A Story About Being Introduced to the Night Sky

Hidden Wonders in the Ocean and Sky

The moonlight shined down on my back as I waded through the water. I glanced at the glowing luminescence and swam towards my sister.

“You good, Lyla?” I asked, the waves had knocked her off her feet.

My 6 year old sister stared up at me with her innocent eyes and smiled a gleeful smile for a moment. She proceeded to splash around in the waves as if nothing happened.

“What is this and why are we here?” Lyla asked shyly.

“Well these are dinoflagellates, a type of plankton,” I replied, scooping up a handful of water.

“Dinoblahlitates? Dinoflahtellates!” she exclaimed triumphantly, trying it out on her tongue for the first time, “Why are we here then?”

“We’re here to see a meteor shower, remember?” I continued, “The debris left behind by Halley's comet.”

“Pfffft! Stars and comets are boring!” exclaimed Lyla.

“Trust me, they are much more than you think,” I said with a wink.

An hour later, the meteor shower finally came into view. The eerie glow illuminated the sky and patterns of what seemed to be small sardines swam quickly in the water but it was only a reflection of the sky.

“What is that?” Lyla exclaimed.

“It’s the meteor shower that I was talking about,” I replied.

“Oh, it’s really beautiful,” she said, still looking at the sky in wonder.