lives his life in the predetermined fashion, he often forgets to learn and understand the beauty of life around him. He then fails to recognize himself at heart, undifferentiated, and when that happens, it often leads to disastrous conclusions. The boy seemed confused with his life, chaotic and not a hint of orderliness in sight. It was time for him to draw his own conclusions. Hours passed by for he wandered in his thoughts. The stars were observing him silently and taking it all in.

The stars shone at peak, when the day was about to take its turn on earth a few hours left till sunrise, as the candle that burns brightest before it dies .

The moonlit skies with their companion stars is what guided our ancestors. From the Star of Bethlehem to the Pole Star and other constellations that guided our sailors; they were not just mere ornaments of the night but were something that was integrated into our daily lives. It was often a subject of thought that made them create countless tales and unending poems. These days, all men and women in pursuit of monetary gain fail to notice the obvious and the simplest joys in life. All of this for what!?

He felt unique and at the same time insignificant under the stars. The music faded paving the way for Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no.2. The initial dark and paired chords of the music lifted him up and channeled a new promising feeling through him. He thought, human beings, the self proclaimed most intelligent creatures in the universe have survived a great deal to reach where they are now. It was all interdependence and brotherly love that drove them forward as a whole. But what about the years spent by one causing hatred, disgust, humiliations and wars fought over matters that could be negotiated within a few hours? He recalled his favorite lines by Carl Sagan ,

“(Earth)… That’s here, that’s home. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. ……Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.” ~ C.S, The Pale Blue Dot

Many are the reasons to fight, few are the reasons to live and one is the number of lives you get. Many wars in the future can be avoided and distrust can be resolved if people find time to understand themselves, then the others and forge a relationship based on brotherhood, understanding and trust. Stars always appear as clusters in the night sky. One star never fails to shine, one never blinds the other but they are the brightest when they are together. People could learn a lot from the skies, he thought. It saddened him, the fact that there are still people who haven’t understood this and still follow their ways of exploitation. He hoped that at least once in their lifetime they look up to the stars and speak their heart out. He hoped that they would learn to love, understand and negotiate with life. Sure life can be hard, cloudy nights are present once in a while, but the stars never flinch, and come out as bright as ever the next night. Even when the stars are suspended in the darkness reigned night, it’s their duty to shine. In the long run, stars never fail to leave their mark as an inevitable part of the melancholic night.

As a young man, neither his mind nor his heart knew what life meant. Maybe that was the most interesting aspect of it; Unpredictability. Maybe, the all knowing stars will one day teach him that too.

The third movement of the music ended with a grand bang and brought him back to the so-called “real” world. He felt at his heart what the stars had told him. His reverie ended when the darkness of the night parted for the day to flourish. The stars slowly faded into the light with a promise to be there the next night and it marked the time for him to pass on. No one saw him arrive and now, no one will see him leave.