That first night, he reached up into the winter dark. His hand drifted past Sirius, flashing like a huge diamond, a star without equal. He selected Aldebaran and plucked it straight out of the sky. It was effortless the way he pinched the star between his thumb and forefinger, brought it down to Earth and held it dazzling in his palm. The starlight beamed bright between the gaps in his fingers, making us squint as it refracted off the knit of quartz and feldspar in the western granite mountain range. We stood in awe of its beauty. But what to do with a star pilfered from the night sky?

He wrapped the star tightly, his fingers curling in radiance, and making a translucent orange fist, he pulled his hand back to his shoulder, his biceps and triceps rippling and swelling with intent. We watched as he flung it with all his strength. The star went streaming through the sky, lighting up the fields beneath it. We all sighed a little watching its trajectory.