2004-05-07 at 11:22 a.m.
Five Lucky Stars
You know who this is to.
In a bright nursing home centered in a small rural city, a little old lady sits in her rocker. The chair rocks slowly back and forth as she looks out the window, staring into the starry night.
She closes her eyes and her mind drifts back to when she was young and her children were little. She smiles as she recalls when her baby would tinkle on the floor while potty training. Reaching deeper, she pulls up the memories of when her older children, a boy and a girl, cut each other�s hair. The little lady laughs as she remembers her oldest daughter with hair like her brother�s.
Rocking slightly, she remembers the details of her life. She remembers the births of her children, her marriages, and losing the love of her life just a few years before. Remembering when she was young makes the little lady happy.
Opening her eyes, she reaches for a Kleenex to wipe away the tears. She gazes back out the window into the night. Slowly, as if by magic, three of the brightest stars in the sky start to twinkle brightly. Then, much to her surprise, right there before her very eyes, appears a falling star, and another. Two falling stars twinkling just as bright as the three she saw before. She watches the stars descent to the earth, falling in her direction.
Leaning to open the window, she stretches her arms outside and holds her hands open. Returning her gaze to the sky and the stars falling from it, she watches as they begin to slow and peacefully fall into her hands.
The little lady looks toward the door to see if anyone is with her to witness this miracle before her. Seeing nobody, she turns around and looks into the stars in her hands.
�Oh my,� she whispers to herself. Inside these stars were images of her life, too sad to remember every day. Inside these stars, like crystal balls, were the images she�d seen in her head nearly every day of her life since the time she released these stars into heaven.
Carefully, she lowered one of them into her lap and concentrated on the first. Inside this star was the reflection of herself in the face of a young boy. The little boy was smiling happily. �Hi Mama,� he said. �It�s me, your son. I love you, mom. I�ve been having such a great time up here waiting for you, mommy. We will be at the gates when you some to see us, so holds your arms open wide. Me and my sister play together every day! � The little lady gasped, �my sweet, sweet son, how I�ve missed you so! I love you so much.� and the tears began to flow. She moves the ball to her lips and kisses it softly before lowering it into her lap.
Nervously, she gathered the second shining star into her hands and turns it over, looking inside. As she expected, a beautiful little girl, looking so much like her daddy, smiled up at her and giggled. �Mama! Mama! Why are you crying?� she asks. The little lady sniffles a response, �Oh, my little baby girl, I�m crying for you. I love you and I miss you so!�
�But Mama,� the little girl responded, �We are with you every day! Me and my brother, we sit on the clouds and watch over you and my sisters and brother. When we see that you are sad, we send you rays of sunshine!� The little lady smiled in response.
As with the first, she moves the star to her lips and kisses it softly. She holds it gently in her hands. Reaching out the window, she opens her hands and the star floats away, hovering, as if waiting. From her lap, she picks up the first star and holds it out the window as well. After one last bright twinkle, it floats away and joins the other star.
�Goodbye, children of my heart. Wait for me, I will be with you soon.� she whispers.