"Are you ready to sleep, Princess?" Ecliptor asked the six-year-old as he covered her with a blanket.
"Well, yeah…Ecliptor, will you do something with me? Jus' this once?" she asked hopefully, sitting back up, the blanket sliding off her once more.
"You'll have to tell me what it is first."
"Pray with me, please? Trust me - I'm not bein' stupid, I know what I'm doin'," she informed him in earnest, resorting to puppy-dog eyes when she finished speaking. Ecliptor smiled and nodded, curious at her unusual request. He lowered his gaze as the little girl shut her eyes. She spoke loudly and her words echoed around the room.
"Dear God, thank you for watching over us an' keeping us safe. Thanks for all the food an' the clothes an' stuff. Thanks for makin' us happy an' for caring 'bout us. An' please bless Ecliptor an' everyone, even the bad people who hurt us, 'cause they're lost an' need help too. An'…well, I guess that's it for tonight, so…bye God. Oh yeah, amen." When she was done she opened her eyes and smiled at Ecliptor smugly. "Ya know what I jus' did, Ecliptor, huh?" she asked in a proud whisper. He shook his head; he didn't know. "I jus' lied to God. Now he's gonna think I'm a believer like them kids at the place we went to last week, them kids who was always prayin', so now he's gonna make things easier for us. 'f course, that's if there is a God, which I doubt. But worth a try, huh?" Ecliptor watched her proudly as she boasted about her idea.
"There's one problem with that," he challenged her kindly. "God's supposed to be everywhere, which means he just heard you saying he's not real."
"No he didn't. God's not everywhere, Ecliptor, he can't be. He can't-a been in the girls' bathroom on that last planet we was on, an' he can't be in the lake there either, 'cause he'd be holdin' his breath all the time, an' he can't go too near the stars or else he'll melt or the black holes or he'll get de… demor… dema… de-molecularized. An' he can't get into the meetings with Dark Specter 'cause he's not real evil an' he don't have an invite."
"But couldn't he be in here?"
"No way. He can't be in my room!"
"And why's that?"
"'Cause you gotta knock to come in my room an' he hasn't knocked yet," she stated simply.
"You're very smart, you know that? Now…" -he pulled the covers up over her shoulder and brushed her hair back from her cheek- "…goodnight, my little princess."
"Goodnight…"
Ecliptor sat on a lonely planet far below the ship where the little girl was sleeping. Gazing up at the stars adorning the midnight sky, he whispered a prayer of his own:
"If there is a God up there, you'll protect my little girl. Please, look after her. Keep her safe."