'Let me stare up at the stars, because it's where we all belong.'
she trailed her hand along the instrument in front of her. a grin lit up her face as she turned to look at him.
"how long have you had this for?"
he pursed his lips, trying to remember and finally said, "since i was eleven. i haven't used it for a few years, though."
"no need to sound defensive. i'm not going to accuse you of being a dork for buying a telescope when you were a child. although you could've spent your pocket money on something cooler."
"space is incredibly cool!"
"sure it is."
"are you still being sarcastic? i can't tell anymore because you almost always speak like the world bores you," he joked.
"very funny. i'm not bored by the world, i just can't fathom how you find almost every aspect of it endlessly fascinating."
the boy pushed one end of the telescope's end towards her and said, "it's all a matter of perspective, my dear."
she rolled her eyes at his dramatic behaviour and put an eye to the telescope's narrow end.
"look at the stars. doesn't it amaze you that the light could have taken millions of years to travel to reach our planet and when you look at the stars, you're looking into the past?"
"you know it does," she sighed, "we met because i was looking at the constellations. every aspect of space intrigues, and simultaneously terrifies me."
"what's so terrifying about it?"
"floating debris, meteorites, exploding stars, the endless vacuum, and black holes," she rattled off, grimacing.
"did you know that matter shines the brightest just before being torn apart by a black hole? i wonder if that's a lesson the universe is trying to teach us."
"how so?"
"well, we have nothing left to lose just before we die. if we are aware of our nearing end, and decide to struggle against the black hole that is death, will we go out in a blaze of glory?"
"will that make our lives meaningful?" she asked, getting a hold of the idea he was thinking about.
"perhaps. depends on what you classify as struggling against death. is it doing the things you want to do or is it keeping everyone around you happy till the end, so you have someone to hold your hand towards the end and not allowing the fear that comes with death to win?" he spoke, thoughts leaving his mouth like the filter between his mind and tongue had been displaced.
"human beings are complicated, strange creatures. i try not to spend too much time trying to figure them out."
"perhaps that is a wise strategy."
she watched him as he adjusted the setting on the telescope with fluid movements. his fingers were long and stained by ink. she wondered if he was a writer and decided to ask him another time, because he was speaking excitedly about space again and she couldn't help but pay attention.
"you can see saturn from here. do you want to take a look?"
"sure," she replied, putting her eye to the device in front of her once again.
"did you know the noise saturn's rings make was recorded?" he asked a few minutes later, unable to stay silent.
she bit back a smile, shook her head in answer, and took the earphone he offered her. she lay down on the grass, looked up at the stars and listened to the music made by space with him by her side.
