I’m sure you know the shiny shapes that populate gifts and occasions like confetti, among them stars. Tiny shapes that bling up the process of giving and receiving, and then go on to populate your floor and furniture in colourful points of light.
I’d like to tell you the tale of the purple star.
A friend gave me a gift on the occasion of my birthday last year and contained within were a host of tiny purple stars. Oceans now separate us, but that gift came along with me to Africa. When we first unpacked only the necessary while staying with family, lo, a tiny purple star fell out. When we subsequently moved into our own place, lo, a tiny purple star fell out again.
I’ve come to regard this shiny reminder of a gift as a nudge from a special friend. Every time I see it I think of her. It is akin to a piece of her soul now, a shiny guardian ever nearby. Shaune, thank you. I miss you, too.