The Night Sky

He got out of his old shack and spread out the torn bedsheet on the grass. His sister was sleeping alone inside the asphyxiating small hut.

The boy laid down on the grass and stretched his limbs. The pungent smell of the wastelands, flavoured with loneliness caught his nose. But his eyes wandered curiously over the night sky above him. Why is the night sky so up above? Why doesn’t he ever come down?

He held out his hand up as though to touch the sky. The sky didn’t touch him. But his hand blended in nicely with the black sky. Both same hue! He quickly arrived at the solution.

He was afraid. The night sky was afraid to come down. Everyone loathed him.

Everyone despised him. But up above, he had tiny sprinkles of light to hold on to. Sometimes the moon would pay a visit too.

Down here, he had none. Only darkness. It’s terrifying!

#

A few kilometers away from the wastelands stood a gigantic mansion at the heart of

the town.

He stepped out of his air-conditioned room and fell onto the swing chair in the

balcony. He stared at the night sky. A marvellous beauty! How could he not pen down a

poem about her?

His pen began to admire that black beauty. The young man wondered why the night

sky wouldn’t come down to the Earth. It didn’t take long to find it out.

The night sky wants to come down to the Earth. But the moon and stars won’t allow

her to leave them because of her baffling charm. They are afraid that the Earth would snatch

her away forever. So the charming queen should stay in her throne up above, and we are

destined only to praise her elegance from this far away.

He held out his hand to touch the sky. He could feel her hand in his. How ethereal!

#

She looked hopefully at the distant town. Her tender hands grasped the iron grill

tightly and tried to rip it off from the window sill. Just another futile attempt. Through that

iron-grilled window of the room, she smirked at the night sky. The night sky couldn’t go free

either. She was the prisoner of the moon.

Her eyes caught sight of the numerous tiny white dots in the sky. Her face reddened

with anger. Those are the nails thrust into her tender body. The nails that were drilled

through her whenever she tried to escape. Some may be rivets too.

Sometimes she would bleed out intensely that we would get soaked under her eyes.

She held out her hand to help out the night sky. But she was pushed back into the

room. So unfortunate!

#

She blinked at the night sky in apprehension. No, that eagle won’t come out at night.

Her three eggs were safe in her divine nest at the heart of the forest, away from the humans.

Her two small lateral eyes could see the entire vast of the night staying up above,

protecting them down here. He is a great warrior. She wanted to thank him up close. But he

could never come down. He is busy fighting with the moon from revealing them to the light.

With her petite wings, she held the eggs close to her chest. Her eyes went up to the

sky and whispered her gratitude. She felt a slight warmth at the tip of her wings. How

comforting!

#

The night sky smiled at them and whispered,

“I know what I am. You are all trapped under your night skies.”