"Where are you working tonight?"

"The library. I'm supposed to read them a story. A made up one, or from a book."

"Oh. And you think I can do that?"

"I'm sure you remember the 'plumber' story? The one about Mario? The one that… she… read to us?"

"Oh. So that's what Bowser meant by 'that plumber'. He meant Mario!"

"Correct."

"So what do you want me to do again?"

"Read them a story. Read the children a story. Any story you wish to tell them."

"Oh. Okay…"

An hour later, he was seated in a wooden rocking chair with the children seated on the floor around him. He had brought a storybook with him. The storybook was from his Mama. She had given it to him to read at night, and now he was going to use it. The book itself was brown leather with gold trim on the front and back. In the middle of the front cover, there was a yellow star with eyes as if it was looking at him. When the bell rang 8:00 PM, the kids started to quiet down.

"Let us begin," he said calmly, but with an undertone of excitement. He didn't want to overdue the excitement. He knew the kids would find it weird.

Once the kids were silent, he began to read.

"Chapter One-The Celestial Duo. Our story begins a very, very long time ago with a young girl. One day, this girl spotted a rusted spaceship holding a small star child. 'What's your name? Are you lost?' the girl asked the star child. 'I'm Luma, and I'm waiting for Mama. She's coming for me on a comet!' said the star child, who had been waiting day and night. 'Don't worry. I'll wait with you,' the little girl promised Luma. At nightfall, the little girl borrowed her father's telescope and peered into the sky. She looked and looked, but saw nothing. Hours turned into days and then years, but still the sky revealed nothing. Finally, the little girl sighed and said to Luma, 'If we stay here looking much longer, I'll be an old lady soon.' But then she had an idea. 'Why don't we go out there and find your mother ourselves?' The girl and Luma fixed up the rusty spaceship, and then the two set sail into the starry sky. And this is how the search for the celestial mother began."

He looked up at the kids to see their faces lit up with excitement.

"We never heared that story before," a little boy told Rock.

"Yeah, Blues never tell stories the way you do," a small girl commented.

Rock blushed.

"Aw, t-thank you!"

"How many chapters are there?" a boy about eight-years-old asked.

He looked at the front of the book.

"Nine. There are nine chapters," Rock replied.

The kids smiled at him and chanted for another chapter.

"Okay okay! I'll do two more tonight. But then that's it, okay?"

The kids nodded. He looked down in the book again and began to read.

"Chapter Two-Star Bits. Days passed with no sight of the comet, or even a single planet. Instead, asteroids extended for as far as the eye could see. 'If I had known it was going to take this long, I would have packed more jam,' said the little girl, above the rumble of her belly. Before they left, she had packed all the essentials: telescope, butterfly net, stuffed bunny, bread, milk, jam, and apricot-flavored tea, but... 'I forgot to bring water!' At this, Luma burst into gales of laughter, and the girl began to pout. 'As long as I have Star Bits, I'll be fine,' said Luma. 'Want some?' The little girl couldn't stay mad after hearing this. Luma continued to laugh, and the girl couldn't help but join in. 'Alright, maybe just a nibble.' Leaning far out of the ship, the pair began to collect Star Bits with the girl's net. They almost fell out a few times, but they kept on collecting. The Star Bits tasted like honey."

He looked up again and saw the children were still interested. He remembered Blues saying that the kids always fell asleep in the middle of the first chapter. He chuckled inwardly at Blues' frustration.

"S-should I keep going?"

The kids cheered and the parents of the kids were sitting next to them as well.

"Chapter Three-The Comet. A beam of light pierced through the ship's window. Thinking it was the morning sun, the girl peered through the window, only to find a turquoise blue comet shimmering at her. The little girl shook the sleeping Luma awake and shouted excitedly, 'We HAVE to get to that comet!' The pair descended on the comet and found that it was made of ice. They looked high and low, but Luma's mother was nowhere to be found. Exhausted, the little girl sat down with a flop, utterly unable to take another step. 'Look!' Peering down at the icy ground where Luma was pointing, the girl suddenly noticed clusters of Star Bits encased in the ice. 'Pretty good, huh? Finding Star Bits is my specialty!' said Luma, beaming. 'There's ice here, but it's so warm, I'll bet there's water here too.' The two decided to stay on the comet for a while. Riding the turquoise comet, the pair continued their search for Luma's mother."

Then there was clapping from the adults and cheering from the kids. The clock struck 8:30.

"I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow, if you want me to come back, that is," Rock said.

The kids nodded vigorously and the parents smiled. As the library came to closing hours, the librarian patted his back.

"You did great! Everyone wants to hear the end! They cannot wait!" she told him.

"T-thank you so much, ma'am."

"You're welcome."

As he walked home, he looked up at the sky and saw the stars twinkling down at him. And he could have sworn that he saw a comet go across as he wished that he could see his Mama again before his tenth birthday. And that was only a month away.