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It wouldn’t be a star festival without a meteor shower! Right on time, a beautiful array of shooting stars graces the night sky. Most meteor fragments appear to be little white or yellow lights streaming across the sky, but if you watch closely enough you may find that some of them seem to be pink, blue, and even purple in color. The scientists have reported that it’s just different components burning up as they enter the atmosphere, but there’s something undeniably magical about it.
So what if people thought it was lonely, or depressing, to go to a meteor shower on your own? So what if people said you should go with friends or family...or loved ones. Larkin didn’t have a loved one and he didn’t have much in the way of friends, he wasn’t the social sort, and he could have gone with his family but he hadn’t wanted to. He’d actually been busy at work, he was supposed to be working all night, but had by surprise been let out early - not enough to do. Rather than send someone else home, someone who had a lot of hours this week, they sent him home...the one who had twenty hours and that was it.
Rather than go home and shuffle about like some depressed idiot he went to the star festival. He had hoped, and thought, he might find his family but there were so many people. With a blanket tucked under his arm, he always kept one in his car, and a bottle of water in his hand Larkin found a nice place to settle down and watch the shooting stars. They’d already started streaking across the sky by the time he arrived but it was ok - it was still busy in the night sky.
Laying back he pillows his head with his arms and let his eyes wander across the night sky, watching the stars streak across the dark canvas. It made him feel small in a way...like there was so much more out there...a huge universe of so many stars and planets. So much. It seemed so vast…
For a moment he felt even more lonely than he had already but it wasn’t bad, it was a feeling he sort of embraced. It filled him with wonder for all the things which might be out there...while at the same time giving a sad sort of depressed feeling, which he couldn’t really explain. Maybe it was that they would, in his life time, never see what was beyond their planet, not really, it wasn’t like every day people would see or go past this planet. Maybe in generations, many generations, they would though.
How sad that humans lived such short lives and would never get to live long enough to go to space. Even if people were reborn they’d never have the memories of the past life, or lives, which yearned to see and be somewhere other than Earth. Those would be forever unanswered wishes and wants of another life that doesn’t know that it’s want was fulfilled...by the same soul but a new body and no memories. These were the odd thoughts he had once in awhile...odd paths that his imagination took and he really didn’t believe in rebirth but he supposed it was a nice idea...a romantic idea in a way as well.
It was better than dying and being buried and that was it.
Shaking his head, pushing the thoughts away, he focused back on the stars and the wonder he heard in other people's voices. It seemed everyone was enjoying the show, as they should be. On a whim he grabbed for his phone, that was in his pocket, and went to text his elder sister to let her know he was here and settled in for the show. Even if he couldn’t find them, and they didn’t find him, at least they knew where he was. He liked to let them know where he was, and liked to know where his family members were it was just a thing. Putting his phone away he went back to the show. Some of those colors were not white, he was sure of it, and they really did look magical. So pretty.
