Starry Skies

The Little Girl looked up at the sky. Enamoured. Enthralled. Excited. Standing at the edge of the tiny hill that seemed like the highest mountain to her, with her hand tucked tightly into her father's hand, it seemed to her each star was hers for the taking; each one sparkling as hard as it could for her own personal enjoyment. She could see so many different things once she played connect-the-dots with them. There was her kitten Fluffy, and Papa's favourite armchair, and ooh, a unicorn right next to the castle she herself would some day live in!

The gentle breeze ruffled her hair, playing with it in a friendly, mischievous manner. She paid no heed, busy scheming on how she would some day reach those twinkling stars. They did not seem that far away. And the ways to get there seemed simple, and infinite, much like the sky itself. Someday, she knew for sure, she would hold one of those diamonds-in-the-sky in her hand. She could hardly wait.

The Little Girl grew up, and became a Young Woman. She came back to the same hill many years later, alone, and the breeze carried to her many bittersweet memories. At moments it taunted at her, explaining to her in excruciating detail how the life she led was so far off from the life she had dreamed of. She gazed at the stunning, starry expanse of sky, and could only think of how far away it all seemed - the sky... her goals... happiness...

She never seemed able to see the possibilities anymore; just the impossibilities. If she tried playing connect-the-dots with the glittering balls of gas above, her mind strained instead to find the constellations as named by others before her. Still, looking at a starlit sky always brought her a measure of hope, and revived a tiny bit of the dreamer within. So for the tiniest of a moment, she could forget that she was stuck at the edge of greatness, with no idea how to get there...