Night encompassed the trees. The trees encircled a large field, enclosing them in a ring. The undisturbed peace of the grassy field was covered by a vast expanse of stars, glittering throughout the deep sky. No clouds were in sight, and the new moon shone dark in the faded background. As a slight wind caused the grass to shiver, small fireflies were carried to and fro, all across the large field. Quiet ruled this night. 

 

Into the field rolled a clunky red truck. Exhaust steamed from the rear, and the wheels crushed the grass as it entered and settled in the middle. A boy, almost a young man, got out of the passenger’s seat and jumped in the truck bed. A girl followed suit soon thereafter, exiting the driver’s seat. 

The boy said “Look at ‘em. Not a cloud in the sky, either.” 

“They’re beautiful. And the weather’s nice, too.”

“Not often you get to see ‘em like this.”

“Not often you get out here, either.”

They laid down on the bed of the truck and the hard surface was remedied by the heat of their bodies together. The boy turned to face her. 

“Do you ever see anything in those stars?”

“Like what?”

“Like, you know, consteliations?”

“Do you mean constellations?”

“Yeah, them things.”

The girl’s eyes searched the night sky for a hint of an outline, and came up short. 

“No, I don’t.”

“Well I sure do.”

The boy’s eyes trailed the sky with a glimmer of wonder in them. The stars reflected off of his wide eyes as the girl turned to look at him, and he began to chuckle. 

“I sure do. May not know what they’re called, but I know ‘em as sure as anyone. I’ve known ‘em all my life.”

“Well I can only see them since the moon is a new moon tonight. For me it usually outshines the stars, anyways.”

“Do you really look that often?”

“Well, no.”

The boy shook his head. “Don’t fib.”

“I only meant the moon gets in my way.”

“Well tonight Mr. Moon did you a special little service and got outta’ your way. Now do the polite thing and look at what he’s showin’ you.”

She leaned back and rested her gaze on the tapestry before her. She could not spot the constellations, and the majesty of each individual, powerful star did not yet hit her, but she appreciated the artisanship of the night. It truly was beautiful, she saw that. The two laid in the truck bed quietly, with the only sound coming from a faint wind brushing against the grass and trees. 

“Come on, let’s get out of this truck.” said the boy. 

“Why?”

“Trust me. The grass is nicer.”

“Fine. Shouldn’t have even brought my truck.”

“Hey there, don’t gimme’ an attitude. Just trust me. I’m tryin’ to be nice.”

“Alright.”

The two laid down in the grass. The breeze could be felt more when they laid on the ground. The girl noticed the dancing fireflies for the first time. 

“They’re pretty too.”

“What are? Oh, yeah, the lightning bugs.”

“I call them fireflies.”

“Same difference. They look like little stars, don’t they?”

“Little stars? Little lights, yeah, but stars are giant balls of flaming gas. Fireflies are just little bugs.”

“You’re missin’ the point, ma’am.”

He got up quickly and snagged a firefly out of the air with his cupped hands. He brought the creature down for the girl to see. 

“See here? This bugger just stays in the palm of my hand. He knows I don’t mean no harm.”

“But you could squish him, or her, in an instant. If you wanted to. And it’s just a bug anyways.”

“But I don’t. He knows that. He knows he’s a little star and he can’t be put out. He just came down to see us and bring us all a lil’ more light, that’s all.”

“Well if the moon were out we wouldn’t even need fireflies. They don’t even give off much light as it is.”

“The moon’s always out, and less light don’t mean no light. Common sense, missy. It’s a virtue.”

The girl’s mood diminished as they lay together quietly in the grass. The wind whistled through the trees around them. It felt as if the whole world lay in the one big field. It felt as if the truck were no longer there, and the quiet music of nature stretched all the way up to the heavens above. 

The girl softly asked “What are stars for? I know scientifically all the hydrogen and chemical gases all react and there’s all sorts of-“

“Stop.”

“What?”

“You’re still missing the point. All you needed to ask was ‘why’ anyways. The stars are up there for a reason, just figure it out yourself.”

“But that’s so vague.”

“Look around. I ain’t stupid. I know a lightning bug is no real star. But it is a little light, like stars, and it’s a movin’ part of this big world. Those stars aren’t part of this world, but this world is actually part of somethin’ bigger, somethin’ them stars are part of, too.”

Silence resumed. The girl began to see the stars and how they seemed immobile, imagined their many flashes and sparks bursting from within. It was still beautiful.

“Some are brighter than others.”

“So are some lightning bugs. So are some people.”

“What do you make of it all?”

The boy let the firefly flit out of his hands into the night sky. It swirled in the wind for a moment before flying away, blinking faintly against the black of the trees. He saddled himself up and faced her. 

“I take it’s a grand sorta’ paintin’. I wasn’t there when all them stars blew up to size and all that. I just know that it ain’t a random occurrence. Just like every lightning bug has it’s place to land, and the wind blows the grass just right in certain places for certain stuff to happen.”

“The fireflies are beautiful too, you know. I guess.”

“Sure I know. It’s all beautiful. All the same beautiful.”

“And the grass is nice, and it’s cool down here.”

“Seems to me you might be comin’ around to sayin’ I’m some sorta’ right!”

“About some things.”

He gently took her hand. “I know you’ll see.”

“See that the stars are there for some crazy reason? Like that they have some zodiac purpose or change something here on Earth?”

“Nope. Just that it don’t matter at all why they’re here or how they got here. Only matters what they do. And what they do best is provide light and look good doin’ it. People just miss ‘em all the time behind the clouds.”

“I’m glad there aren’t any clouds tonight.”

“So you can see them stars don’t just sit there and exist. You just can’t see it from way down here. You gotta’ believe it, even though you can’t see it.”

“Gotta’ trust what you know, right?”

“Exactly, ma’am. Exactly.”

“Maybe it doesn’t matter why the stars are what they are and where they are. Fireflies too.”

Still holding hands, the two laid peacefully in the tall grass. 

“You know what?” said the girl “I think if the moon was full it would look even better.”

The boy smiled to himself. “I think you’re right.”

“I’ve just never looked at it all before like this.”

“Changes things, don’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

 

A breeze murmured through the field as a girl and boy laid down, eyes towards the stars. The girl outstretched her arm, pointing towards a light in the dark ocean of sky above, and then towards another and another. Their hands gripped tighter, and they almost forgot that the red truck existed at all.