The grass looked lovely curling up around her bare feet. We sat under the stars, Emily and I, not caring about the rest of the population, not caring at that moment about bills, college classes or the oncoming winter months. We only cared at that moment about ourselves, our love, and our interest in the stars above us.

I had always been a student, in my spare time, of astronomy. As we held hands I pointed out the constellations. I showed her the flying horse and the twins. She listened contently, as the wind played softly with her auburn hair.

"Do you think there is life on other planets?" Emily asked softly.

"Could be," I answered. "In the distant reaches of the universe there are many planets that are a similar distance to their sun as we are to ours."

"It's fascinating to think about," she mused.

"Yes," I replied. "Other planet far away could have oxygen, rain, oceans, rivers, animals and flowers."

"And people," she added.

"And people," I agreed.

And we sat like that the rest of the night. Watching clouds move like white horses before the full moon. Until eventually the dawn arose like a pastel painting, yellows like a broken egg yoke, scarlet and light blues, red as deep as is found in coral reefs.

And even as the sun came up we continued to sit almost not moving. The tentacles from our heads wrapped around each other. And the tongues of our stomachs occasionally touched.

Todd Hanks

Star Gazers