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"I hate mosquitoes" Mysty’s voice had a faint Southern drawl, softer than Autumn’s Florida accent "I hate birds, too"

"Why do you hate birds?"

"I’m afraid of them They have such uttural chirp, like the noise cats make when they’re unsettled "They look like they want to peck out your eyes"

I couldn’t think of anything to say

"What are you afraid of?" she asked

"Oh, don’t you worry about that" She sounded amused "I’ll make sure you’re part of all our parties And e start school again, I’ll introduce you around"

"I don’t think I’ to school," I said It hadn’t even been discussed

But I don’t think she heard ht jeans?" she said

Our phone call meandered for another hour My ear hurt I said that I needed to go, and then ca, "Okay Bye Wait," and launching into new conversational threads that wove around, looped back, and veered off again I pictured our conversation as an enormous spiderweb, knotted and hitched and so convoluted that it ood-bye, I stood up and walked around the house for a while to clear my brain Then I took ht-inch reflecting scope that weighed fifty-four pounds My father had taught me to use it before he left for Ireland "The purpose of a telescope is to gather light," he said "Hoood place to see the sky, since it’s relatively free of light pollution"

When I looked through the eyepiece for the first time, I’d felt disappointed All I saas a blur of darkness and light

"Be patient, Ari," my father said "You need to learn how to see Remember when you first tried to find constellations? You couldn’t find a bear or a lion"

I re Dipper Then, one night, I was suddenly able to see the sao--with a few exceptions Cygnus to this day doesn’t look much like a swan to me, and Perseus doesn’t look like a man, much less a hero

My father said, "With practice, your eye will pick up details that are invisible to you now"

The hu as I set up the scope It reminded usty I wondered if another tropical depression was on its way

Tonight was not opti across the sky But interlie shadows the mountains cast on the plains I repositioned the scope I was looking for constellations when I saw a dull red glow, an enorht shoulder Before I could study it, it was covered by cloud

But I reeuse: a red supergiant star e as the sun The Web site I found said that Betelgeuse is "nearing the end of its life"

Ieuse The dying star will shed its outer layers and forree on the explosion’s effects on Earth Soa; soht take place in the next thousand years or so But they are unanieuse will die I wondered where I’d be when it happened

Suddenly, from the outer corner of my left eye, I saw a small movement in the trees near the deck At the sale I pulled away from the eyepiece, and then I fell backward, onto the deck’s bench, the night world aroundA sense of nausea rose fro out of the dark I putto stop the spinning But I couldn’t o away Then I passed out

When I opened ain, cold air swirled aroundwatched The telescope was still there The stars hadn’t changed position

Have you ever been outside at night and sensed that you were not alone? Odds are, your sense was correct The night is as full of things, seen and unseen, as the sky is full of stars

Chapter Five

When Mãe and Dashay caht past ether, but nonetheless they trembled

I lay on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket Mãe shook her head, warning me to stay quiet After Dashay shut her bedroom door, Mãe said, "Well, that was a hted to see the, and she knew the house would sell fast She offered us sweet tea"

Ignoring the realtor, Dashay had headed straight for the bedroom, opened a closet door, and said, "His clothes are still here"

Not, my mother observed, the y they’d planned on the drive over to Bennett’s place

"The agent said she’d never met Bennett," Mãe said "She listed the house after he faxed her a letter They’ve hired professional s"

"So where is he?"

"Atlanta" Mãe sat on the sofa and kicked off her sandals "She didn’t tell us that straight out She let it slip later, when I asked her about the advantages of living in the South"

"Atlanta’s not so far" I’d seen it on a ht me: how to read ht I needed theainst the cushions "We asked her why the oas selling, and she said he’d ht he was going to be ht, Poor Dashay