The Young Star and the Old Knight

Once, long ago, there lived a young star who fell from the sky she loved so much.

She had lived there all alone, even though her sister stars were all around her. Her sisters had not liked the young star. She was prettier; she shone more brightly in the night sky than them. For that, they were jealous of her. They gathered together and came up with a terrible plan. The other stars tricked their youngest sister into wandering too close to the edge of the sky. Then they pushed her over the edge.

She fell from the heavens to the earth below and no matter how hard she tried, the young star couldn’t find a way back into the sky she loved. The other stars wouldn’t help her; they wouldn’t listen to her cries for help. And they were happy she was finally gone because they knew. Once a star falls from the sky, it can never go back again.

But the young star didn’t know that. And so, she wandered the wide world all alone and searched for a way to go home again, determined to live in the sky once more.

The young star came to realize that as dark as the night sky had been at times, the world below was all the darker still. The world was full of terrible monsters and people, determined to steal another’s precious light. And yet, she met others throughout her journey, kind creatures and kindred souls who reminded her there was still light in the world, no matter how much it seemed to be filled with darkness.

On her travels, she met an old man in a distant land who had once been a brave and fearless knight. Many years had passed since he gave up his adventuring life. Now he was old and gray. But when he heard of the young star’s quest, the old knight took up his arms and armor once more. He remembered what it had meant to be a knight; to help those in need. And as long as he had life in him, he would help the young star.

He joined her on her quest, and together, the young star and the old knight searched for a way to get her home.  They went to high mountains where the ground was closest to the sky. But the sky was still out of reach, no matter how hard they tried to reach for it. They soared through the air on the great winged serpents, but as high as they flew, it was never high enough. They sought out wise men and women who were knowledgeable of such things, but none had answers for the young, stranded star.

Finally, after many years of searching, the young star and the old knight sat down together in a far and distant valley, looking up at a blanket of stars in the night sky. They were wearied from their many travels. Travels that had brought them no answers, no end to their burdensome quest. It seemed as though their search had been in vain.

The old knight was silent for a while as he sat next to the young star. Tears ran down her cheeks as she realized she would never again dance her way across the night sky. She would never again return to the place she once knew to be home. After a time in thought, the old knight spoke.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you reclaim the skies, my dear. Perhaps if I was younger, stronger, or cleverer than I am, I could have done so. I’ve failed you.”

The young star turned to look at the old knight and found that he, too, was crying. She felt a warmth welling up from deep within her as she looked upon her dearest friend, the one person who had stayed with her all this time. It hadn’t mattered how dangerous the situation was, he had been there, right by her side. And she realized something with a start.

In all of their journeys and wanderings throughout the world, the young star and the old knight found no answers. But they found something else instead. Something they had not been looking for at all. They found a friendship between the two of them, the young star and the old knight.

I’ve failed you—the old knight had told her. The young star touched his shoulder lightly. “Not so,” she whispered.

“Not so, my brave and fearless knight. Even if I cannot return to the sky I loved, perhaps I have reason to stay now, to remain on the earth below. You’ve shown kindness to me, a fallen star exiled in a strange and distant world, far from her home. You’ve been a friend to me, and that’s no small thing. You’ve made me see the truth, my brave and fearless knight.”

“And what truth is that, my dear?” the old knight wondered.

The young star smiled. She pointed up into the night sky, to the place she could never return.

“All I ever wanted was to return home, to the sky above. Not for my fellow sister stars—I wasn’t close to them. I was all alone, in fact. I wanted to get back because that was where I had been. I thought my place in the sky was my home. But a place isn’t a home. Not really.”

She smiled faintly and tapped the old knight’s breastplate with her finger.

“Home is the people close to you. I just never realized it until now.”

The old knight looked at the young, fallen star and saw that she was shining, more brightly and beautifully than when she had lived in the night sky above. And he smiled because he knew.

Once, long ago, there lived a young star who fell from the sky she loved so much. But on the earth below, she was finally home.

---