A Night Under The Stars

“Chi, the bread that you ordered is here!”

I looked at my watch – 2.30am.

“Thanks, I will be there just now,” I quickly placed down the telephone receiver, got off the bed, grabbed my jacket, money and car keys, and drove down to the security gate.

I was there to receive 50 loaves of bread on this early Sunday morning. We were going to make sandwiches for 625 learners/students for the Wetlands Day Celebration on Monday. Looking at the bread, and loading it into the car, I was getting worried if we could actually pull off such a stint. There were only four of us, and we were only starting in the late afternoon that day. Nevertheless, I should worry about that later. Now, I just needed to quickly pay up the money and snugged back into my warm bed before icicles start to form at my nostrils.

“Thanks buddy,” I thanked the equally tired, but reliable security guard, before I went back into the caddy.

As I drove up the hill back to my house, I was greeted with an entire sky filled with stars. I have never seen so many stars together, ever. They were packed like sand on a beach, of various brightness, but all gleaming that the moon was not here to outshine them today. I parked my car under my porch, and walked out of my gate, away from the light, to admire the amazing sight.

I tried to identify the stars, but it was evident then, that I had been sleeping through much of my astronomy course, as the only constellation that I could identify was the Orion, with his awkward posture, belt and dagger. I realised that the more I stared into the sky, the nearer the stars seemed to be, and somehow this created a false sense of warmth. I quickly forgot about the icicles that were forming, and continued to absorb the beauty before me.

“Chi, what happens if you cannot open your door like the other day?” my imaginary friend warned. I brushed it off, as I was quite sure that Murphy would not decide to visit me twice in a month. Moreover, my door was already closed. If it was stuck, it was stuck. Why should I stop what I was doing to check?

“Chi, unlike the other day, you cannot be banging at your neighbour's door for help at half past three in the morning....”

Somehow, I understood where my imaginary friend was coming from, and thus reluctantly returned to my house. That night, I had a strange but wonderful dream of swimming with the stars. Yes, swimming, not flying with the stars. Thus, it was a strange dream. But still very pretty.

Afternote: At the end of Sunday, we managed to complete all the 50 loaves, and created lovely sandwiches for the learners! It was really a cool learning experience for me i.e. making the sandwiches, not waking up at 2.30am to receive the bread order.....