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beautiful hills and green valleys. During the day I danced with the sun and
at night I courted the moon. One night in particular I got to meet the stars. I
was sitting in the balcony of Mamá’s house when the power went out.
When that happened the sky opened up before my eyes. It was spectacular.
For a lot of people this may not be very impressive. The same as the
Empire State Building not being very impressive to those who live near this
skyscraper in New York. For me it was unforgettable. Because there wasn’t
any light coming from anywhere, I could observe the starry sky without
interference.
I know that to many this would seem silly, but for me it was a key event in
my life. The night of the stars marks the beginning of my relationship with
the cosmos, though at the time I wasn’t aware of it. I had had opportunity
in the past to look at the sky, but never in such an awe inspiring manner.
Growing up in New York I never could really observe the sky. The lights
of the theaters and billboards always seemed more interesting. The
skyscraper’s radiance and the public lighting always obscured the sky. 42 nd
Street and Broadway Avenue replaced the stars. For the first time I had
discovered the splendor and glow of thousands of suns. I stopped talking to
Mamá as I looked in awe.
- What are you looking at so intensely? – She asked.
- The stars look different. They look bigger, I don’t know, closer
perhaps. – I answered.
She then told me that she had seen them before like that. She wasn’t
impressed. I on the other hand was still struck. The power came back and I
got sad. You could still see the stars but not in the same way. The next day
I left Puerto Rico and I wept.
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