NewWorlds

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I hear it. I’ve always heard it, but never understood what I was hearing until last night. When I was in elementary school and on a field trip to the planetarium, I felt really sick when the room darkened and the stars and planets unveiled themselves and instantly felt better as we left the building. I thought nothing of it until later that same night as I climbed into bed and read; I felt sick again, just like in the planetarium. I got up to tell my mother, but when I stood in front of my window, I felt as if something was pulling me from inside. I stood there for a moment and ran to my parent’s room. My mother took me downstairs to give me something to make me feel better and sleep, but I remember her hands shaking really badly as she poured the warm milk into my cup. When I asked her if she was ok, she asked me if I heard anything outside of my window. I told her no and then told her how I had the same feeling at the planetarium. She was nervous about something and I could tell by her reaction. I asked her if I was about to start my monthly cycles I learned about in school and she looked at me almost in a panic because she still had yet to tell me all the things a young girl should know. She said tomorrow we will go out and get you some supplies just in case and off to bed we went. Supplies? I said to myself and went into my room. I got into bed and started reading again. I fell asleep almost instantly but woke up around 3am to this pulling on the inside of my stomach. I was not in pain, but the middle of my body tightened and the feeling spread throughout my body. There was no sound when I yelled for my parents. I forced myself to stand, intending to go to my parents, but my body would only face the window and suddenly I fell to the floor feeling normal again. I started to sweat and breathe hard when I realize it wasn’t a sickness I was feeling; it was fear. I got up and walked over to the window and looked around the outside of the house to see if anyone was there. I’m not sure what I expected to see, a robber, a dog, something. As I turned to go back to bed, I saw a light twinkled out the corner of my eyes and turned back to the window to see it. I looked at the street light first and then my eyes traveled the open and well lit skies where it found a star twinkling. I stared at the star and imagined it was sending me an SOS signal or there were ships in the ocean following its direction. Maybe it’s another miraculous birth! I laughed to myself as I got back in bed.

The next morning, my friends and I were walking to school when I noticed the twinkling star was still there. I thought it was strange and told my friends to look at it and neither of them could see it, and reminded me you don’t see stars in the daytime. I laughed with them but I knew the star was there. On my way home from school, I saw the star still sending me signals, or so I told myself, and felt slightly anxious when it started getting darker. At dinner I asked my mother why she asked me if I heard a noise outside of my window last night and she said she thought she heard something and was just checking. Immediately, I did not believe her. After dinner and my daily chores of dishes, I told my parents I was going to my room to study, then bed, when my mother suggested we take a walk for some fresh air. I really didn’t want to, but it was so unusual, I felt I had to. We walked two blocks over to the community park and she grabbed my hand. I felt strange because it’s been a long time since my mother held my hands, let alone walking in a park at night. We talked about our day and then she asked me if I could see the star this morning on my way to school. My stomach started tightening, and she told me to relax and breathe. We sat on a nearby bench and she told me to look at the star, so I did. My mother told me the reason I saw the star in the daytime is because it’s not a star, it’s a relative. I looked at her and laughed and said, good story Mom, yet when I looked at her face, deep inside I knew she was serious.