text: Author's notes: This is only the second story I have written of my own volition, so I would like to encourage you to give me some constructive criticism. It is a realistic fiction monologue, and is *intended* to be performed. This is why all the dialogue is one sided (I was mainly inspired by speech and debate literature, more specifically dramatic interpretation). Trigger warning for loss of a parent Wishing on Aquarius By: William R. Neff (pseudonym) DAVE: I think that concludes our tour of the Youth and Science Museum. Before we leave, do any of you have further questions? Yes, Aquarius is a huge constellation. In fact, it's the tenth largest one. Hm? Yes, Uranus is a gas giant. Oh, I see what you did there. Funny. Any more questions? No? Ok. Thank you everyone, have a nice day. *Crowd disperses, except for one young female in her rough teens.* You do realize that the tour is over, right? The museum is about to close in about ten minutes. Oh, your ride doesn’t come until another half an hour? Well what are you going to do? You can’t just... wait outside. Here, stay inside the museum, it will be much safer here. You won’t get in trouble because I’m an employee. Trust me. Anyway, what’s your name? Ah, Rachel. Well my name is Dave Astra but I’m sure you already knew that from the tour. Actually, you look a lot like Stella- my daughter. She was born on Valentine’s day making her zodiac Aquarius. Her name means “star” in latin. Clever, huh? My wife thought of that. She always was so supportive of my interests. I never thought twice about the fact that she made more money than me. Where’s my ring? Oh, I don’t wear it anymore. Um, no it’s fine. I don’t mind you asking. It’s just that she isn’t around anymore. I'm sorry, I just don’t know how to ever bring it up. Do you know how hard it is to explain to a 7 year old girl what a drunk driver is? So Stella and I hit some pretty rough times financially when her mother... passed. Without my partner I struggled to pay the mortgage every month. Working as a tour guide only gives enough to get by. I couldn’t afford to buy Stella the supplies and clothes she needed for 2nd grade. Kids started calling her names because of rips in her old clothes. Her teacher even questioned my parenting skills and at the parent teacher conference. Although when times felt toughest, Stella was always there for me. Every night when I tucked her into bed she always wanted to sing a song with me because that’s what we did with her mother. Her favorite was “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Pinocchio. It was always really adorable to see her face light up when we sang. For a moment every night we would forget the money, the supplies, the bullies, and the teachers. It was just us, and I think during those times mom was with us too. After a few months I got a raise, and Stella and I were on the high road. Valentine’s day was closer meaning that her birthday was coming as well. I was going to give Stella the best birthday gift I could. I had been saving up money for months to get us a trip to Disney World. I also begged my boss to let me have the planetarium after hours. See, I was going to make a custom show for her. It was going to be a montague of our trip to Disneyland with her mom when Stella was only 5. It was going to be all streamed into the planetarium. At the end I was going to show her our printed tickets and we’d go home to pack. When Valentine’s day came, I could barely hold my excitement. That was until I picked her up from school and she came into my car crying. Stella said that all the other kid’s moms made their Valentine’s day cards for them. She was upset because she had no Valentines for the rest of the class. Apparently because she didn’t give any cards, she didn’t receive any cards either. She didn't feel like anyone's Valentine. To make matters worse, everyone forgot her birthday with the Valentine’s day noise. I told her the only thing I could, “Hey, I know what will cheer you up! Why don’t we go to the Museum later tonight, I have a birthday surprise for you there.” It was 7:00 when we arrived at the museum. I used my key card to get in. I told Stella to wait for a few minutes at the bench so I could set up the computer in planetarium room. I went inside and plugged the flashdrive in. There was some issue with the video file I was trying to use and the compatibility with the player on the computer. So I went back to Stella to let her know about the issue. I checked my watch. 7:03. Stella wasn’t where I left her. On the bench. I thought she must be playing on the side of the building that has the playground. So I opened the door and called her name. “Stella! Daddy needs a couple more minutes.” After going back inside and tinkering with the computer for a minute I finally get the video ready to show. I went outside once more and called for her. “Ok Stella, daddy is ready to show you the birthday surprise!” Nothing. I walk around to the side of the building, and the playground is empty. I checked my watch. 7:05. Stella couldn’t have gone far, right? Maybe she somehow opened the door and is inside the planetarium right now. I unlock the door with my key card and open the doors to the planetarium. Nothing. Nobody. Black hole. Stella is somewhere Stella has to be somewhere because, because, because, it’s Valentine’s day today and it’s Stella’s birthday so she has to be somewhere. Maybe Stella is just playing a very long and very scary game of hide and seek? Maybe she’s hiding in the girl’s bathroom. I check. She isn’t there. Hiding in the boy’s bathroom. I check. Not there. Hiding outside. I check. Hiding around the building. I check. The 2nd floor. The magnets exhibit. The basement. The gravity exhibit. The 3rd floor. The evolution exhibit. In the car. The rocks exhibit. Under the car. “Stella! Stella! This isn’t funny anymore daddy needs you. Now!” I checked my watch. 10:38. I took my ring off and threw it outside. After that, the only thing I could do was sit in my car. I knew what had happened. I had become the worst father imaginable. I never even got to tell Stella I loved her. Happy Valentine's day. Don’t you see why I can’t let you go out there alone? I can’t be responsible for that to happen again. It’s not safe. When I look up at the night sky, I see Aquarius. The tenth largest constellation. I see a star. My Stella. *When you wish upon a star* *Makes no difference who you are* *Anything your heart desires will come to you* Later the authorities showed me the footage. From 7:01 to 7:02 the van pulled up to the museum and it was gone by 7:03. It was that quick. I haven’t seen my daughter in three days but it feels like an eternity. It's all my fault she's gone. Why didn't I let her inside? I am so stupid. Is that your mom’s car? Wait. Before you go, I have something for you. Here. Two tickets to Disney World. Rachel, I don’t know if you can use them but after having this talk I don’t think I have any purpose for them either. Goodbye. Thank you for listening.