The journey to the stars

Nora always had a question for her astronomer grandfather: "Where do the stars go during the day, when we can't see them anymore?" One night, looking through the telescope, she saw a tiny silver rocket land on her windowsill. A door opened, just wide enough for her.

The rocket carried her through a sky full of glittering dust to a small, round planet carpeted with purple cloud cushions. It was the planet where tired stars rested: during the day, they lay down there to sleep, worn out from shining all night long.

A star a little smaller than the rest, who couldn't seem to fall asleep, came and sat beside Nora. "My name is Filament," she said. "I shine too brightly, and it keeps me awake." Nora, who knew the problem well from some nights of her own, suggested she close her eyes and count the planets one by one, slowly.

It worked: by the seventh planet counted, Filament finally fell asleep, her light dimming gradually into a soft nightlight glow. The other stars thanked Nora silently, with a synchronized twinkle, before the rocket carried her back to her window.

Since that journey, whenever Nora can't fall asleep, she counts the planets just as she taught Filament. And some nights, looking up, she's sure she sees one tiny star wink at her before drifting off to sleep herself.