Every night before she slept, Priya counted the stars.
Not all of them. Just the ones she could see from her window - the bright ones, the ones that stayed still while the others seemed to move. She had names for some of them. The fat one near the mango tree was Moti. The small flickering one was Chotu. The very bright one that appeared first every evening was simply Big One because she hadn't thought of a better name yet.
Her daadi said the stars were always there, even in the daytime.
Priya did not believe this. She had looked during the day many times and seen nothing.
One evening the sky was full of clouds.
No stars anywhere.
Priya pressed her nose against the glass and looked for a long time. Moti was not there. Chotu was not there. Big One was not there.
She went to her daadi. "The stars are gone."
Her daadi put down her knitting. "Come here."
She took Priya to the window and they both looked out at the cloudy sky.
"Are they gone?" daadi asked.
"I can not see them," said Priya.
"Can you see the fan in the kitchen from here?"
Priya looked. The kitchen was around the corner. "No."
"Is it gone?"
Priya thought about this. "No. I just can not see it."
"So," said daadi.
Priya went back to bed.
She could not see the stars but she knew Moti was there. And Chotu. And Big One, very bright, waiting on the other side of the clouds.
She closed her eyes.
Some things do not disappear just because we cannot see them. They are simply waiting for the clouds to pass.
Goodnight, little one.
