The Great Conjunction

Journal Entry: December 21, 2020

Hey Journal, it's me again. I just stopped by to tell you that 2020 is almost over. I still can’t believe that the world has been living with Covid-19 for almost a year. I never could’ve imagined living through a global pandemic, but here we are. On another note, today is supposed to be a special day in our solar system. According to NASA, Jupiter and Saturn are going to align in the night sky for something called “The Great Conjunction” aka “The Christmas Star.” To be honest, I think “The Christmas Star” sounds cooler. Anyway, the experts at NASA say that this event hasn’t been visible in Earth’s night sky in 800 years! That is so cool and I can't wait to see it tonight! Well, I have to go now because my mom is calling me. I’ll give you an update later. Bye Journal, talk to you later.

End of Entry.

“Sam, grab your mask and let’s go honey!” my mom yelled from downstairs.

“Okay, I’m coming,” I replied as I put my journal under my pillow.

“Today is going to be a great day at the beach,” she said with a smile as I walked down the stairs

“You’re right mom, today is perfect beach weather,” I replied.

“Do you have your sunscreen?” she asked.

“Of course, mom. I would never go to the beach without it,” I responded. “Okay, race you to the car.”

Once we got in the car, she said a prayer and we drove off. My mom decided that we needed to spend more time enjoying the simple things in life after my dad died earlier this summer from Covid-19. He passed away a week before my seventh birthday. I was crushed. I couldn’t eat or sleep for days because the pain in my heart felt like shattered glass. I was truly heartbroken after my dad died. My mom thought therapy would be helpful and she was right. After a month or two of therapy, I started feeling better. Since then, my mom has made it her mission to keep us both as active as possible.

My favorite activity is going on walks in the park. I love being in nature because I’ve found my peace amongst creation. I love how the wind whistles through the trees and blows my hair. I love to hear the birds sing as they fly to and fro; their songs are so beautiful that I can almost smell the sweet aroma of their melodies and taste their heavenly harmonies. Today, however, was not a park day. My mom reserved a spot on the beach for us two weeks ago due to limited capacity, as a result of the pandemic. Luckily, today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly through clouds that looked like pillows and the ocean water was as blue as the sky above.

“We’re here,” my mom said, interrupting my thoughts as we pulled up to the beach. “Awesome!” I exclaimed with a smile.

“I’ll grab the chairs, tent and towels and we can head down to the beach,” she said.

“Sounds like a plan mom!”

The beach was half a mile away from where we had parked. As we started walking, I noticed tents pitched in the woods off the main road. Suddenly, I saw people walking around in the tents. There were clothes hanging on tree limbs and pizza boxes stacked taller than me. I’d never seen so many people in tents that weren’t on the beach. I saw at least twenty-one people before we made it to the boardwalk.

Once we arrived at the boardwalk, I noticed a woman sitting on the ground painting. She was an older lady with long gray hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall. Her shirt looked like swiss cheese and she was covered in grease stains with a row of finished paintings sitting next to her. I stopped to look at the paintings as my mom continued walking.

“These are beautiful!” I blurted out, startling my mom who hadn’t noticed the woman sitting on the ground.

“Would you like one?” the woman asked with a raspy voice.

“Wow, these are amazing,” my mom said as she approached me and the woman.

“Mom, can I get one, please? I asked with a smile.

“Sure. How much for one of your paintings, mam?” my mom asked kindly.

“One painting is--”

Suddenly, the woman froze and just stared at me. She didn’t blink, nor move, nor finish her sentence. She was looking at me as if she knew something I didn’t. She looked me up and down before my mother interjected.

“Excuse me mam, are you okay?” my mom asked after pushing me behind her.

“This child is special,” she said, ignoring my mom’s question. “Take any painting you want, free of charge.”

“Okay!” I exclaimed as I bolted from behind my mom. “I want this one, mom!”

“Okay, grab it and let’s go.”

“Thank you mam,” I said as we walked away.

“No, my child. Thank you, for what you will do,” she said.

“What I will do? What is she talking about?” I thought to myself as my feet finally sunk into the warm sand.

My mom and I stayed at the beach for a couple of hours before leaving. Once we made it back to the car, I saw the woman from the boardwalk entering a tent that was pitched in the woods off the side of the road. As we drove off, the woman and I made eye contact while she and the other people in the woods smiled at me.

“Mommy, why do those people have tents in the woods?” I asked.

“That’s where they live,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“That’s a homeless community my child. They live in those tents you saw.”

“So, they don’t have a house like us?”

“Correct.”

“Oh no! That’s not fair,” I said as tears started to form in my eyes.

“I know. I say the same thing everyday,” she said as she rubbed my back.

Once we arrived back home, I ran faster than a cheetah chasing prey to my room. I couldn’t wait to tell my journal about everything that had happened.

Journal Entry #2: December 21, 2020

Dear Journal, you won’t believe what happened to me today at the beach. Did you know that there were people who don’t have houses? I met a lady who paints and she lives in a tent in the woods. The lady was super nice and she let me choose one of her paintings to keep. The painting I chose shows a person standing on a mountain, staring at the city down below. The person has their hands stretched to the sky as if they were trying to grab the star that was placed overhead. My favorite part of the painting is definitely the star. The star is a mixture of blue, pink and purple hues that make it look like a sunset. I love this painting so much! Okay journal that’s all for now. The time has come to see “The Great Conjunction” aka “The Christmas Star” that I told you about earlier. I can’t believe Jupiter and Saturn are going to align tonight. Okay, bye Journal, talk to you later.

End of Entry

“Mom, can you help me hang up my painting?” I asked my mom as she walked past my room.

“Sure,” she said as I handed her the painting. “Where would you like it?”

“Can you put it on the wall next to the TV. I want to see it from my bed.”

“You got it,” she said.

“Thanks mom, you’re the best.”

“No, you are my child. I know things have not been easy since your dad died, but you have been so strong and it encourages me,” she said with tears falling from her face like leaves in autumn.

We shared a smile and a hug before she left the room. After she left the room, I opened my window to witness “The Great Conjunction” up close and personal. As the planets began to get closer, I started to hear a humming noise. I ignored the humming noise because the planets were seconds away from becoming one in the sky. Suddenly, at the very moment the planets aligned, a glistening and shimmering beam of white light shot into my room. I turned around and noticed that the light was focused directly on the star in my painting. Without warning, my radio started playing music and I could see the sound waves as shades of blue, pink, purple, just like the star in my painting. The sound waves moved throughout my room until they combined with the white light of the Christmas Star.

The painting began to shake until it fell from the wall. Once the painting was on the floor, the beam of light from the Christmas Star and the soundwaves combined to extract the paint from the painting. As the three elements mixed together like fruit in a blender, I stared in awe while the humming sound grew louder and louder. Suddenly, the room fell silent. The light from the Christmas Star, the sound waves and the extracted paint from the painting had completed their conjunction process and I was left speechless.

“D-Dad, i-is that you?” I stuttered in disbelief.

“Yes, Sam, it is I,” he said with a smile. “Do not be afraid, for you have been chosen to make an impact that will last a lifetime.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, still in shock that my father was standing in front of me.

Just then he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little black book.

“This is for you,” he said.

“What is this?”

“This is the future,” he said. “Twelve years from now you must call the number that will appear in this book.”

“Then what?” I asked.

“You’ll know what to do. Remember, you’ve been chosen,” he said with confidence.

“Dad, wait! I love and miss you,” I said as I hugged him with tears in my eyes.

“I love you too my child,” he said with love in his eyes.

Suddenly, my father turned into a mist and ascended out of my window towards the Christmas Star.

Journal Entry: December 21, 2032

Dear Journal, twelve years have passed since my father appeared and gave me the little black book. I called the number my father said would appear in the little black book six months ago and you wont believe what happened. I received $20,000! That’s right, $20,000! I’m not sure where it came from, but the voice on the other end of the phone told me to check my bank account and the money was there. Initially, I was going to use the money to pay for school, but then I remembered the homeless woman who gave me the painting twelve years ago. So, instead of paying for school, I took that money and invested it into housing for the homeless community down by the beach. Two towers have been built to create housing for the homeless in our community. Tower one is named “Lifetime” and tower two is named “Impact.”

As I reflect on that day at the beach, I believe the woman thanked me because she knew this day would come. I’m grateful to be a positive pillar in the community. Well Journal, I have to go now because the grand opening of the towers starts soon. Who would’ve thought a little black book could have such a great impact.

End of Entry.