Age: 10
"Look at that star, over there." I whispered, pointing at the big dipper. Sam looked up and nodded silently.
"That's the big dipper. It looks like a spoon." I smiled, looking over at my six year old brother as I felt the wet grass touch my toes. The chilled air made our breath visible, but neither of us wanted to leave.
"Why is it called the big dipper? Is there a smaller one? A small dipper?" Sam asked after a couple seconds of silence.
"Right underneath it there's a small dipper." I pointed out, feeling a shiver run through me. Sam didn't seem to mind the freezing night. That was probably because I gave him a blanket from inside the impala that we were sitting on. Dad was asleep and I wanted to show Sam how cool the night sky is.
"Is it called the dipper because spoons dip?" Sam asked, his eyes wide in awe. I laughed a bit and nodded.
"Maybe." The rest of the night was spent in silence until Sam fell asleep on the hood of the car and the moon shown in the middle of the dark sky.
Age: sixteen
"Hey, Sammy. Look at that. It's the –" I nudged my brother and pointed at the stars that were just starting to show.
"The big dipper? You show that to me every time we look at the stars, Dean." I could hear the awe in Sam's voice, even after going out and looking at the stars for so long. We caught the sky at the perfect time. The sun just set and the stars shone bright enough to be able to see, but it wasn't in mid night. I took a quick glance at the door of the motel to make sure dad didn't see us. It was just a woman leaving.
"I heard it was called the big stripper before some douche decided to change the name." I smiled. Sam laughed and punched my arm, causing me to laugh as well.
"Last time you said the big dipper was you and I was the small dipper." Sam reminded. I looked over at Sam, cuddled in his brown jacket. It was my old jacket, complete with fainted blood stains and dirt that just wouldn't get out.
"Well I guess that makes me a better stripper then you are." I said, resulting in another punch to the arm. I pushed Sam back lightly and the conversation ended, the crickets filling the comforting silence. After five minutes I saw the street lights flicker on. In the distance the city lights shown. Just another thing that made me and Sam both stare at in awe. After hearing the same cricket get closer and closer I finally got up, noticing it on the ground. Slowly I eased towards it before picking it up in my hands. I shown Sam, making sure the bug couldn't escape.
"Cool. Do you think we can keep him?" Sam whispered, looking up at me. I shook my head.
"Dad would flip. We can name it, though. What do you want to name it?" I asked, feeling it bounce in my hands. The calming atmosphere still stayed around, even with the buzzing cricket. A few moments of silence passed before Sam gave his answer.
"Can we call him Cas?" I smiled and nodded before letting him go. We both whispered goodbye to Cas an we silently agreed to walk back into the motel. Not another word was spoken, and that was fine by me.
Age: 25
I looked down the edge into the water below. I had one foot on the ground, the other on the impala. Sam was sitting on the edge of the front, staring into the sky. I took a sip from my beer before pointing it at the sky.
"Hey, look at that. The big dipper." I smiled, noticing how Sam did the same. The cold air made my face feel frozen, but I was having too much of a good time.
"Or is it the big stripper?" Sam asked, chuckling after. Even after all the nights me and Sam spent under the stars, they never get boring. It's the time when we stash the guns away, take out a beer and feel like kids again. No problems, no lying, just staring into the sky in awe as our fingers freeze.
"Yeah, I saw her last week. Fucked her so hard her soul went to heaven and now she's the big dipper." I joked. Sam went to hit my arm but he missed me and he shoved my face instead. I laughed and flicked his ear, and he surprisingly didn't fight back. We fell into silence as we stared at the sky, the lights in the distance reflecting on to the water. We stayed like that for another hour until we ran out of beer and we both got frozen solid.
Age: 36
"Hey, look. The big dipper." I whispered, staring up at the sky. The cold wind made my ears hurt and my eyes water.
"It was called that because of us. I'm the big dipper and you're the small, dipper. They made them so we can be remembered." I added, feeling a tear fall down my cheek as I smiled. I looked over beside me, blank space going on for as far as the eye could see. Normally the nights felt colder without Sammy, but I felt warm. I didn't pay attention to my fingers freezing, or my nose turning red. I took a sip from my beer and looked into the long grass the impala was parked beside. Crickets chirped and one bounced on the hood of the black car. I carefully picked it up.
"I'm going to call you Sam. You and Cas can have fun, looking into the stars every night." I whispered, letting the little bug go. I could feel myself shiver slightly, the old, torn leather jacket not doing much to protect me from the black night. I flipped the gun I was holding in my other hand and enjoyed the silence for ten more minutes. I pretended my little brother was beside me, smiling like it was the best night ever. I imagined being able to get home and see my family and friends. Bobby, Cas, Dad.
"Can you see the stars in heaven?" I asked, looking at our initials carved into the car. S.W. and D.W.
The answer is yes, because that night me and Sam sat on the hood of the impala, staring up at the stars in silence. The sound of our family and friends chattering in the diner filling the space of crickets, the city lights gleaming far away. The best part was our initials spelt in the sky underneath the big and small dipper. D.W. and S.W., the best hunters around.