Written for Sue & Gerry’s Weekly Prompts
Colour Challenge – “silver”. Also for Fandango’s
FOWC and the prompt word “constellation”.
Here’s where the prompts took me.
The old man spread a blanket on the grass and they lay side by side, two shapes under an enormous sky.
“See those three?” Grandpa raised a weathered finger. “Orion’s belt.”
“Who’s Orion?”
“A hunter. A giant. Depends on who’s telling the story.” He let his arm fall. “A constellation is a group of stars that forms an imaginary pattern in the night sky, like a connect-the-dots game. These star patterns can represent animals, people in stories, or objects. Someone looked up once, lonely or frightened or just wondering, and drew a line between the lights so the sky felt less empty.”
Eli stared at the three silver stars until they seemed to pulse. “Did it work, Grandpa?”
“I’ve been coming to this field since I was smaller than you. Same stars every time.” The old man’s voice was quiet. “Never once felt alone out here.”
They lay in silence. A satellite drifted across the dark, there and gone.
“Grandpa, when you die …. will you be up there?”
The old man considered this with well-earned patience.
“I’ll be in here” he said, patting Eli’s chest. “And I’ll be in the story you tell about tonight, when you bring your own boy out here and show him the three stars in the hunter’s belt.”
Eli seemed to like that answer; it wasn’t long before he was fast asleep.
NAR©2026
This is “Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)” by Don McLean
Everything here on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
A lovely, heartwarming story, Nancy.
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