Pim didn’t like the dark.
Every night when Mom turned off the light, she would pull her blanket up to her chin, eyes wide open, staring at the pitch-black ceiling, feeling like something was hiding in the darkness.
Then one night, Mom sat down at the edge of the bed and said, “Want to look at the stars with me?”
Mom opened the curtain just a crack, revealing a sky scattered with stars.
“The first star you see,” Mom said softly, “that’s the Star of Dreams. It shines to tell you that tonight, a beautiful dream is waiting for you.”
Pim searched for the first star and found a bright one off to the left.
“What about that one?” Pim pointed to another star.
“That one is the Star of Courage,” Mom answered. “If you’re ever afraid of something, look at that star and tell it, ‘Tonight, I am brave.’ The star will hear you.”
Pim gazed at the star quietly, then whispered to herself, tonight, I am brave.
“The third one,” Mom pointed to a star that twinkled brighter than the rest, “is the Star of Love. Everyone who loves you is there — Grandma, Grandpa, your friends at school. Everyone is looking down at you, every single night.”
Pim looked at the third star and immediately felt warm inside.
“How many do I need to count?” Pim asked.
“Three is enough,” Mom smiled. “Dream, courage, love. Once you have all three, no darkness is ever scary again.”
Pim looked back and forth between the three stars once more, and little by little, her eyelids grew heavy.
Mom started to get up, but Pim grabbed her arm. “Don’t go yet, Mom.”
“I’ll stay right here until you fall asleep,” Mom said softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Pim let go, closed her eyes, and counted the three stars in her mind. One, dream. Two, courage. Three, love.
And after that, the darkness was never scary again.
Because within that darkness, three stars were always shining.
On the nights that followed, Mom no longer had to sit and wait for her to fall asleep — because Pim could count the stars all by herself.
And every night, before the darkness could feel frightening, she would think of her three stars, and drift off to sleep with a smile.
Sweet dreams, Pim.
Moral: Darkness isn’t as frightening as it seems. It’s simply waiting for us to find the light hidden within it. Dreams, courage, and love are the lights that can carry us through every single night.
