The Philosophy Tales – Alli Star -
By Ellese Elliott
Once upon a time, there was a young boy with a great mind called Allistar.
All day and all night Allistar wondered about questions that others thought were quite silly.
Although his mind was great, he had a lot of trouble fitting in at school. No one understood him. But he did not care to be understood, but only to understand. Whilst his peers were at play Allistar stared at the sky waiting for the stars. He found that no matter how hard he stared, as long as the sun was in the sky the stars could not be seen. And as sure as can be, when the sun began to set, he would see the first natural twinkle that was not projected from a jet. He saw the stars.
Allistar asked this question; Where did the stars go when the sun rose and why did they come back when the sun went to bed?
He stared long and hard and thought even harder. Days would pass and so would nights and Allistar would stay on the same patch of land trying to answer the same question at hand; where did the stars go when the sun rose?
Maybe the stars shot off faster then the speed of light. Or maybe they automatically turn off to preserve their energy. Could it be that a mystical being turns off the star lights one by one? Or aliens need the stars when the sun visits the earth and at our sundown they no longer needed the stars; they had the sun. Could it be that the stars stay there and my eyes don't work as well in the day?
Allistar decided that he may need more specialized equipment if he wanted to know the answer - a bigger brain! But then, as he was only ten years old and did not (at that time) know how to perform a brain growth spurt or brain transplant, Allistar fetched a telescope.
On the same patch of land he returned looking into his sky with his telescope. However, everything looked the same as before, just bigger. As Allistar was looking up he felt a splash of water on his face: “Oh no, rain!"
Dark clouds began to cover the sky turning day quickly into night. Fat droplets of rain ran down from the sky towards the earth. Allistar felt foiled.
Yet he was not deterred. He sat humbly on that same patch of land with his face towards the heavens and closed his eyes. He felt the rain pattering down on his head, beating down like a drum. He breathed in slowly and asked the same question; where did the stars go when the sun rose and why did they come back when the sun went to bed?
Many different answers to this question ran through his mind. With each answer, another more intriguing answer overshadowed the first. If the answer was not overshadowed it was dismantled by its lack of sense. Allistar's clothes were soaked through and the rain started to subside. And then Allistar said this;
"Maybe there is more then one answer! Could it be possible that the stars are there and not there? Or that aliens did borrow the stars and a mystical being did turn them off. Why does it have to be one answer or the other? The world seems so vast and so great it could all be possible. Even if it is a contradiction!"
And with this thought Allistar opened his eyes to an amazing sight. It was morning. The sky had been painted orange and blue. And a rainbow had appeared. Even if he did not have the one answer he craved he now had many and the journey to that answer was unforgettable. Allistar got up, stretched out his arms and walked home. But as he walked a question arose in his mind; why do rainbows only have seven colours and not ten? And then the journey started all over again.
The end
