Stars
by Jenna Bannister, age 14
“Why do the stars shine?” the girl asked, gazing up into the darkened sky with the wonder that comes from a child like herself.
“For you,” her dad said, reclining in his chair. The fire crackled beside them, smoke filtering up to the great expanse of galaxies and planets, stars and beauty.
She hugged her knees and stared up at the great blue stars and the great big moon. Then she laughed. “No, really.”
“Do you think they would shine for anyone else?” It was almost rhetorical, yet there was one the pair both thought of.
“They’d want to shine for Mom.”
There was a silence that followed, carrying sadness with it. It was a weight that neither wanted to bear, yet they felt they must.
“Yes, they would,” he agreed, his brows furrowing, then brightening again. “But you’re the one who sees them.”
“But how do they shine?” She whispered very softly.
He stroked her dark hair and then looked out into the night sky himself. “What do you think?”
She smiled knowingly. “It must be God.”
“Yes. Yes, you’re right.” He grinned back at her, proudly displaying his satisfaction.
Crickets chirped all around them, a symphony surrounding their silence.
It was quiet for a moment, neither one having anything to say in the splendor of the night’s majesty.
The moon was masked in the smoke drifting from their fire, and they both gasped at the beauty of it. The sunset had been beautiful, but this was majestic. The girl was certain nothing was more wondrously gorgeous than the Milky Way surrounded by stars on a clear night. Of course, there couldn’t be any lights around or many people, to make it visible. You had to be in the middle of nowhere, no one with you besides the fireflies, maybe one friend, and God.
God is everywhere, she thought proudly. I’m always protected.
It didn’t matter if she was in the city, like she had been yesterday, or if she was in the middle of nowhere, like now. God was always with her.
She reached over and felt for his hand. “I love you, Daddy,” she said, finally looking away from the stars.
“I love you too,” he said, and lifted her, giggling, from her chair to sit in his lap, and they both gazed up at the sky. After a minute, he cleared his throat. “What do you think? Should we bring out the marshmallows?”
“Yes!” Her whisper carried out into the night like a note of music would, full of hope and promises.
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