Something about the sky had always bothered Kael as a kid.
It kind of looks like eyes looking from above watching us. This was the first time he felt that feeling, that of fear.
So he rushed to his mom to say about what he felt. Little Kael ran toward the one person who could offer him protection.
He said "I'm scared" looking at his mom with subtle fear in his eyes.
She gently placed a hand on his head.
"Hey, hey… what's wrong, Kael? What scared you?" said his mom in a soft voice.
"Mom… do you think the stars are watching us?" Kael said. His voice soft and clearly frightened.
His mother chuckled softly and stroked his hair.
"They are," she said gently. "But not in a scary way. The stars are like guardians. Ancient cosmic beings that watch over us and keep us safe."
Her answer naturally comforted Kael.
Yet even as a child, Kael couldn't shake the strange feeling that the stars weren't simply watching.
They were observing.
Still, life continued normally. Childhood passed, and the strange thought faded into the back of his mind.
***
Until years later.
Kael, accompanied by his friend, walked along a street where the stars were visible and the night sky was not heavily polluted by city lights. He enjoyed the breeze of the wind on his face. He looked at the moderately sized buildings that were softly lit, not shining too brightly compared to the night stars.
Then Kael saw it. The stars shifted, and for a second it formed a vertical iris. Like a colossal eye forming across the heavens. Then it vanished.
Kael froze. A cold sensation crawled down his spine.
"Did you see that!" Kael exclaimed.
"What?" his friend replied as if he missed on something important.
"The sky! It looked like an eye!" Kael further exclaimed.
"You're just imagining things, it's just the same as it ever was" his friend says
"Haha, you're so silly, Kael. I think you need to get some rest."
Kael sighed. "I guess you're right. It's probably just me being tired."
When they reached the intersection, Kael and his friend went their separate ways, each taking the sidewalk that led to their own homes on opposite sides.
He looked at the stars again, nothing really happened, but he felt a little uneasy and just went back home to sleep. Something feels wrong, but Kael ignores it.
***
That night he had a dream.
He saw a single star floating above everything.
Above the sky.
Above the world.
Above reality itself.
That star looked like an eye.
Every time it blinked, the scenery changed.
On the first blink, he saw the ruins of a broken world.
On the second blink, he saw an uncanny place that seemed almost too peaceful.
On the third blink, it showed something similar to earth... But different.
Each blink reshaped reality like turning the pages of a book.
Then Kael awoke.
His chest felt heavy from all the vivid scenery.
"Surely, it was just a dream right?"
"It couldn't mean anything."