12-July-2002
Special dedication to Kris Ice--Thanks for the thoughts, the dirty details, and lots of fun chats.
***These stories and the ideas contained within are copyright of the author. No reprinting or posting without permission of said author.***
There was something special about the crisp night air of autumn. Something magical that made the night sky come to life more brilliantly than any other time of year. It was not too hot, like the summer time, and not too cold like winter. Spring had some good clear nights for stargazing, but the time was almost always better spent chasing after fireflies. No, it was during those autumn nights when they pulled out their sleeping bags and huddled together on the roof, staring up at the night sky, bedazzled with a million pin pricks of twinkling lights.
"Ooh! That's Orion, isn't it, Dad?"
"See there? That's Callisto, the she-bear, and right behind her is her son, the little bear."
"Daddy? Why can't we see the moon? It's night time-where did it go?"
"See that big diamond shape? That's Pegasus."
"Can I have a Pegasus, Daddy? Please?"
"Why did they name the constellations after the zodiac?"
"I don't get it. That doesn't look a queen; it looks like a side-ways 'W'."
Year after year, the five men brought their young ones to the roof of Whispering Pines (that was rarely ever quiet or whispering), until year by year the young ones took themselves up and left the 'old' men to the nice, soft, comfy patio furniture in the back.
"There better not be any hanky-panky-ing up there, that's all I'm saying!"
"DA~AD!"
The End
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com