Shine

Shine Like The Stars

Space. Space was such a vast and mysterious place. It gave off the promise of adventure, the promise of a journey separate from anything Earth could provide.

Colleen always thought space was interesting, although not much more than that. When she was a child she found herself drawn to just watching the stars shining in the dark night sky.

Maybe that's why she was so entrapped with Samuel. He was like the stars she observed as a young girl and like the stars she admired from afar. Only, this time she wouldn't have to admire from afar anymore. This time she'll find her place by his side, like the dark sky that allowed the stars to glow.

After a few years of marriage, she gave birth to Matthew and he had an uncanny resemblance to his father and it filled Colleen with an indescribable amount of joy. She didn't have one star anymore, she had two. And she loved them both so very much. She would be willing to sacrifice her own light to have theirs shine.

Katie was born soon after and Colleen couldn't have been more happy. It was perfect. They were perfect. She loved how Matt was jealous of his little baby sister at first but he soon warmed up to her and even refused to leave her side on her first day of kindergarten. He was a doting brother and as Katie grew, she began to dote on him too.

The two grew up and their resemblance to their father grew stronger and stronger. Colleen watched as they adapted to his mannerisms and his habits of pulling at his bangs when he was thinking or when his eyes could never keep still when he had something on his mind.

"They have your eyes," Samuel had told her one day as she was making dinner. "They have your selfless heart too."

Colleen turned to him. "They have your smile." She continued. "They have your smart brain too."

"And, they shine just like you do."

A couple years later Samuel told her that he and Matt were scheduled to go on a mission to space in the coming months and she couldn't help but be excited and nervous. She was ecstatic that her husband and son could finally journey out to space, the place that fascinated their genius minds.

But, she was nervous. She knew that so many things could go wrong and although she did trust the Garrison equipment and technology, it didn't do much to calm her nerves and insecure about thoughts.

Colleen knew it was ridiculous to try and convince them to say and slowly, she was able to bubble down her feelings of insecurities as the two started their journey to space. They went along with Takashi, a man she knew she could trust. He was Matt's dear friend and if anyone was a good judge of character, it was Matthew.

So, on the day she watched half her family leave the planet and the atmosphere, she felt something shift in her heart. She had a dreading feeling that something was going to happen, that something bad was going to happen.

Colleen watched as Katie checked the news each day, curious on her father and brother's progress. She was thirteen when they left in March and for the first time in thirteen years, Colleen celebrated her daughter's birthday without her husband and son.

Katie didn't seem to mind too much. She was so entrapped in her Garrison work that she nearly forgot her birthday. She was trying to catch up. She wanted to catch up. Colleen knew full well that one day, she would have to watch Katie travel up to space on her adventure.

Months later, on a rather dull evening, Colleen switched on the news, preparing for month-old news about the missing cat rumored to have climbed aboard a spacecraft and was now in the depths of space. Gunther, a dog that had followed Katie home one night, was curled up by her legs, snuggling against her bare feet. She leaned down to pet it when she heard the familiar sound of her family's names.