As I look up at them, I ask the stars,
"How would it be if you didn't exist?"
Surprisingly, they all reply in chorus.
"Well, you would stay with nothing but the light of the moon at night."
I ponder what they say, trying to imagine only having the light of the moon with me there.
But the stars are not done.
"What do you think would be of sailors without us?
  We guide them all the way home. The moon doesn't help them at all."
I never knew a sailor, but I have heard the stars guide them.
The stars still aren't done.
"Just think of your father being a sailor. Without us, how would he come back home?
Perhaps you'd never see him again if we didn't exist."
I don't think about that long. The thought is too hard to bear.
"So without you, night would be a lot darker?"
"We never said that, but yes, it would."
I ponder all they've said, which is really not much.
"What if you didn't exist, but the moon's light were a lot brighter?"
Only now the stars won't answer. I realize it's only been my imagination.
But then, I hear a small voice say, "Young one, it would be the same. Sailors would still get lost at sea.