Dying Star, aka Black Hole

Stardust

Everywhere in the world has been discovered. Even outer space, it seems, is full of, well, just boring old space. There has to be more. There has to be more adventure, some magic left in the world.

That more, as it turns out, particularly in our precocious First Grandson's drawing is... Aahh! 

What It Looks Like In Outer Space. Pencil drawing by First Grandson, 10 years old.

A black hole. A dying star.

Well, Outer Space Goliath. Where are you?

It is invisible because in a black hole, gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out.

Gahh. Pull me inside (to the safety of the spaceship, I suppose), an astronaut in outer space pleads. 

He must know that swan-diving into one, the top of his head would feel so much more resistless force than the tips of his toes that he would be stretched, longer and longer.

Above him, from the right comes a fiery "astroyed" ramming toward earth. The birds are already saying, Bye bye, while an alien UFO is amazed, Wow, new home.

The entire vault of his outer space is dizzy with stars, seemingly bullying the moon to the side, but kept in place by the sun.

But perhaps, despite the ominous presence of a black hole, the silent and eternal language written in the stars is calming. 

That the stars hold the promise of love and will continue to shine for you.

That they're not unreachable. 

And that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.

Because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance...

And if I may say so, the creative imagination, such as that of a child's, that affirms, I'm still alive! 

Fallen Star

Stardust

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,
save it for a rainy day. - Song Lyrics

You see a shooting star. 

For.The.First.Time.In.Your.Life.

 
It sends streaks of light across the night sky.

A bit of magic.

Positive vibes and good luck.

You have no more than a few seconds to make a wish before it burns out into a point of inky blackness.

But you’ve got… nothing.

Even you yourself are surprised by what’s going on in your head. You are trying to choose the best thing, the one you need the most. But still… nothing.

So what do you do?

You try to collect the fallen star.

Which is the premise of the entertaining 2007 romantic fantasy adventure film Stardust.

I love it. 

Imagine entering the magical fantasy kingdom of Stormhold and following Tristan in his venture.

Imagine finding out that the star is a woman named Yvaine. 

Imagine Yvaine being Tristan's birthday gift to the woman he wants to marry.

Imagine, in the meantime, witches and the Princes of Stormhold also hunting for Yvaine.

I don't even remember if Tristan successfully gets Yvaine back to Wall. Suffice it to say that I find the idea of a fallen star intriguing.

Perhaps, there is one hiding among the ghostly silhouettes of the trees outside.
Maybe, there's a host of fallen stars everywhere.

Shall we go find and collect some?

Far Beyond The Stars

Stardust

Far beyond the stars, my soul is longing to go. 
- Song lyrics, The Singing Nun movie

I'm embarrassed to admit it in writing, but I have no sense of direction. When I ask, Where? -  please don't say, East or West, or any such words.

So I surprised myself when early on, I became fascinated with a song touting lyrics like, There beyond the sun. 

Far away, far away, beyond the stars.

Maybe because it sounded mystical. Maybe because it promised a better place. A heavenly glow.

At night, I would tiptoe to the window and watch for the stars to come out. I'd stare into the sky until the stars were so plentiful and clear I felt I could reach out and grab one and hide it in my back pocket.

One day, I told myself, I'd travel even through the darkest night and reach for the stars. It was an expectation.

Like I was at the edge of a cliff.

And I would soon be able to fly.

Starstruck

Stardust

If every time I thought of you, a star fell, the sky would be empty.

Confession time.

In my mid-teens, back when I was wide-eyed and idealistic, I believed in true love (puppy love, actually, and happy endings). 

I fell head over heels. 

Hook, line and sinker. 

The whole nine yards. 

He was maybe seventeen. A university freshman. His eyes were engagingly warm when he smiled. 

Like a fool, I was happy to even catch a glimpse of him. So happy my face would break into a huge smile.

You may think it weird that I would dream of someone with whom I've never even talked, but already, I liked him too much. I know. It was romantically adolescent.

At night, when I looked up and saw a star through a big rip in the clouds, I'd make a wish. 

I'd imagine us walking in the night into a distant future, feeling something leaping inside at the notion that it could be the beginning of something especial.

I'd dream of us whispering sweet nothings, gazing directly at each other as we did so. Like in the movies. 

The simple sweetness of a captured moment, so potent with the promise of stars.

A Starlit Night

Stardust

Look at the stars

Look how they shine for you.

The brushed-out hair wasn't right. Too scraggly, Mum said. I tried a chic bun and hated it. Too formal and old. So I pulled my hair into a ponytail, just like always. Lola Maria's (now Mum's) heirloom diamond necklace and earrings set complemented my orange-polka dotted yellow dress perfectly. 

Accompanied by Mum, I was ready as I stood at the entrance of the Student Union rooftop garden. Tonight, I was to receive the Sigma Beta scholarship money given annually based on academic achievement and an essay from the applicant that justified the financial support. 

I vaguely recall bits from my written entry. I talked about just starting out. Just beginning, my dreams sprinkled with hopes and plans for a life that was to take me on an amazing journey.

It was my prize-winning writeup.

The night was perfect. The breeze was just strong enough to erase the lingering heat of day. Other than that, I don't actually remember how the event went.

Maybe I was so busy nibbling on imported chocolate chip cookies between sips of ice-cold pineapple-orange drink that the conversation between the sorority adviser and Mum blurred together like watercolors. I just noticed that they were both enjoying the flickering stars staining across the sky.

Then, I heard the adviser whisper something regarding the stars and going places someday. 

I looked at my Mum. The weak moonlight hit her face with a soft white glow. She was taking in the words graciously, pursing her lips.

When I asked her later at home what it was all about, her twinkling almond eyes wrinkled into a smile like she knew a secret she wanted to tell as she held my hands.

I met her gaze as she said, You are going places someday. Lots of places. 

Mum, how do you know that? How can you tell?

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she took in a deep breath and said, a little wistful, The stars said so tonight.

I held on tightly to her, relishing the great fierce warmth of her presence. Even though I had written, but only on a whim, about my dream of perhaps a new beginning, I didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay exactly where I was.

That night, I went to bed with crickets and chirping and the taste of chocolate chip cookies and stars in the sky.