The Glowing Rocks

It was startlingly cold when Claire dragged me outside tonight.

Towels bunched up in our arms and flip flops hanging off our socked feet, we scuttled our way to a rather large patch of grass in her yard, careful not to wake the parental units.

We set down our towels on the dewy lawn when Claire deemed a spot worthy enough for stargazing. Giggling and rambling in excited spurts the whole time, I could hardly contain my eagerness.

You see, I've never been stargazing before. 

Okay, I did go once but we're not talking about it because it doesn't matter anymore.

Growing up in urban jungles your whole life can deprive you of a whole lotta Mother Nature.

We sat criss cross applesauce with our necks outstretched as far as they could go to catch a glimpse of the sky above us. The Moon was almost full but just as bright and beaming as any other day, yet for some reason He felt like hiding behind the trees.

The moon is awfully shy, I suppose.

The sky was covered in a thin blanket of fog way, way up for miles and miles and miles.

Claire proceeded to pull out her stargazing playlist which included Snow Patrol's "Dark Roman Wine", Crywolf's "Bedroom Eyes" and Koda's "The Take Down". She went ahead pointing out constellations and telling stories about her summers spent out on this exact spot.

"Claire, the world is so big."

"It sure is, dear,"

Our backs were facing the Moon, so I turned around and looked up to see the steady moving clouds flowing by Him.

"Hey look! They look like ghosts!"

The clouds had peeled back into thin wispy strips, gliding along the infinite ocean that is the sky.

The Moon shone brightly on them as they slid quickly away.

After a while, the Moon had made its way above the trees, shining an inexplicably bright light on our designated stargazing spot.

"Hey, Claire, looks like you've got a spotlight," I teased, laughing as she struck a pose and proceeded to try and make shadow puppets in the Moon's glow (they looked more like black blobs to me, but shh).

I watched as Claire laid back. Following suit, I hadn't noticed I'd gasped.

"Now we've got the best view," I wasn't looking, but I'm sure Claire was smiling in that knowing way of hers.

I wrapped my flannel tighter around my body, feeling the chills run all the way down to my toes. Whether it was the cold or my complete and utter amazement is beyond me.

"Hey Claire?"

"Hmm?"

"It looks like a big, blue lagoon. One of those creepy ones, you know? With the fog just barely touching the surface... And the stars are like these glowing rocks you try and grab at the bottom," I glanced at the Moon in my top right line of vision, "With a really, really big rock in that corner."

Claire laughed at me, "Yeah, a really, really big rock... You sure nailed that one, kiddo,"

She explained how the sky and the ocean were her two favorite things; how they were so similar and yet quite literally the complete opposite of each other.

It was so beautiful. It really, truly was.

"OHMYGOD IT'S A SHOOTING ST--goddammit, that's a plane."

My excitement was hardly crushed though, seeing as the rest of the constellations were enough to keep me in awe for centuries.

We hobbled back inside around 12:30 with cold feet and cold hands, both complaining about our terrible circulation and laughing off the stories we told each other while sitting out in the middle of the night.

Sitting out there, I knew I wanted to go to bed thinking the sky would wrap me in its unending blanket of glowing rocks.

I'm sure they're quite warm.

Hasta la próxima,

Much love xoxo

Maya

P.S: Thank you Claire <3