Supernova

Chapter 14

Oscar led me into his garage, the childlike excitement still blazing in his eyes. He hit the light and I saw to my amazement the entire interior was decorated with fairy lights, they hung across the ceiling and the walls and gave the room an almost magical glow.

"Here, this is it." He motioned towards something in the corner that drew my attention. I couldn't see it as it was covered by a sheet. I approached it slowly, and he started to tug the cover off.

A large telescope was revealed, the metal surface glinting in promise.

"Woah." I said in a quiet voice as he turned back to me, his eyes reflecting the moonlight streaming in through the window, enveloping the room in its sheer glow. It bounced off the walls and onto the telescope.

"My father left me this, his prized possession. When I was young, he would take me to look at the stars and planets as a compensation for not being there. I saw him more scarcely as I grew up so those memories meant a lot to me." He said softly, his voice imbued with a painful sense of longing I knew all too well. I moved quickly, my hand finding his in the dark.

I didn't say anything, no words would convey what I wanted to say, but I knew the emotion ran through my eyes and leaked into the atmosphere.

"I have a star chart lying around here somewhere." He said, his voice gravelly as he moved to check the shelves.

I crinkled my nose. "What's that?"

He looked back, exhilaration passing through his eyes. I waited, feeling the heavy anticipation in my chest.

"It's a map of the sky, to put it into words. It'll help us find the planets."

I looked down at it, realizing it was a map of all the stars in the sky. A strange energy ran through me and my eyes glinted in fascination.

"The visible planets are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn." He said, grabbing the telescope and pulling it out. I put the chart on the table and helped him lift it outside.

He set it down on the grass, grinning up at the stars.

"Here, I'll look for one." He said, leaning into look into it.

"You can tell it's location by the constellations." He said, as he pulled away, pointing up at the sky.

"See, there's Big Dipper, it's not a full constellation by itself. It's part of one known as Ursa Major." I followed his line of sight, seeing the way the stars connected.

Oscar's eyes glistened as he looked up, the vast expanse of a million little flickering lights reflecting in them. He breathed in deeply, his lip quirking up. In that instance, I thought the atmosphere felt almost magical.

"There's Aquila. See that really bright star at the top? That's the middle of it, that Star is called Altair and it's one of the closest stars to earth you can see with a naked eye."

I looked back at him, and he motioned towards the telescope.

"Want to take a better look?"

I glanced into the lense, imagining an imaginary dot connecting the constellations.

"Here let me adjust the magnification and you'll be able to see planets." He said and leaned in, silence flowing through the air. I felt at peace, the night air was warm and comforting.

"Here," He said calmly, but I picked up on the excitement laced through his words. I looked as he spoke.

"That should be Venus you're seeing. It has a crescent shape."

I let out a slow breath as I saw it right in front of my eyes.

"It looks kind of cloudy." I said in amazement. I turned to him as he nodded, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.