Sheer silence and breathless dark blanket me, covering every inch yet leaving me weightless. I stand on an alien shore of ashen sand with nothing but glass and gloves between me and the universe. So many wishes sparkle and shine, just waiting to come true.

In the midst of the night hovers a clouded marble, swirled with oceans and treetops, no larger than my fingertip. It is so far away, so familiar and yet so strange. I feel as if I've never seen it before, though I've known it intimately all my life. How could I have ever fit into such a miniscule world? And now, having seen how small it truly is, how can I bear to go back? Will I shrink, becoming tiny enough to fit again? Or will it grow, and be as big as I used to believe?

All of these thoughts pass in the space of a heartbeat, and leave me feeling peculiarly bittersweet, as if I have both lost something wonderful and discovered something beautiful.

I stand on the moon and watch the earth rise.