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February 14, 2013

Hundred

This right here is the story of a star who defied the laws of astrophysics in an attempt to make her dream come true. It is a story that happened one hundred years ago, on a night so dark it seemed as if the void had swallowed every street light whole. Predictably, because that is usually the case with dark night fiction, this story starts on a sour note. Thing is, the star in question was dying, and she was sad. She wasn't sad because she was dying. Well, that too. She was sad because she realised that her dream, the one she'd had ever since those swirling clouds of dust and gas collapsed, was slowly dying too. She had been trying really hard to come to terms with the reality of the situation, but what ifs have a way of resurfacing at the most inappropriate of times, like this one.

Neighbouring stars didn't quite understand what the distress was all about. Being a star was relatively uncomplicated. You're born, you sparkle until you can sparkle no more, and then you die. Anything else in between can only complicate the journey. Still, they respected her and her wish too much not to do something about it. The only problem was that the only celestial body capable of fulfilling the dying star's wish was the moon. Now you see, the moon is a proud entity. They found him orbiting the Earth with a margarita in one hand and a Cuban cigar in the other, clearly emanating the message that he wasn't too keen on striking up a conversation. Regardless, when they explained their reason for being there, which was followed by a lot of nagging and pleas, he had a change of heart (which is pretty ironic considering the moon is usually heartless). Now, what happened next is a bit of a stretch, because if it really did happen the way it did, that would mean that the Earth was moonless for a couple of minutes that day. But here goes.


So apparently, it is said that the moon set his pride aside that night; he stopped sipping on his cocktail, he stopped puffing on his cigar, and he stopped orbiting our planet. Instead, he paid a visit to the dim, dying star whom he found clinging, desperately, to that last shred of hope. "I hear you're in need of some moon magic", he said with a tone of someone who had been saying that same phrase for a really long time. "You've been an impeccable star throughout all of these years, so honestly, your wish is my command. Besides, I believe it's time to show the universe that dreams really do come true".


It was obvious, from the way he said that, that he was completely oblivious to the effect his words and close proximity had on her. But when he saw small spheres of plasma (the equivalent of human tears) streaming down her whole body, when he heard her mumble incomprehensible words under her breath because she didn't have any more strength to speak up, he understood. He understood that this is where he was supposed to be that night. He understood that something incredibly beautiful was about to happen right there and then. Most importantly though, he understood that some stars are not meant to be rooted. Some stars are not meant to be stationary. Because some stars have dreams that are bigger than all the laws of the universe combined together. And then some.


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One hundred years later, on a moonless night...


"Look, look, mum! It's a shooting star! It's a shooting star! Quick, quick, close your eyes, make a wish!" His mum, not wanting to disappoint her four-year-old boy, closed her eyes, pretending to make a wish. And then she smiled, softly. She got down on both knees and she hugged him really tight to her chest. "Turns out the moon was right", she then whispered in his ears. "Dreams really do come true."



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