Seeing in darkness

Conjunction of the Moon & planet Mars

Yes, it must be tonight.

I said it more to reassure myself than my company that evening - Martin & Jacob, my neighbors & schoolmates.

I convinced them to come with me to the bank of a nearby creek & wait for the conjunction of the moon & the planet Mars. I heard about it from TV last night, right before a power outage that covered the whole province in darkness. Electricity hadn't returned since.

Sitting on a mossy boulder, Martin was growing more skeptical by the minute, which in turn was making his younger brother Jacob more uncomfortable. But I insisted on my request -- just wait & we will see, focus on the moon & Mars will appear as soon as the skies cleared. I told them what I heard -- that it looked like a star but redish in color & not twinkling.

But not long after my monologue, cheers erupted from the neighborhood a bit far behind us. House by house, white flourescent lamp extinguished the faint glow of candles & gas lamps like clockwork. Electricity was back.

The brothers Martin & Jacob, too ecstatic with the electricity situation, took the interruption as signal to go back home. Off they went, running, leaving me sitting on the boulder by myself.

Soon enough, the household chatter of relief died down & all that was left was mumbled speaking coming from TV sets. If you listened closely enough, you'd hear the humming of electric current.

But I was intent on waiting for Mars. I tried to ignore the noise, both sound & light, & the stubborn mosquitos that just wouldn't stop biting my legs.

And then the heavens cleared. There was the moon, lifting the darkness around me because of its faint glow. I could even spot tiny fingerlings swimming in the creek. I scanned the twinkling canvass above & finally saw what I was looking for.

Mars was just there, still as a rock but as red as aratilis.

I wish I hadn't lost my yellow binoculars. I wish I had the money for a telescope.

A warm breeze blew from the other side of the creek like an invitation to peek. And so I did of course but only for a second. Time must be spent basking in this rare Martian phenomenon.

But in that moment I saw a rugged path of moonlight leading to a solid wall covered in wild vines, as if trying to hide in a playful desire to be found.

I looked up to Mars one last time before wonder filled my mind. Suddenly I heard the crickets once again. Another round of warm breeze came, rustling the leaves along its way.

Absentminded, I slipped on the moss & found my feet in the cold water, flowing silently but unrelentlessly.

There must be something beyond that I had to discover.