I know the sky does not change just because we look at it.
But one night, it felt like it did.
I was outside around midnight, standing in my backyard, when I noticed the stars looked unusually bright. Not just clear. Closer. Like the sky had lowered itself.
The longer I looked, the stranger it felt. I could see patterns between stars that I had never noticed before, almost like lines connecting them in my mind.
Then one star blinked out.
A few seconds later, another one appeared where there had been empty space.
I checked the sky map app on my phone, but it would not load. The screen just kept spinning.
For a few minutes, I had the strongest feeling that the night sky was not something distant. It felt like something looking back.
The next night, everything looked normal again.
But I have never felt completely alone under the stars since.