Venus Through The Stars...

 A father, worried about his job, his family, chose to leave the comfort of his faded and overused recliner, and take a walk outside. Though he didn't acknowledge it, he needed to crisp spring air to clear his mind and refresh his soul.

He looked into the western sky, clouds darkened by the disappearing sun enveloped the canvas above. What am I going to do, he thought...the bills piling up on the kitchen counter, the threats of disconnection from utility companies mocked the young father and he wondered if and or when the nightmare would end.

"Dad?"

The father turned around as he paced his weed-filled yard and spotted his five-year old son--his only child--standing on the porch looking up, but not at his father, but at the sky at dusk.

"Yeah?" the father said.

"What's that?" the son said pointing to a point in western sky. 

Dad turned and looked. He saw nothing but darkening clouds.

"What, son?" 

"That thing right there?" The son continued pointing.

"Is it a bird, a plane?"

"No," the child said. Dad heard disappointment.

The father searched again and saw the same thing, clouds. He walked to his son and knelt. Even in the fading light his son had the brightest blue eyes. "Son, I don't what you're looking at. Can you help me see it, too?"

"Dad--there's something in the sky and I don't know what it is." 

"Where is it?"

"It's right there, between the clouds...that light."

Then, the dad saw it, a tiny point of illumination. "You mean, that star? Is that what you're seeing?"

"Yeah."

"Son, you've seen stars before, right?"

"Yes, but it's the only light up there. There's no other stars."

The dad thought about this. He scanned the sky--his son was right, the evening's first star. But, it wasn't a star, was it?

"Son, that's not a star. It's a planet. It's Venus."

"Do people live there?"

The dad laughed. "No, they don't, son."

   "Maybe I'll live there one day," the son said. "Do you think I'll be the first person to live on Venus, Dad?"

The father thought, then said, "Son, if you believe it, there's nothing you can't do."

"Really, Dad?"

"Really."

"Dad, can we go inside, now?"

"Sure, son." He took his son's hand in his and the two entered the house. As they passed the kitchen counter, the father eyed the stack of bills. Did he really believe what he told his son only a minute earlier? Let's see if it's true, the father thought. After all, his son believed it and there's nothing more pure than the trust of a child.