New constellations
She folded a paper crane and placed it on the windowsill. A gust of wind gave it life—and real wings.
The bird flew upward, past the clouds and into space. Two stars followed, one guiding the way.
They played around the crane in wide circles, protecting it from comets and drifting rocks.
At the top of a comet, an old man sat waiting. He greeted them by removing his hat and holding it to his chest.
Then, with a quick movement, he reached inside the hat and disappeared into it.
The hat floated in place, shrinking until it fit perfectly on the head of the paper crane.
One of the stars landed on the tip of the hat and turned to dust on contact.
As the dust fell over the crane, the body that had once been paper became flesh and bone, matching the wings.
The remaining star moved ahead, taking the lead as they continued flying.
Without warning, a shooting star rushed toward them. Just before it struck the crane, the guiding star moved in front of it and was crushed into dust.
That dust fell over the crane, and its head and neck—still paper—became real.
They were nearing the edge of the galaxy.
There, she sat, writing with black ink directly onto the darkness of the universe.
She was the same girl who had folded the crane—but changed. Lighter, almost translucent, yet heavy with presence.
The crane wrapped its wings around the star’s remains and lowered its head, offering it to her.
She kept writing, unaware of the crane, until she wrote so much that she bumped into it.
She took the star and opened a cabinet hidden within the dark of the universe. From it, she pulled a jar and gently placed the star inside.
After closing the cabinet, she noticed the crane still had no legs.
She looked out into the universe as if reading something, then began to write again.
The crane’s legs materialized from nothing, and it stood upright, graceful and complete.
She petted the crane, then removed the hat and shook it. The old man fell back out.
He took the hat, brushed off his robes, and with slow, deliberate movements, gestured toward the crane.
The crane took flight.
From her window, she watched the night sky—a dark patch without stars—until, moments later, the constellation of a crane appeared.
