The Great Lights

Between two mountains was a trench void of any light.

There lived nothing in it, or so people assumed since they could not see anything past the darkness.

Day after day, that trench never became anything but a trench… until, one night, the planet tilted and for the first time, the trench was directly below the brightest of all stars.

The star was curious about it and decided to let down her rays to illuminate its depths. She found nothing.

Disappointed, the star turned toward the other parts of her new scenery. And, as the planet continued to revolve and orbit around the sun, it slowly moved the trench away from the star that unknowingly gave it life.

In a certain crack where the ray of light had hit the trench, five blazes emerged. Together, they glowed so bright that their home no longer became a mystery to others. Together, they put color into the depths of the trench that the people admired looking down into it. Together, they shone like the aurora of the north and duplicated the light of the star which bore them.

But among the five, there was one who glowed the brightest. Her light was white, so pure that all the other colors would circle around her.  She was admired by every man and every child and would often point their finger at that one light which shone the brightest. Instead of feeling envious, the other four loved her because her presence gave them more reasons to shine.

After a year, when the planet had finished one orbit, the trench was again directly below the mother star. The five blazes saw her and decided to dance like the aurora and shine like never before. Pleased, their mother blessed them…. But one caught her eye—the brightest, whitest, purest baze. She knew this one could be like her—a real star.

And so, while her other daughters were away, the star shone a ray of light on the white blaze, leading her up the river. Here, she would test her like she tested the others before…. She would isolate her to see if she was truly fit to become a star. But all alone in the darkness, the white blaze felt lonely and misplaced. There was nothing more hurtful than being away from her sisters.

Knowing that the other blazes would worry about her, she set a sparkle upon a leaf which was drifting downstream. The other blazes saw this and understood where their sister was. But being where they were, it was difficult to give the white blaze their reply. So it was only once in a while that they would call upon a passing owl and leave their colourful sparkles on its feathers. Upon seeing the white blaze, the owl would let the sisters’ gifts drizzle down like rain. This continued for two years— day by day, cycle by cycle, orbit by orbit— but it was never the same.

Gradually, the four blazes noticed that their sister’s white sparkles became less and less. Her messages no longer glowed with the same light that they had before. This gave them distress for they could do nothing but wait.

“Let’s go upriver,” one said. But without their mother’s guidance, they could never find the way.

“Let’s send the owl to get her,” the other proposed. But with the white blaze’s light shining less, even the owl would not be able to see her.

“Let’s ask mother!” Ah, but they would have to wait for another year.

Helpless, the four blazes sang in despair. So sorrowful was their melody that the other stars took notice of them.

“What’s wrong?” said an old red star.

“We want to see our sister,” replied one blaze. “Can you guide us to her?”

The star shook his head and replied, “My light is not enough. Only the brightest of stars can light a path for others.”

The blazes resumed their song of despair and the stars continued to listen. Finally, one of them volunteered to send their message to the white blaze.

“I can see your sister sitting at the edge of the river,” she said. “I’ll send your message.”

And so it was. Night after night, the blue star delivered stories to the trench and back. However, it was not enough to bring back their joyful glow for it made them miss each other all the more.

“Please tell us how we can be together,” the blazes asked their blue helper.

“Become a star,” she replied knowing that it wasn’t as easy as it is said. “Then you will have an eternity with each other.”

They knew what this meant—going their separate ways and overcoming the darkness alone. It meant glowing bright despite of who you are, where you are and what you are about to undertake. You see, a blaze becomes brighter with others of its kind, but a star has a light of its own.

Sad but determined, the sisters danced their last goodbyes and went on their separate ways—each one leaving for the north, the south, the east and the west—simply being bounded by a promise of one day meeting again. At the center was the white blaze who would one day rise up into the sky and see her sisters dancing, once again, around her.