Ten Years Ago

The small rural village of Chacharramendi was a quiet and otherwise unimportant settlement in the middle of Pampa Province in Plata. The inhabitants, numbering at most two hundred people, went on with their simple daily lives. It was quite unexpected then, to see the son of the king himself, Prince Patricio, with his wife and son arrive at the Hotel without fanfare or further warning. The clerk at the table was taken by surprise at the appearance of the prince, and the hotel hastily readied its modest quarters as best as it could to accommodate the family.

As night fell on the sleepy town, and as Princess Selena fell asleep, Patrick was sitting right next to her, holding a large book. Young Prince Charles looked curiously at the cover of the book his father was reading. It was titled “The Stars and the Heavens”, with planets and cosmic bodies dotting the black cover. Charles went closer to his father to check what were the contents. Patrick smiled and patted him on the head.

“Papa, what are you reading?” Charles asked, pointing at the large volume. Patrick was delighted to find his son interested in astronomy, and he wasted no time in showing him the pages and explaining the diagrams in detail. The pages he was currently on detailed the Greek constellations. The patterns of dots and circles were joined by lines and beautiful representations. The familiar structure of Orion was outlined by a drawing of the huntsman wielding his club. The angry half-shape of a bull represented Taurus. A fierce dragon was drawn around Draco, while two bears sat next to it, representing Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Charles was visibly enraptured with this display of stars, heroes and monsters. Patrick flipped the pages to the one next to the cover, with a folded piece of paper situated next to it. He removed it and spread it out at the foot of the bed, revealing a large map of the constellations. His young son was amazed and fascinated by the display of the celestial bodies. Patrick allowed him to look through the map for a few minutes before getting out of bed and grabbing a case.

“Carlito, is it not beautiful?” he asked his son, with the latter nodding fervently, heavily concentrated on the pictures. Patrick smiled and opened the case. Inside it was a telescope, a very expensive and fine one. He took it out and held the hotel room key in his other hand. “Well, it will be more beautiful when you see it in real life!”

Charles looked up from the map in surprise. “We are going to see it in real life?” he exclaimed excitedly, jumping off the bed and hurriedly rushing towards his father. Patrick nodded and showed him the telescope in his hand.

“You see, Carlito, in Alucarn, Buenos Aires, Santiago, and all other major cities of the world, the sky is smothered by the urban lights. There, the stars are outshone, and the night sky is not full. However, in the quiet and rural Pampas, there is less light pollution, and you can enjoy the dome of God’s creation better. Now it is night-time, we can experience such beauty.”

They walked out of the room and exited the hotel for a few hours of stargazing. The stars and heavenly bodies above, true to his father’s words, shone brightly and elegantly in the sky of the Pampas. Charles gleefully looked up at the lights in the sky, head turning around to leave no part of it unknown and running around excitedly in the grass.

“You are right, Papa! The sky in Alucarn cannot compare to this!” he declared as he took out the book to search for the names of the stars he was seeing. Patrick walked over to a spot in the field and set up the telescope to point at the sky and invited Charles to look through the glass. Charles oohed and ahhed at the clusters of dots that painted the night sky while his father described to him the names and their stories.

“Look at that blue group in Taurus!”
“Those are the Pleiades, Carolito. As you can see, it is very noticeable, and it is one of the landmarks sailors used to traverse the seas. The Seven Sisters, the daughters of Pleione, were named after it.”
“That star looks rather big, Papa!”
“That is not a star, Carolito. That is in fact Jupiter himself! Planets look like stars in the night sky, and they move around more. I believe you can see Mercury speed across the sky, and Venus will rise in the daytime.”
“Wow! I can see the moon like it is a picture, Papa! I can actually see the craters!”

This dialogue went on for about an hour. As Patrick packed up the telescope, Charles asked him a question.
“Papa, why do you like Astronomy?”
Patrick thought for a moment. “You see, Carolito, Grandpa Henry is a big reader. You do remember his vast personal library? Now, it was a place where I and your aunt and uncle frequented. Uncle Henry went there for histories of military organization, Aunt Anna was just there because she loved reading in general. Meanwhile, I found an interest in the moon, the stars and the cosmos after stumbling on the astronomy section while bored out of my mind. Just like me right now, Grandpa Henry was ecstatic and passionate about astronomy as part of his scientific zeal. Yes, he was delighted to find his son interested in one of the sciences. That is how I got my start today as an amateur astronomer and stargazer.”

Charles giggled. “When I grow up, I will be an astronaut or an astronomer or whatever the heck it is! I will go to these stars myself, I will see what is there to explore! If I can not find new land here on earth as Sir unfortunately said there were no more…. I will discover a new world!”

Patrick grinned and hugged his son. “I am sure you will be one of the best!” he said.
He looked at Charles. He had sparked something in him. Some sort of passion had been born in him, just like he had before. There was something in his eyes that made Patrick know that he would accomplish what he had declared, that he would be a pioneer and that he would do it all with an everlasting zeal. He saw him among the greatest astronomers when he grew up, and he will support his son towards that goal.

These memories hurt Patrick’s heart as Charles’ birthday rolled by. Oh, he would have been what he aspired to be. But unfortunately, the Imperatrix of the world had other plans. If he weren’t there on that fateful day in which his aunt gave her speech…

Selene and Patrick walked to his tomb in the mausoleum, next to his grandfather. The roses were placed on the plaque with shaky hands and trembling lips. Patrick’s eyes looked at the golden text engraved on it.

CHARLES MANIAR,
COUNT OF PARINACOTA
1999-2018
A BELOVED GRANDSON, SON AND COUSIN
“AD ASTRA PER ASPERA”

Not even a father.
Not even twenty.
He had not even seen his ambitions come to fruition.
Patrick collapsed to the ground then and there, tears wetting the floor.