Cassiopeia

Why the Stars are Confusing- Benji

When I was seven I was dragged along to an old field by my parents. They laid down a blanket and insisted I stargazed, they wanted me to find as many constellations as I could. Then they told me that all the stars could be dead, we just couldn't see it yet, and one day the star will simply disappear. All I heard however was I could be staring at a dead star.

I bothered my parents with an insane amount of questions until I decided that stars were confusing. They were randomly scattered through the sky in complete disarray. The pictures they made hardly resembled what they were supposed to. They all had complex names that could take months or years to memorize.

The worst part was they were constantly changing, all the stars did were move around until they died. I was confused as to why anyone could care about stars.

Once we got home I was walking around, it was late but the neighborhood was safe. I was staring at the ground contemplating why the stars were just so damn dumb when I heard a voice.

"Hey!" I looked around, trying to locate the voice. My eyes finally settled on a boy sitting on his roof. He had brown hair and was wearing a black sweater over his T-shirt.

"Hi! Why are you on the roof?" I asked. Why would someone risk their life and sit on the roof of their house?

"So I can see the stars!" He replied. I looked up and grinned, I could see the stars perfectly fine from the ground, so I told him.

"I can see the stars from down here!"

"Yeah but up here I can be closer to the stars!" He replied quickly.

"Why would you want to be closer to the stars?" I had never asked this question before, I was sure my parents couldn't answer it, but I had a feeling this boy could. I could see the look on his face, trying to explain his emotions but instead, he just blurted out-

"Because...uh, they are pretty!" I was confused again.

"That's dumb," I told him. He smiled and laughed.

"Your dumb." He laughed. I smiled before starting to laugh to, the stars didn't seem so confusing now. But the second I looked back up the boy was gone, so I walked away.

I'm fifteen now, and I love the stars. I love the complex patterns they make on the night sky, like a canvas and paint. I like how funny the names of the constellations sound, and the fact I can name them all. I love how the days get shorter and the nights get longer, only giving me more time to stare at the stars. The only thing missing was the boy, and I find myself wondering where he is. If he is also on his roof gazing at the same night sky as me.

But one cold night, the kind where your breath makes clouds in the air, I was laying on my roof. I felt like someone was staring at me, so I sat up and looked down the ground. There was a boy with brown hair and a black sweater covering his T-shirt. With his eyes staring into mine. He found me, the boy who made the stars less confusing.