The wind was howling, the moon was rising high, and the field had fallen into a deep silence. It was late, yet a group of friends refused to sleep like the rest of the world. To them, the middle of the night was the only time they were truly free. They loved running through the tall grass without anyone to stop them, bathing in the moonlight as the cool air rushed against their skin. In those moments, they felt invincible.
They only stopped when they were utterly drained. They would lie back together, pressing their shoulders into the soft grass and staring up at the vast night sky. It was crowded with stars—colorful, dreamy, and distant. They whispered to the night, wishing that this moment could last forever, and that they would always be there to watch the stars together.
But when the dawn began to break, the dream would shatter. They each had to return home, for nothing truly lasts forever. Tired and weary, the boy would return to his bed and fall into a sweet, heavy sleep, still feeling the rhythm of the night in his heart.
One night, his friends woke him again. They dragged him out to the field, but this time, they did not run. They lay down immediately, their eyes fixed on the heavens, waiting for something magnificent.
Suddenly, a single star drifted through the dark. It moved so quickly they barely saw its shape. Then another came, followed by dozens more, until the entire sky was painted in a hundred streaks of bright, colorful light. They had waited a long time for this—to sit together and witness such a rare beauty.
The boy closed his eyes and made a silent wish: Let this last forever. Let nothing separate us. Let us stay here for eternity.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his house. But the world had turned dark, blank, and dull.
He rushed back to the field, but no one was there. Everything looked the same—the field was still vast, the moonlight was still silver, and the stars still burned bright in the high heavens—but his friends were gone. They had all moved on, letting go of the night as they grew into the world beyond.
The others had accepted that they had to leave, but he refused. He chose to stay in that memory forever. He still runs through the field, and he still waits for the shooting stars to come, but he does it in a world of silence. He can stay there as long as he wishes, but he is the only one who chose not to leave.