The Mystery of Night Sky

How the sparkle in the night sky mesmerized me?

It was one of those nights when the sky was clear but the air was still sultry. It was not the atmosphere that made me uneasy but the tension surrounding our household. My senses always heightened and my muscles tightened when my mom got upset at something or someone. I knew something terrible was about to happen.

These kinds of events might have made me susceptible to generalized anxiety disorder. In addition, my early life experiences also strengthened my intuition.

According to my stepmom, I was overly sensitive. I always took things to my heart. I loved fiercely and despised vigorously what and who I did not like.

In the summertime, we used to sleep in our courtyard. We did not have a spacious yard. All I could see while laying on my cot was the walls of double and triple-story houses that surrounded our bungalow; A small part of the sky was also visible to me through our yard. Despite all the constraints, I could still spot the illuminating bodies in the dark sky.

I was in my teenage years. I can’t really recall exactly what happened. I guess it is one of those repressed memories. It was either something I said or did that aggravated her. Consequently, I decided to go to bed earlier than usual.

Sleeping early was my only escape to avoid the situation with my dad. She always complained to my dad about me and then my dad used to scold me for disrespecting her.

The beds were already set up outside by our maid. I just skipped dinner and went straight to bed. I turned and tossed for a while and then voyaged to the valley of sleep without realizing it.

It was well after midnight when I thought I heard a noise that woke me up; maybe it was a neighbor’s cat or just a dream. I was wide awake and that’s when I noticed the sky. I saw a few stars looking at me. I wondered why those stars were so far away from me. Why I couldn’t reach them? Who lived there? Ruminating and speculating about stars offered solace to my soul. After that day, it became my routine to ponder over the night sky. Whenever I couldn’t sleep or stay awake during the middle of the night, it became my hobby to gaze at the stars.

It was not only my teenage years but also my childhood when I was fond of stars. It was my aunt (dad’s sister) who ignited the passion for stars in my heart. She used to sleep on the rooftop during summer and even winter. She loved sleeping under the naked sky.

I sneaked out of my bed whenever I could, to sleep with my aunt. She counted stars with me whenever I couldn’t fall asleep. We also tried to scrutinize the shapes that the stars formed by being at certain angles.

There were more stars to observe in the sky when I was young and slept on the rooftop of our double-story house than in our bungalow’s yard.

I was attending junior high when I got to learn about astronomy. I was never interested in Science except for astronomy class. If you are curious to know why I didn't like to study science, you can read my story here:

It was intriguing to find out about the solar system, galaxies, stars, and the universe. It gave me a new perspective on the stars, the dark sky, my own existence, and the Creator of all the creations in the universe.

At the same time, I also started reading astrology. I was amazed at how different stars represented different months and the personalities of people who were born in those months. I started reading the predictions every week to see the connections. I also observed the characteristics of different personalities according to astrology and analyzed the correlation between the two. That was my hobby during my high school years.

I also chose astronomy for general sciences university credit where I got myself acquainted with vast knowledge about stars.

I discovered that stars had lives too. I learned about black holes and Big Bang theory. How stars traveled through space and that there were many galaxies in space other than our Milky Way. I got to know about the birth and demise of stars.

My husband knew about my passion for stars. He had to go far north for business purposes. He took me with him to give me a surprise. He drove there at night. On our way, he stopped to take a break. I was half asleep when he called me to come outside the car. I was upset at him about why he was telling me to get outside in the dark. I asked him why he was calling me but he said, “just come outside and see for yourself.” It was pitch dark and he told me to look at the sky.

I was beguiled by the view that enfolded the sky. I had never seen so many stars before. The dark sky was covered with hundreds and thousands of stars just like the photo I chose for this story and I couldn't believe my eyes. That was really a great surprise for me.

Even now I prefer to go for a walk at nighttime so I can get a glimpse of the night sky. While I walk, I look at the sky to search for stars. When I find the stars, I start counting them to find out how many more stars I see than the previous day.

© 2022 by Saba Haider

Thanks for reading and thanks to Dr. Preeti Singh to provide us with this prompt. While writing about stars, I get to revisit many beautiful recollections. The two other stories that I also enjoyed were:

Mia Verita’s September story:

Janin Lyndovsky’s story is full of gratitude:

Snehamorey’s inspiring story: