Satellites

Description

“Come on. I want to show you something,” Benji urged. He picked up a blanket from the foot of his bed and took hold of her hand. He locked the door of the apartment when they were out in the hallway and led her to another door and then up a flight of stairs.

Emerging from the stairwell to the roof of the apartment building, Haley glanced out at the glimmering Los Angeles downtown skyline. But that was not what he wanted to show her. Benji spread the blanket out and then managed slowly to lay on top of it. Haley joined him and he pointed up. To her surprise, a heaven filled with stars was in view for them to enjoy.

“I’ve never seen so many stars visible over the city,” she uttered, so overwhelmed by what she was seeing.

“All of the local streetlights around the apartment building are either burned out or broken,” Benji revealed. “Because it’s so dark around here, the city lights can’t spoil the night sky. I come up here as often as I can just to get lost in watching the stars.”

“They’re beautiful,” Haley whispered.

“Closer to midnight, if the sky is clear, you can sometimes see shooting stars.”

“I see an airplane,” she pointed out.

“No, that’s not an airplane,” Benji corrected her. “That’s a satellite. You can tell the difference this way. The lights from an airplane blink, but the light of a satellite is constant. Shooting stars have constant light but are gone within seconds.”

“I could stay up here and watch for hours.”

“This will probably sound dumb, but sometimes I think of myself as a satellite,” Benji confessed.

“How so?”

“Satellites are in constant orbit around the world. They see everything at a distance. That’s how I see myself. I see what’s out there, but I can’t touch it because I’m not supposed to. I see the stars, but I can’t go to them. I see my dad in the picture of him and me in my bedroom, but I can’t be with him. Even my future, I can only see at a distance. I want so badly to become a member of the orchestra, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“Why not?” she wondered as she snuggled close to him. “You’re so talented.”

“Thank you, but having talent doesn’t always mean anything. Some have other advantages you can’t match. The odds are against me because I’m a satellite. My orbit keeps me at a distance. I’m only meant to look in from the outside.”