Night had fallen, the sky was clear and a crescent moon shone and the stars twinkled. Radha ran to the window, her eyes searched the night sky until she spotted the bright star. Her face brightened and for a few moments she stood there looking mesmerised and her eyes twinkled with sweet, innocent joy, reminiscent of a happy chidhood.Her mother came into the room and beckoned her to the bed. She whispered "Bye bye Tara!" and waved her hand as she moved towards her bed. Soon, she was fast asleep.

Not one day had gone, when Radha had gone to sleep without meeting her Tara. At times she would even talk to her Tara, all about her friends, school, chocolates, about gifts which her Baba got her, about the sweets which her Ma prepared for her. There was a special bond which little Radha shared with this star.

As she grew older, her bond with the star strengthened. She would spend hours in the science library reading about stars, at night she would use her small telescope to view the star. She had bought the telescope by saving her pocket money and doing small chores for her friends and neighbours. She never quite understood why she liked this star so much. The more she read about the star, the more she wanted to know, her thirst for knowledge kept on increasing.

One day while reading a book about real life incidents, she came across a story about a young boy called Michael. The story was about how Michael, a very good human being at heart, dies fighting a critical disease, his last words to his mother were "Mother, when I die, don't miss me, just look at the night sky, I will be there, the brightest star in the night sky, smiling at you. And remember mother I will be watching you, and I dont ever want to see tears in your eyes." That very night Michael passed away. His mother stepped on the damp grass of the garden and looked at the night sky, she saw a bright star and waved and said "Hello Michael". From that day onwards it became a routine for his mother, she would visit her son everynight.

Radha jumped off her bed and quickly searched on the internet. It didn't take long before she found the date when Michael passed away. The date somehow looked familiar, she quickly reached for her diary and searched, the day and month of Michael's death, and the day and month of the earliest record found of the star was the same. She was surprised, was it a mere co-incidence?

She just considered it a mere co-incidence and went off to sleep. But something was still bothering her and she couldn't sleep. She searched the internet again and found that the constellation of Michael's zodiac was the same constellation in which the star was located. She attributed this also to another co-incidence. But somehow, somewhere Michael's story had really touched her.

The following month, she got a scholarship from a university which was located near the town where Michael lived. She was very excited, she had made a note of paying a visit to the town.

A few months passed before she could make arrangements to visit Michael's town. She called up Michael's mother and briefly told her about the visit, Michael's mother was a friendly woman, and she obliged.

Finally the day arrived, she reached the town early in the morning. She stopped by at a local cafe to have breakfast. The cafe only had a couple of visitors other than her. The cafe owner, a short, pompous lady seemed friendly and Radha quickly picked up a conversation with her. Radha didn't directly jump to Michael's topic, she chatted away a few minutes asking about the town, and asking if there are any good places nearby, which one should visit. Slowly, she came to the topic, when she mentioned about Michael, the cafe owner's eyes filled with tears. Michael seemed to be everyones favourite in the town. The cafe owner spoke about how, despite his sufferring, Michael was the most charming boy around, and how he never failed to win anyone's heart, with his beautiful charming smile and his simple and modest nature.The phone interrupted their conversation, and Radha realised it was time for her to leave.

She had asked the lady at the cafe for directions to Michael's house. It was situated slightly away from the main market, a little aloof from the rest of the houses, on a tiny hill surrounded by lush green fields. Radha quickly climbed the hill and knocked at the door. The door was opened by a woman in her mid-seventies, she had beautiful twinkling blue eyes, and her grey hair was tied in a bun. Her warm smile touched Radha's heart, it reminded her of her Ma. The old lady greeted Radha and introduced her as Michael's mother. The lady had a certain charisma about her and Radha couldn't help but was completely awe struck.

She welcomed Radha into the house, the house was simple, but a warm and cozy home. Michael's mother had kept steaming tea with muffins ready for Radha. They chatted about Radha's journey over the tea. After the tea was over, Michael's mother asked Radha about the purpose of her visit, and Radha narrated the whole story to her. On hearing Michael's mention, Michael's mother, concealed her tears and Radha could see the command which the lady had over her emotions, but it was a completely honest effort on a mother's part who had promised her son, that he will never see tears in her eyes.

After hearing the story, Michael's mother, completely composed, took Radha by hand and led her to a room at the end of the house. The room looked as if it belonged to a teenager, there was a wheel chair in the corner, Radha realised it was Michael's room. But the room had been well taken care of, it appeared that it was cleaned and tidied up every day. Michael's mother walked inside the room and picked up a photo frame and handed it over to Radha, saying "That's my Michael". Radha took the picture in her hands, she couldn't believe that Michael was critically ill. He was one of the most handsome boys Radha had ever seen, and indeed he had the most beautiful smile. His sparkling blue eyes were just like his mother's eyes.

Michael's mother showed her various other pictures of Michael, some taken while playing baseball, some at the town Church, some taken on his birthday party, where the whole town seemed to have gathered. She then showed Radha Michael's diary, where he had scribbled all about various stars and constellations. Radha was shocked to see it, Michael had the same interests like her. His notes were so similar to hers, even he was interested in the same things which she loved doing. Michael's mother carefully extracted a box from the cupboard and showed Radha, Michael's most priced possession, a telescope, one similar to what Radha had. His mother's hand touched the telescope as if she was caressing her son. She gave the telescope to Radha, when Radha touched the telescope a very different feeling swept over her.

They didn't realise, sitting there in Michael's room, that night had fallen. It was the whistling of a train at a distance that brought them back to reality. Michael's mother slowly rose from the chair, she smiled at Radha and said "Time to meet Michael", and left the room. Radha followed her, Michael's mother slowly unlatched the door and stepped on the grass in the garden. A cool breeze was flowing, they stepped outside and sat there. She said "Hey Michael, see your friend is here to pay you a visit". Radha looked up and was stunned, the star had never appeared this close to earth and its magnificience was simply breath taking. She could feel Michael's presence around her, she could see him smiling, with the same twinkling in his deep blue eyes. "Tara, that is what you call a star in India, am I right?" Michael's mother whispered to Radha. On hearing this Radha's heart filled with very strong emotions. It was a mixed feeling, she couldn't describe it. The universe, so big, yet seemed so small to her, and mankind, no matter how advanced, seemed so powerless to her, in front of Nature!