Stars at night

I feel homesick for Africa today. What do I miss? The stars in the vast sky at night. It is like looking into a giant kaleidoscope. You can see all sorts of constellations with the naked eye, and shooting stars zoom across the heavens in abundance. In our last house, I had a favourite spot where I would sneak off to every evening, never alone, for Puppy and the cat would always accompany me. It was at the back of the house by the mango tree, next to the gardener's rooms. I used to love sitting there because the huge papaya trees were silhouetted against the moon and there were always so many stars that the sky really did turn a midnight blue. I would just gaze up there for ages, wondering what it would be like to be a traveller in space or if there were other beings out there. Infinity. I would stroke Puppy's fur and let him go to sleep on my lap. Sometimes a lonely plane would echo overhead, far away, bound for a distant destination. I would always hear my Mother clanking pots around in the kitchen and the ever present song of the crickets and other insects of the night. The shadows of the trees used to dance in the moonlight and sometimes my imagination would play games with me and I would think something was there. Then I would run back inside to the comfort of my Mum and the telly!