Josh and Stella

Josh and Stella walked hand in hand as they exited the hospital onto the avenue. Stella looked up to the sky and pointed at the stars that were lighting up the cloudless sky.

"How many stars are there, Uncle Josh?" Stella asked.

"Billions, maybe trillions, maybe even more," Josh replied quietly. He was still thinking about the events of the evening.

"Trillions? Wow!" Stella continued to look up the sky as she walked. She was quiet for a while.

"Is it true that if you wish upon a star, your wish will come true?" Stella asked after a couple of minutes.

"I believe that if you want it bad enough, it might just come true," Josh said. He already has an idea of where this conversation was going.

"How about if I pray to God? Do you think He will answer me?" Stella continued.

"I believe God answers all prayers from a sweet little girl," Josh smiled at Stella.

"I pray everyday that Mommy will get better. Do you think He hears me?"

"I think so."

"Then why is Mommy not getting better?"

"That, I do not know, Stella. I think all we can do is wait and see." Josh looked at Stella from the corner of his eye. She was walking with her head bowed down. Josh wasn't sure is she was sad or was looking at her feet as she walked. He decided to change the subject.

"Did you know that your name means 'star'?"

Stella looked up so fast the tendrils that brushed the sides of her innocent face bounced.

"For real?"

"Yeah," said Josh, "you mean you didn't know that?"

"No, I didn't. But now that I know, I'm gonna tell everyone that my name means star." Stella looked happy. She began skip-hopping as she walked.

Josh, on the other hand, was feeling guilty. If he hadn't overreacted, if he hadn't thrown everything he felt to Alynna, this wouldn't have happened. If only he was patient earlier in talking to Alynna, he wouldn't be walking on this street, at night, with a little girl holding his hand.

"Don't worry, Uncle Josh. I'm not mad at you for being mad at Mommy earlier." Stella said as if she read Josh's mind. She paused for a few seconds before she continued.

"Were you and Mommy fighting earlier?"

"No," Josh said, almost in a whisper.

"Were you mad at Mommy? Did she do something bad to the lady who visited us?"

"No, Stella. Your mom is a good person. She won't do anything bad to anyone."

Stella nodded.

"Who was the lady that came to our house earlier?"

Josh didn't answer. He wished Stella would stop asking about what happened in the house. Stella repeated the question. This time, Josh answered her.

"She's my boss. Actually, she owns the company I work for." Josh gave a big sigh.

"Are you mad at her?"

"To be honest. I'm not sure."

"Is she mad at you?"

"I think so."

Stella nodded.

"What's her name?"

"Who?"

"The lady, your boss. What's her name?"

"Amanda. I mean, Mandy. Her name is Miss Mandy."

Stella didn't ask questions anymore. She continued to watch her shoes as they walked towards the bus stop.

Josh was relieved Stella finally stopped asking questions. They arrived at the bus stop. There was an old steel bench there for people waiting. The two of them sat together and quietly waited for the bus.

. . .

Josh carried Stella to her bedroom. She fell asleep during the bus ride. As Josh put her down on her bed, she stirred.

"Are we home?" Stella asked as she rubbed her eye.

"Yes, we're home. Now go back to sleep. Tomorrow we'll go back to the hospital to see how your mom is doing. Hopefully, we can take her home with us tomorrow."

Stella nodded. Josh tucked her in and said goodnight to her. He kissed her forehead.

"Uncle Josh, can I tell you something? But you have to promise you won't tell Mommy, okay?"

Josh made an 'X' sign on his chest. "Scout's honor," he said and Stella giggled.

"Now what is this you want to tell me?" Josh kneeled on the side of Stella's bed to hear her better.

Stella looked into Josh's eyes, as if trying to weigh how she will tell Josh. She breathed in deep.

"I see Mommy cry," Stella said, hugging her favorite stuffed animal.

"When do you see her cry? When I'm not here?" Josh inquired.

Stella shook her head.

"No. I see her crying at night. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I see her sitting on my bed, over there." Stella points to the foot of her bed.

"Did you ever ask her why she cries?"

"No. I'm afraid if she knows I see her cry she will get mad at me. That's why I'm telling you. I think she's sad, Uncle Josh. Why is Mommy sad, Uncle Josh?"

Josh inhaled, trying to think of what to say to Stella.

"Well, to be honest, I really don't know why she cries. She doesn't tell me anything. Frankly, I have never seen her cry in a long time that's why I thought everything was all right. Do you always see her cry?"

Stella thought for a moment.

"No, not really. I only saw her start crying a few nights ago."

"Did she talk to anybody while I was at work?" Josh asked.

"I didn't see anybody," Stella answered.

"Okay… Did Mommy-" Stella cut-off Josh as he spoke.

"Wait! I did see somebody! She talked to the postman! Did the postman make her cry?" Stella asked, hoping she had solved the mystery of why Alynna was crying at night.

Josh smiled. "I don't think the postman is the reason why Mommy is crying."

"Oh…" Stella said sadly. She buried her face on the pillow.

"It's okay. We'll find out soon why your Mommy is crying."

Stella nodded.

"Good night, Uncle Josh."

"Good night, Stella." Josh kissed her forehead again before standing up. He flipped on the night light at the corner of the room. He then walked to the door and turned off the lights inside Stella's room. Immediately, the beautiful colorful lights from the night light replaced the bright light from the fluorescent lamp. Tiny unicorns filled the walls on Stella's bedroom. Josh softly pulled the door, leaving only a tiny gap so that he can still hear and see Stella in case she wakes up in the middle of the night.

Josh went downstairs and turned on the TV. He opened the fridge and got the coldest can of beer he could find. He placed it on the table and walked over to the cupboard to check the stock of food there. He found a box of cereal and a box of hotcake mix. He checked the fridge again to see if there was milk. He found a carton of opened milk. He sniffed it to check if it was okay. But the milk smelled stale so he poured the contents into the sink and tossed the empty carton to the trash. He looked in the fridge again to find food that he could serve for breakfast tomorrow but he couldn't find any — not even a single egg for Stella.

He checked all the cabinets in the kitchen and found only a bottle of instant coffee and some sugar.

Josh muttered a curse. How could Alynna not tell him that there were almost no food in the house? He thought of going out to the convenience store to buy at least a carton of milk and some bread for Stella but eventually decided against it because Stella might wake up and cry when she finds him gone. He thought of just giving Stella dry cereals and tell her they would buy breakfast when they go to the hospital in the morning to check on Alynna.

Then he remembered he has work the following day. He would have to call Maia to tell her the situation and that he cannot report for work tomorrow. He checked the time. It was close to midnight.

"Maia's probably asleep by now. I will just send her a message tonight and call her early tomorrow morning," he said to himself.

He took the can of beer he had placed on the table. The can was starting to condense and left a pool of water on the table as he picked it up. Alynna hated it when he didn't use a coaster on the table so he quickly tore a ply of paper towel and wiped the table dry.

As he threw the paper towel away, he noticed that there were dirty dishes on the sink. He decided to wash them later, after he drank the beer before it gets warm.

He sat on the sofa, placed a coaster on the side table and placed his can of beer on it. The news was on and since he really didn't feel like really focusing on the TV, he left it on that channel.

He took a couple of gulps of beer and then laid back on the sofa and closed his eyes. It has been a long day. He was so tired he didn't realize he had fallen asleep.