More Than All The Stars A New Bedtime Story for Space Travelers and Dreamers

A New Bedtime Story for Space Travellers and Dreamers

Once upon a time a large explosion, six hundred trillion times as bright as the sun, discharged across the void. As the fiery spectacle pierced a black velvet midnight, stars shot out in all directions. It was said that the sound of weeping could be heard amidst the smaller explosions that accompanied the collision of two great parent stars. But who would weep at such a moment, Kuiper wondered, as his mother told him the tale.

“Why, the baby stars, dear,” she said. “They were being catapulted out of the safety of their mother and father’s arms into the unknown galaxy to fend for themselves."

Kuiper thought this must be very hard for them. He hated anything to do with change and if his mother and father put him on the street without warning, he too would cry. He wanted to hold all of the lost star children in his unusually long arms and reassure them that they would be ok, even if their parents had bitterly fought and shattered their world. He was a little too young to understand that a series of events we cannot make sense of, things that seem too hard, are sometimes necessary to create new stars and sometimes they are just part of life. Every now and then parents leave us, not because they want to, but because they must, and it is hard for them too.

“One of the smallest stars was so upset at having been jettisoned far away from his comfy bed in the spiral arms of his mother, that he shut his eyes and tried not to breathe. He wanted to go home, and if this was impossible, he wanted to go dark. The little star just did not want to be in the world any longer,” Mother said. “He was a very sad little one.” Mother turned the page and Kuiper hoped for a miracle.

“His brothers and sisters felt better sooner because they were larger. Once alone they realised that they could shine into the blackness and be resplendent on their own, but not the baby star. He twinkled and he blew air out after holding his breath didn’t work, and all he felt like was a small flickering candle against the nothing.” Kuiper was devastated. Sometimes he felt like the little star, alone and expected to do great things, but unable to do anything at all. Sometimes he felt unable to move a muscle. Like when Pluto pounded on his locker at school just to see him jump. He wasn’t sure why this made him sad rather than angry, but emotions could be so unpredictable. The same thing happened when he kept receiving hand-me-downs from Arrokoth, who was older. Kuiper knew he was a round little boy but he couldn’t help it. Still, there was nothing he could do about Arrokoth’s mother who kept sending brown bags home via her son at school every few weeks, and it was humiliating. It wasn’t as if mother and father could not afford clothes and he just didn’t want to be seen as needy by the others. It embarrassed him deeply.

Kuiper started to think about the hard things in his life and how they related to other people. He began to wonder if some of the things that happened hurt our feelings so that we could understand one another. He wasn’t sure this was right, but it made him think about the events that upset him in a different way. He wondered if the little star had been through similar experiences before being hurled into the unknown.

His mother continued the tale as his eyes grew drowsy. There was a lot of heavy lifting his mind had to do to understand the implications of being all alone in a vast galaxy. Compassion was hard work, even if it was just a bedtime story.

“The little star hung his head for he felt so low and just when he started to cry again, the flares from his forehead connected with the solar fires from his chest, and together they began to burn a little brighter. The effect that this had on him, was that he began to doubt his former idea that he could never burn brightly again. Sometimes an idea needed to be thought about again to make sure it was true. Testing this theory, the star brought up his knees to his chest to see if the same thing would happen, and as it would turn out, he began to burn even brighter. How odd,” Mother continued. “I wonder what would happen if I folded my arms across my legs. I suppose there is no way of knowing without trying,’’ she read. “And do you know what happened?” Mother asked Kuiper.

“He burned even brighter?” Kuiper guessed correctly.

“Yes, he most certainly did,” said Mother, who turned another page in the book. “The little star realised that he could do much more than he previously thought. He wondered what would happen if he danced or if he giggled or if he spun around in circles, and so he began to twirl in space, enjoying himself for the first time since he was torn from his mother’s embrace. As he spun around he began to go faster and brighter… and faster and brighter until soon he noticed that there were others coming toward him. They didn’t shine like stars but they glowed and when they leaned to the side, they turned. They showed him pretty colours like blue and rust and gold and they were round. Some even came with their own moons,” Mother said, tucking the covers around Kuiper’s shoulders.

“So the little star had to start something in order for the others to come?” The little boy asked, sleepily.

“Yes, he had to make his own fire burn brightly before the others could see how beautiful he was and how wonderful it would be to be part of his corner of the universe,” she said.

Kuiper thought about it as sleep began to take shape of his thoughts. We must make our own fires shine brightly so others can see us. If this was true, then it must also be true that if we let ourselves dim our own light because we feel sad or inadequate, we hide our beauty from others. He wondered if the little star’s parents could see what he had done on his very own. If they could, they’d be so proud of him, he thought.

Mother turned the last page. “The little star was so pleased to have company that his heart grew and grew. As it increased in size, he began to burn brighter and brighter until he could see his Mother and Father in the distance twinkling their love across the galaxy. They were proud of their youngest star, who in trying his best had become a sun. He knew at last that he would always be their little shining star, no matter how bright he burned........The End.”

Kuiper slept snugly and in the morning, thought about all the ways in which he could shine. He thought about how hearts grow when the light comes out and then he thought about his own heart. The thing that made his heart feel biggest was embracing others, even when they seemed really lost or unlovable. The light flipped on and he realised that his inner sun was holding others close. Embracing others was his superpower, he was almost sure.