Starry Night

Friday night, I came home and, like usual, took a glance up at the sky. I was awestruck. It was one of the best starry nights I had ever seen. Seriously, only the Van Gogh painting could have rivaled this. The temperature outside was dropping and I huddled closer into my thin jacket. Yet I still did not go inside right away. I stood out there looking at the winks of starlight embedded into the heavens. The night air was clear, unlike the cloudiness I had seen earlier today. Every place that wasn't obstructed by trees was a ink spill of pastel night blue. The stars rolled in between the open, cavernous spaces of night wash and dark branches of towering trees made an ornate border around the scene. I breathed out slowly, making sure I still felt alive enough to witness this. A fleeting thought in my mind--should I go to the Botanical Gardens to see all this? There, the stars would not have to compete with lamplight and neon signs. There, the sky would be unobstructed. It was like having your own conservatory in which to gaze at the globe of sky above you. I thought about it--thought about sitting on the grass, shivering in a small blanket but feeling like it was all worth it. I replayed that scene multiple times. I had even headed towards my car once or twice. But no. It was late at night and the air was going to be dancing with frost soon. I could see the windows of my car already fogging up because of the chill. Besides, I had other things to do tomorrow and I needed to sleep. That was when I stopped in my tracks. I had grown up, I realized. I suppose one grew up when one had obligations other than to admire nature in all its wonder. Another time, I thought. Tonight was better than a Disney-movie night even, but I would have to wait until another time. If this night never came again, then at least I got a glimpse of it at all. I thought of people who were blind or of ones lying in a coma in a hospital bed. At least I saw it at all. I looked up once more before I went inside. The stars winked back at me, sad but sympathetic, like a child saying goodbye to a mother. Another time, I thought. We'll be waiting, the stars replied.