Once the two women had emerged onto the balcony, Beth took Mira’s hand and brought her over to the railing. It was very dark up here, as this area was designed to get as little light from the house as possible. Once their eyes adjusted, the pair could see the stars almost as well as one could in the wilderness, with thousands of fainter stars at the edge of their perception. “It’s hard to believe that the light from some of those stars has traveled for thousands of years or more. Some of them probably burnt out long before we were born, but we’re still seeing the light that was emitted even before that.<br/><br/>“I sometimes wonder what prehistoric people must have thought of the night sky—the sun goes down, and night after night these mysterious lights appear, with no discernible cause or purpose to it. Can you imagine how frightening that would be? Or is it more frightening to know the truth, that each of those little specks of light is so incredibly large and far away that the mind can’t even grasp the magnitude of it? I’d bet a lot of people never think too hard about how small we are compared to the rest of the universe, because they can’t take the hit to their ego. The insufferable birthday girl in there is probably a good example.” Beth laughed slightly.<br/><br/>“We’re all here for such a brief blip in the history of the universe, I think it’s important to make the most of it. So many people waste their lives obsessing over power, or wealth, or revenge, or other sad little things. But there’s so many wonderful things to learn, so many wonderful people to spend time with...”<br/><br/>Beth turned to Mira and stepped close, looking into her eyes. She delicately brushed a little of the younger woman’s hair behind her ear. “You’re one of those wonderful people, Mira. There’s nowhere I’d rather be right now than here with you.” Beth leaned in slightly, intending to kiss Mira, but then she hesitated. The younger woman was shy, and Beth did not want to upset her by being too presumptuous. She waited to see if Mira would kiss her or turn away.