Anne Rantakylä

10 years ago, I spent a lot of time with a friend named Koen. We use to observe the night sky together. His favorite constellation was the Little Dipper. Mine too. We had shared lottery numbers, so superstitiously like-minded we were. We promised to split the jackpot. He told me a lot of tales; he told how he had a conversation with a horse. He shared stupidities he did on the “love boat” when working in the Amazon River.

He kept some of his belongings in an old, leathery suitcase. It was filled with interesting objects. Huge, ell long, carved jungle knife, boxes, paper, and small things from around the world. I was going away and he wanted to give me something. I chose a small wooden box with metal ornament. Now my friend lives far away, we aren’t able to scope the sky together. 

The city where I live now has a void only brilliant starry sky can fill in.