shooting back into the heavens burning bright throwing sparks against the night-blue sky
forever illuminating the earth with my light.
❞
── 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋, megan blair holifield
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July 12th, 1993
Dear Harry,
I saw a comet last night, and for some reason, I thought of you.
You know how things go during the summer — I sneak up to the Astronomy Tower, accidentally doze off, and wake up at three in the morning . . . it's a vicious cycle, to say the least.
But last night, when I woke up, there was a shooting star, blazing across the sky at a thousand kilometers an hour. I was reminded immediately of Halley's Comet, in particular: the famous comet named for astronomer Edmond Halley only passes by the Earth roughly once every 76 years.
Usually, I'd scoff and say Halley's Comet is "overrated" and "common knowledge", but its appearances have frequently played a surprising role in historical events. It was often considered to be a bad omen, and it was linked to everything from the death of kings to natural disasters.
Flavius Josephus said it looked like a sword, and attributed it to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Attila the Hun thought it signaled his defeat at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. The Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious feared the comet was a signal of his downfall, and tried to ward off its influence with fasting, prayer and alms for the poor.
Everywhere Halley's Comet went, it brought mischief, even if most of the time, it was a coincidence.
That's what got me thinking of you: remember when I told you that you attracted trouble like the Sun does Mercury? (It's true, whether you like it or not.) You're kind of like Halley's Comet, Harry — mischief and shenanigans, but most of the time, it's just coincidence that gets you there. I kind of admire it, to be honest.
But sadly, the shooting star I saw wasn't Halley's Comet. It was some lowlife fraud.
Halley won't be beaming across the skies anytime soon, either — it was last seen from Earth in 1986, and it won't return until 2061, following its regular 76-year journey around the Sun. I'll be eighty-one, and you'll be eighty.
Anyways, I still recall your knack for trouble. I miss it. September can't come quick enough.
Write soon,
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P.S. Comets aren't even stars, technically, they're just really fast rocks. This is the last you'll hear from me about those charlatans.
