"As long as those stars shine, I will always love you."
That's what I once told my daughter, but after I lost her, I wonder… does she still believe that? Did she leave because of me? I don't blame her, but what I would give to see her again, my dear Rosalina, my shining star.
It was a few days before the great Festival of Lights. We were expecting to see a meteor shower. Mario and I decided to take our families and watch it together. We planned to see it at our special place, the lone hill with one tree on top surrounded by hundreds of pink flowers. It's where my brother first met his wife, Princess Toadstool, and where I proposed to my dear Roseanne. It was a magical place.
We adults sat at the top of the hill, admiring the view of the kingdom as the night sky filled with stars. The kids were playing around the hill. Mario Jr. was pretending to rescue "Princess Rosalina" from the evil Pig Monster, played by Little Luigi. It was nice naming one son after me, but it gets a little confusing when people start calling our names.
"Fear not, dear princess!" Mario Jr. was swinging a stick around heroically. "I shall save you from the evil pig monster!"
"Bwa ha ha, you will never defeat me! Soon I will rule the entire land!" Luigi shouted, standing in front of Rosalina as to prevent Mario Jr. from reaching her.
All I saw next was two little brothers yelling and chasing each other, running as fast as their young, seven-year-old legs can go. I think they forgot about the "Princess." She was randomly running around the hill. I don't think a four-year-old knew the concept of pretend just yet.
"Alright kids come back up! It's time for the meteor shower!" Toadstool's voice was smooth but stern, pretty effective when trying to get kids to listen.
"Come on, Rosalina. Come to Mommy!" Roseanne called. The kids scoured back up the hill and sat down under the tree, while trying to catch their breath. It was almost time to see the stellar spectacle, but the stars already in the night sky was breath-taking enough. Millions of light dazzling and sparkling. They were so far way but felt no near as if I could just reach out and grab one.
The shapes they arranged in amazed the kids as they tried to guess what each constellation looked like. One looked like a flower, another, a mushroom, and another, a Yoshi egg.
"I want to see the stars up close." Mario Jr. said. "One day, I want to go to space and see them closer."
"Okay," his dad chuckled. "You go ahead and do that."
"Wait! I wanna go, too." Rosalina yelled. She turned towards me. Can you tell Mario to take me with him?"
"Okay." I said. "Junior, take Rosalina with you."
"Aw!" Mario Jr. groaned.
"Yay! Can you come too, Daddy?"
I was touched that she wanted to include me in this future "journey." "Of course, my little super star. I would love to go with you." I could easily see her face of satisfaction.
"Thank you, Daddy. I love you so much."
Moments likes these I really cherished. Having my daughter look at me with her blue innocent eyes and with a smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts. I felt like I could do no wrong. "I love you, too!" I said back.
"How long will you love me?" she said. I was not prepared for this. I thought kids usually ask, "How much?" But how long will I love her? I turned to Roseanne, hoping to get some support, but she just shrugged her shoulders. I think she was just as surprised as I was.
Obviously, I will love her for eternity, but I couldn't say that. Rosalina didn't know what an eternity meant. I pointed to the night sky with all the stars and said, "You see all those stars?"
"Uh huh."
"As long as they shine in the sky at night, I will always love you."
"Wow!" Rosalina said with awe.
I could hear Roseanne and Toadstool going "Awwww." I think they were impressed my touching sentiment.
Mario was not impressed. "Didn't you use that cheesy line when you proposed?"
"Hey!" Toadstool said, giving Mario a hard nudge. "It's still a lovely thing to say. Honestly, I wish you would say things like that."
"Oh? What about this?" Right then, he gave toadstool a big kiss. The kids looked away in disgust.
Suddenly, a sudden streak of white light flew past the sky, then another, and another. The meteor was starting. Thousands of falling stars painted the black canvas with their luminescent beauty. The children gazed in awe, witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Rosalina most of all. Her eyes grew big out of amazement, maybe thinking if this is what she would see if she went to space.
I held Roseanne close, both of us leaning on the lone tree on the hill, keeping one hand around her shoulder. "Are you having a good time?" I asked her.
"The best." She said with a gentle smile.
"You know I will love you always, too?"
"And I you." She leaned her head on my shoulder. I held her tighter as the lights continued to give their shining performance.
"Hey, look at that one." Little Luigi said, pointing at his new discovery.
We all turned to where he was pointing, and there it was. A bright light, slightly larger than the other stars, emitting a combination of white, yellow, and orange. It was a lovely sight to behold, but I just had one question. Why was it bigger? The we heard what sounded like roaring fire, getting louder and louder.
Then I realized this star wasn't getting bigger. It was getting closer, and this star wasn't a star.
It was a missile! A Bullet Bill, coming right towards us.