Free to Read: "A Tale of Apparent Magnitude"

     It was summer, night, and the air was dense and sweet from the smell of fresh cut grass. Though the full moon had just set, a pale, unnatural twilight continued to linger over the flowerbeds and magnolias in the front yard. Each leaf, petal, and blade cast a faint shadow onto the Earth.

     Looking out at the yard was a boy no more than five. He stood in the entryway of his home, a one-story brick house. Grasping the doorframe, he showed no desire to step outside.

     “What’s wrong?” The boy’s mother appeared at his side. She kneeled next to him.

     For many seconds there was only the sound of insects. “I don’t like it,” the boy whispered, grabbing onto her as he spoke.

     “It’s okay,” the mother replied, lifting him up. “Let’s go take a look.” Carrying her son, she walked out into the yard. The boy buried his head in her shoulder. Rubbing his back, the mother looked up at the sky. The source of the boy’s anxiety shone overhead.

     The star had always been there, sharing the sky with its brothers and sisters. Every human being who had ever lived carried some memory of it: a point of light among countless others. For the last two nights, though, the star had outshone all its siblings combined.

     “Why’s it so bright, Mommy?”

     The mother rocked her child. She continued to stare at the light as she spoke. “Stars aren’t like us. They have their own rules: don’t be too big, don’t shine too bright. Our sun’s a good star, but others...they’re greedy. All they want to do is grow bigger and brighter.”

     “How big?” The boy shifted his head back and forth.

 "Bigger than you could ever imagine. So when that star up there got too big," she paused, her lips forming into a smile, "a knight, the strongest and bravest alive, went hunting it. He took five swords to fight the star. The first three were invisible.

     “But the star couldn’t be fooled. It stole the knight’s invisible swords and gobbled them up. The star gained the swords’ magic power, its fire becoming so hot that it turned blinding white.

     “The knight’s fourth sword was made from beautiful, glistening diamond. The knight charged back into battle. He fought bravely, but the star won again. Eating the diamond sword, the star became a monster. The knight felt smaller than a grain of sand.”

     “What happened then?” The boy lifted his head just enough to see his mother’s face.

     “The knight’s last sword was shiny metal. It lasted five days before becoming heavy and dull. Beaten, the knight knew that there was only one way to kill the star. He stopped fighting, and let the star eat him and his sword in one...big...gulp.

     “The star had made a terrible mistake. The knight was no more, but his sword fell deep into the star's body. There, it glowed so hotly that it pierced the star's heart. The star cried out, and exploded."

     “That’s what’s up there?”

     “That’s right,” the mother replied, setting her son down on the grass. “And you know what, when the star exploded it sent pieces of the knight’s swords all over the sky. Soon those pieces will come back together and make new worlds. Those worlds will make more good people like the knight, good people like us.”

     “Is that true?”

     Taking her son’s hand, the mother smiled. “Of course. That’s how we got here, my love, the same story a long time ago.”

     The boy finally looked at the light. “More friends for me to play with?”

     “For everyone to play with.”

     “Mommy, can we stay up and wait for them?”

     “Yeah.”

     Mother and son sat on the cool grass and watched the skies. Bathed in the light of creation, they waited for their new friends to arrive.