‘’Xia heu, Xia, ming,
Yi ge xia wo ciao jintian.
Wo zhu wo jiu, wo zhu wo neng,
Yi ge xia wo cia jintian.’’
(In English: Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, first star I see tonight.)
Later that Night……
‘’You’ve got to follow, follow your star.
You’ve got to follow, no matter how far…..’’
Robin allowed his voice to trail off as he lowered his hand from the guitar he had been strumming. From the widow seat in his room, he stared up at the sky, not looking for anything but the answers. His answers. He wanted to know what it all meant, what it was all about. Unfortunately for him, if it was one thing that Robin had learned in life, it was that he never found the answers when he was actually looking for them. Ironic, he thought. ‘It’s always when I’m looking for something else that I find something I didn’t even know I was looking for.’ At this thought, he let a small smile creep across his face.
‘’Why is everything so confusing?’’ Robin wondered aloud. ‘’Just what is the meaning of it all? I sure wish somebody could tell me.’’ He strummed a few more notes absently on his guitar, when he spotted what he had been looking for all night: his one and only star. Since childhood, just talking to the star made him feel better about any issue he was addressing at the time, be it a fear of girls, or the confusion in the meaning of life. It made him feel like someone out there was listening, someone was watching, someone cared. It made him feel good, like there was a greater power that was taking care of him.
‘’Oh, tell me star, what should I do? I’m so lost and confused.’’ For just a minute, if Robin didn’t know better, he would say that the star actually responded. For a split second, he could’ve sworn that the star grew bigger and brighter, and vanished in the blink of an eye. Startled, Robin threw his head back, letting his guitar clang to the floor. He wondered, ’Is it even possible for a star to do that? Maybe I should have paid more attention is astronomy today.’ He rubbed his eyes, and looked up again at the sky. To his surprise, it looked as if nothing had happened. ‘Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. Maybe this is just my mind’s way of telling me to go to sleep. Maybe it was my imagination.’ Maybe…..just maybe….
A flash of insight hit Robin like lightning, and he scooped up his guitar from the floor. Slowly, he began to play ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ until he felt a cold beam of moonshine touch his face. He looked up into the sky again, and did the only thing he knew how to:
‘’Star light, Star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
First star I see tonight.
Silently, he made his wish- a secret, innermost wish from deep inside his heart. It was a wish he felt would solve his problems and calm his fears; one he felt would fix everything. Naturally, Robin looked at the star one last time before climbing off the window seat. The star shined down on him like an old friend in a time of need.
‘’Thank you, star,’’ Robin said with a grin. ‘’I just wish you could tell me what it is I need. I wish you could tell me more.’’
Sighing, Robin climbed off the window seat, and prepared himself for bed. Back at the window, though, something beautiful happened. If only Robin had stayed there for a minute longer, if only he had kept looking, if only if only he weren’t so distracted, he would have seen a falling star dance across the sky, right in the sight of his window. Magic right before his very eyes- if only he had been watching.
‘’Good night, star,’’ Robin mumbled as he turned off the light. Just then, high, high up in the sky, came a voice, the voice of the star. It had been quiet all this time, and now was the time for it to make itself known in the world.
‘’So you have wished it Robin, and so it shall be. And so it shall be.’’