I stare at the stars. There are so many here, so many more that I can see here than I could see when I stood on Earth’s surface. And even though there are so many more and they look so close together, I know they are light years apart. The glitter in they sky looks as if I could scoop it up in my hands and let the stares swirl and touch one another, but they are so distant, so very far apart, that they cannot feel the warmth of each other, even though they are made of burning. This is the secret of the stars, I tell myself. In the end, we are alone. No matter how close you seem, no one else can touch you.
- Across the Universe by Beth Revis (2011)
