For a friend (友人のため)

The power went out on the island last night.  So because she had asked, I sat outside waiting to catch sight of the Milky Way.  For two hours I waited, swaying slowly in the hammock, as clouds and light rain passed by and eventually – there it was.   It was distinctive in its wide yet solid stride across the night sky and the sea of stars.  To the naked eye it was faint as though crafted from blissfully forgetful clouds.  Yet to the imagination it was as bold and vivid as a lightning strike on a dark horizon. Looking out there, the mind is overwhelmed with fantasies of beautifully unique species, wildly exotic cultures, elegantly powered spaceships, and of massive glass cities glittering with a myriad of rainbow lights while nestled confidently in dynamic alien landscapes.

During this time, five shooting stars strayed across the sky - each gone in the blink of the eye.  Their short lives were in stark contrast to the seemingly immortal stars above them.  And I do understand the metaphor – I really do.  Will anyone be watching me when I too vanish in the blink of an eye?  Will anyone notice that moment when the universe finally reclaims my dust?

We are all swimming now.  In this particular age of humans, we often only know others across a vast ocean of electrons.  We are carried to one another by currents we have not yet mapped.  We have not touched these people and we have not dried their tears or heard their laughter.  Yet we know them – somehow – in some way.  Yet is this any less a thing than looking out into deep space at secretive stars or the seductive Milky Way?  I think not.

So yes Ayano, I did see the Milky Way and, as always, it was beautiful to behold.

- Just a peasant

Photo of a Pohnpei morning