The night had finally come, the rain of stars would be visible only for a few moments, and Daniel wouldn’t let Msi’ to miss it, so as soon as everyone in the village was asleep, they both sneaked out and went to the undergrowth.

Soon they arrived to the waterfall and lay down next to each other, head against head, chatting while they waited.

–Dad tried to reach it but he didn’t make it, he slipped and fell from the top of the tree.

–I'm sorry, it must have been very hard for you, accustomed to always walk around with him.

–Yes, it was, but Dad didn’t like to see us sad, that's why after the accident I didn’t want to change the way we lived, so he would know that we went ahead. And then you came.

–But I didn’t change anything you were already like that.

–Yes, but thanks to you, everything could go on as before.

With the faint sound of water, the night was at peace, as if everything in the world were in perfect harmony.

–Dani

–Yes

–You have a family in your home, right?

–On my planet, yes.

–And don’t you miss them?

Dan thought for a moment and sighed, almost whenever Msi’ touched the subject, he evaded it. Perhaps it was the tranquility in the atmosphere, or perhaps the feeling of having walked away from all that for a long time, but something made him talk that night.

–Not much, just my sister, Daphne. I, I never had many friends, never really fit anywhere, there was only someone I was always comfortable with, my brother David.

Msi’ felt the need to ask, but noticing that the young man was still talking, she preferred not to interrupt.

–He always had something good to say, he was always willing to accompany me on anything, he wasn’t just my brother, but also my best friend. When we were children we knew the history of the light and the soldiers that had been in charge of protecting it before, only the best, all were treated as heroes –A smile was drew in his face, but faded immediately–. It was then that I decided to become one of them, a warrior who protected the whole world, my dad didn’t agree, he said that the military were all hogs, he never liked very much what I did or didn’t do, but the real problem was that, at its time, David followed me, he became a soldier, one of the best, always enthusiastic of his work determined to do what was necessary, never declined a mission. My dad blamed me for it and stopped talking to me ever since, he also forbade my mother and sister to do it, we were only David and me, and I swear that if it weren’t for him I would never have made any friends. One day, reports came that the little water that once was the ocean had completely dried up, so they sent us and a couple of colleagues to investigate, the place had long since become a desert, but there were still some watery areas, we flew over several hours, until our ship broke down and it fell in the middle of the place –He made a little pause–. One of my comrades died when we landed. With no other way to go back, those of us who were left decided to wait for someone that search us, well, the most of us, David always said that we should move or we would end up dead, the water ran out faster than planned, so we started looking for more, our companion didn’t resist, by the day after he died, we found a small oasis. My brother and I survived there for a year and a half, until... during the nigh... a scorpion... stung him –Daniel's voice began to break–. He passed away in just a few hours. I couldn’t… do anything. He died in my arms with an immense pain and I could only see. I was furious with myself, I felt so frustrated, he told me so many times that we should left, that we should tried and I didn’t listen, I preferred to hide like a coward –She listened intently with a lump in her throat–. I stayed there alone, with no desire to do anything, I had promised my mother that I would take care of her son and had failed. If I had listened to him... now it would be him who would be here. It was terribly difficult. But then I realized that it would be unfair to let him rotting in that place, so I could choose, wait to die there and rot with him, or find a way out even if it cost me my life. I made my decision, spent a few days calculating approximately where I was and where I should go, I made myself with all the water and provisions I could carry, burn David's body and keep the few ashes I could recover, taking my brother in a small metal bottle. Thus began my journey. For a whole year I crossed the desert, lucky enough to find other oases, it turns out that the ocean hadn’t completely dried up. Finally one day as I walked, a big wall stopped me. First I thought it was an illusion, but as soon as I touched it I realized it was real, I climbed it as fast as could and on the other side found a beautiful landscape of houses with pretty facades, trees in each yard and grass everywhere, paved streets, with children and adults walking quietly. Somehow I came to the edges of a city, a residential area where the rich vacationers or where the elders came when they got retired. I fainted a few minutes later, then I find it out that a servant saw me and called a doctor, I was taken to a hospital and there I woke up three days later, connected to many devices, I almost died –By that moment he seemed really mad–. My family didn’t look for me, not even knowing that my brother had died, at his funeral we were only colleagues and I, the only thing that remained of him was his collar –Daniel took the star necklace from his shirt and looked at it, next to Msi’, she had seen it many times before, since the young man never took it off–. He loved the stars, he thought they were the guide of travelers and that carrying one would help him to chart his life on the right track, so he never took it away, he knew all the constellations and could show them without problem, he always knew the dates of events like the one of tonight and forced me to stay up late with him to see them. He always believed in me, he and my mother, she died shortly after the news, sadness killed her, I couldn’t even go to her funeral, I knew it from a letter sent by my sister, I can't imagine what she suffered, Daphne and my mother were very close, she had many conflicts with the men, whenever started dating someone, found a excuse to leave, she was always more comfortable with Mom, until the jerk of my father moved with them. He was married to another woman, my mother was his lover, one of many, when his wife finally kicked him out, the only one who received him was my mother, I guess that's why we never got along, he always said that I wasn't his son, that my mother had become pregnant with me to tie him up, he always found a way to humiliate me, to make me doubt myself, he said that I was a liar and that I would never achieve anything in life. Now my sister is alone with that moron.– The girl listened to every word, understanding half of what Dan told her, but surprised as never before. –There's nothing I can do for her, but I really hope she finds something or someone that makes her happy, a couple, friendship or a job that will excite her and help her out of that house.

The silence was made, as the girl thought what to tell him. Many ideas were going through her head, she suddenly began to understand his friend's way of being.

–Honestly, I never understood, why me? –He continued.

Suddenly, as they both processed what happened, a shooting star caught their attention, Dan rose quickly, followed by Msi’ who approached him. Little by little the sky began to fill with stars that seemed to fall from their place in the sky, before the astonished look of both.

–It's beautiful –Msi' said.

–I told you.

Then she grabbed his arm and put her head on his shoulder.

–Dani, I love you.

He got lost for a moment, surprised by the girl's words, but soon he smiled at her.

–I love you too.

Again silence was made, until the girl's curiosity prompted her to speak.

–Hey Dani, what's an oasis?

He couldn’t help laughing at the question and so they both stared at the sky quietly, wrapped in the soft murmur of the waterfall.