Stargazing at Night

The night sky was like a swath of deep blue velvet, with wisps of thin cloud drifting across it like gauze. Stars lay scattered across it, dense in some places and sparse in others, shining as though someone had spilled a jar of crushed diamonds.

Tang Wulin rested his head on his arm as the fresh scent of grass mingled with the smell of earth and filled his nose. He raised his right hand and pointed toward the brightest patch of sky. "Look, that's Leo." His finger traced an irregular pattern in the air. "That brightest one is the heart. The ones beside it form the mane, and the ones trailing behind are the tail."

Gu Yue lay on her side beside him, propping up her chin with one hand. She was not looking at the stars; her gaze rested on Tang Wulin's gesturing fingertips. The night breeze brushed through the loose strands of hair over her forehead, while moonlight rimmed her profile with soft silver. "The star you're pointing at is Regulus," she said softly, as if afraid of disturbing something. "But it doesn't belong to Leo. It's the main star of Boötes."

Tang Wulin's hand froze in midair before slowly lowering. "Oh." He rubbed his nose awkwardly. "No wonder the pattern didn't look right."

On the grass not far away, Xie Xie sat cross-legged with his phone held above his head. The glow of its screen lit up his focused face. "Xiaoyan, don't move," he said in a lowered voice. "I'm about to get it."

Xu Xiaoyan squatted beside him, cupping her cheeks in both hands, her eyes wide and round. "Can it capture the Milky Way?"

"I'll try." Xie Xie adjusted the exposure time. "Three, two, one—"

The shutter clicked softly. The two leaned toward the screen, and the tips of Xu Xiaoyan's hair brushed Xie Xie's arm. "Wow!" she exclaimed softly. "It really got it!"

In the photograph, a hazy band of light stretched across the night sky, while starlight scattered over the deep blue backdrop like fine silver sand. Xie Xie raised an eyebrow smugly. "Impressive, right?"

"Another one!" Xu Xiaoyan snatched the phone away. "I want to photograph the Big Dipper."

Tang Wulin turned to watch them fool around, the corners of his mouth lifting without his notice. He looked back toward the sky, this time carefully refraining from pointing at random. "Gu Yue," he said quietly, "you seem to know everything."

Gu Yue's eyelashes trembled. "I've only looked at star charts." Her gaze finally left Tang Wulin and turned toward the real night sky. "The stars are very fair. No matter where you are, you see the same sky."

"Really?" Tang Wulin thought about it. "But I feel like they're especially bright here."

Insects chirped in the grass, their calls coming and going like the breathing of the night. Several windows in the distant school building were still lit, their warm yellow glow especially striking in the darkness.

Gu Yue turned over and lay flat on the grass. She stretched out her arm, spreading her five fingers as though she wanted to catch falling starlight. "Do you know how to find Polaris?"

Tang Wulin shook his head.

"First, find the Big Dipper." Gu Yue pointed north. "Draw a line through the two stars at the mouth of the ladle, then extend it five times the distance in that direction." Her fingertip paused in the empty air. "That star is Polaris. It's always due north, and it never moves."

Tang Wulin followed the direction she indicated. The night sky was vast, and the river of stars flowed and turned, yet there truly was a star that had remained in the same place for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years.

"Like some things," Gu Yue's voice nearly blended into the wind, "no matter how everything else changes, they'll always be there."

At some point, Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan had fallen quiet. They sat shoulder to shoulder, their phone resting on their knees with its screen already dark. Xu Xiaoyan tilted her head up and began counting softly. "One star, two stars, three stars..."

"You'll never finish counting them," Xie Xie said.

"I'll try." Xu Xiaoyan stubbornly continued. "Four stars, five stars..."

Tang Wulin suddenly laughed. He did not know why; he only felt that something inside his chest was so full it was about to overflow. The exhaustion of the day, the focus of forging, the sparks from clashing metal—all of it dissolved beneath this starry sky. All that remained was the soft grass, the cool breeze, and the people beside him.

Gu Yue glanced at him. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." Tang Wulin lay flat as well, folding his hands beneath his head. "I just think this is nice."

Yes, this was nice.

All four of them fell silent. The Milky Way slowly turned overhead, and time seemed to stretch longer and longer. Now and then, a meteor streaked across the sky, leaving behind a fleeting silver line so fast that one wondered whether it had been an illusion.

Xu Xiaoyan finally gave up counting stars and hugged her knees as she hummed a tuneless song. Xie Xie lazily kept time with her. Tang Wulin closed his eyes and heard Gu Yue's steady breathing.

After an unknown amount of time, the last few lights in the school building went out as well. The night grew darker, yet the starlight seemed brighter still.

"We should head back," Gu Yue said as she sat up and brushed the grass clippings from her clothes.

Tang Wulin rose with her and reached out to pull up Xie Xie, who was still sitting on the ground. Xu Xiaoyan sprang to her feet and patted her skirt. "Are we coming again tomorrow?"

"Of course." Xie Xie rubbed his numb legs. "I'll bring a tripod tomorrow, so we can get clearer pictures."