Friday arrives with the promise of a lively night—but not for Sarah, who prefers to stay home and gaze at the stars painting the night sky from the rooftop.
Near her house, there's a burrowing owl nest. On many nights, one of them perches silently on the wall in front of her house, never singing, just watching and waiting silently for insects and rodents. Meanwhile, other owls can be heard calling from not too far away.
Another night on the rooftop, Sarah watched as an owl flew low along the wall of a nearby house and returned with something clutched in its talons. She couldn't identify what it was due to the darkness, but she suspects it was a rat—they occasionally appear around here, entering and exiting storm drains.
Something curious happens sometimes. Another owl calls out hidden in the street, and whenever Sarah hears it, she goes into her room, turns off the lights, and places three pillows lined up under her blanket.
It's past 11 p.m. With her eyes closed and focusing on her hearing, the most diverse melodies the night can produce begin to echo. All that can be heard are the sounds of cars roaming the streets and dogs barking as if conversing from afar.
But there's one sound in particular she's been eagerly waiting to hear tonight. The wait has been too long—just a little longer, and the pillows under the blanket will lose their purpose.
A few minutes pass, and there it is.
"Wheeeeeeet wheeewheeewheee!"
Looking toward the wall, first appears a silent owl observing something on the other side. It seems curious about whatever is there—it's not alone. After quickly scanning the length of the wall, a head emerges, followed by an arm. The mysterious owl's call echoes again—it's her cue.
After climbing down from the roof and running along the side wall, she reaches the front, near the balcony of her room. The balcony is reached with a small leap, and after closing the door behind her and returning to the side wall, she finishes crossing it until she reaches the sidewalk.
"What took you so long? We were about to leave!"
"Too long? I've been waiting for over an hour—you're the ones who were late!" Sarah mutters softly as she finishes climbing down from the wall.
"Well… we had some unexpected issues…" Bernardo avoids eye contact.
"Tell the truth—you two were making out somewhere!" Sarah teases as she finishes reaching the sidewalk.
"I told you we shouldn't have wasted time." Marcela smiles shyly, throwing Bernardo under the bus.
"Oh yeah? But this whole plan was your idea in the first place!" Now it's Bernardo's turn to expose Marcela.
"Hey, both of you stop. I don't care if you want to enjoy your moments together, but you act like I don't know anything."
"It's just that we didn't want to make you feel like a third wheel—it must be boring," Bernardo invents another excuse while mounting his bike.
"Right… now you act like I haven't been the third wheel since last year. Even the owl over there already figured out what's going on, except you two." Sarah lightly mocks them as she hops onto her friend's bike, and soon after, Marcela climbs on the back.
For a moment, Sarah catches a scent that grabs her attention—it seems to come from a bag in the bike's basket. Before even starting to pedal, she stops everything she was about to do and looks at Marcela over her left shoulder.
"Is this what I think it is?" Sarah sniffs like a bloodhound searching for clues.
Bernardo looks at the two of them as if gazing at two flowers in a garden: one delicate and yellow like a daisy, trembling at the slightest breeze; the other firm and imposing like a rose. He chuckles quietly as he watches the scene unfold.
"Oi, oi, quiet down!" Sarah tries to hush Bernardo, but it's too late—they hear the sound of a door opening and realize it's coming from her parents' room.
Dragging their bikes, they hide behind the wall.
A light illuminates part of the sidewalk and the street, and Leila appears on the balcony of her room, squinting as if she's just woken up. She looks ahead and down but sees nothing except the poor owl, its head turned backward as if complaining about the light scaring away its potential prey.
After staring at the owl for a few seconds:
"Cool… Cooool!" Leila attempts an unlikely dialogue with the owl, which tilts its head sideways while staring back. She lets out a quick sigh and flashes a faint smile before retreating into her room and turning off the light.
Sarah covers her mouth to stifle her laughter. A few seconds after the light disappears, they mount their bikes and set off toward the same destination they've visited on countless starry nights like this.
After 15 minutes on their N2-powered bikes, passing through staircases and sidewalks, they arrive at a communication tower surrounded by fences. They lean their bikes against a nearby tree and begin walking until they reach one of the support beams. There's a section of the fence that's cut open; Bernardo pulls it aside, and the two girls slip through. Once inside, Sarah holds the fence for him to enter, and the three of them head toward the base of the tower.
Sarah takes the lead and starts climbing, followed by Marcela and then Bernardo. After nearly seven minutes of climbing, they reach the platform at the top. Though they've been here many times before, it always feels like the first and last time. The wind that doesn't reach the ground is full and liberating up here.
The view of the city and horizon isn't particularly stunning, but what lies above the horizon… that is something straight out of a beautiful dream. The stars shine as if they're supernovas sending their final rays of light to the farthest corners of the vast, dark expanse of space—as if trying to say, "I was here."
Even among star lovers, only a few can empathize with those points of light that appear to us as shining together but, in their own perspectives, are solitary, emanating light in all directions.
Sarah gazes at them with empathy and admiration.
The few who truly accept her are right here by her side, lying down while gently stroking each other's hair. The feeling that fills her heart is one of uniqueness—similar to others only in appearance. Shining alone in the vastness of the dark, no one seems able to fully comprehend her completeness.
She sits cross-legged, holding a jar and eating passion fruit with sugar that her friend brought. Sometimes the taste makes her scrunch up her face, inevitably drawing laughter from her friends. At this point, it's hard to tell whether Marcela brings her passion fruit out of friendship or just to see her funny expressions.
After nearly an hour and a half of chatting and laughing, Marcela gets up and sits beside Sarah, resting her head on her shoulder. Bernardo does the same. To complete the moment, a gentle breeze comes to tousle their hair, softly brushing against their faces.
With her eyes closed, Sarah exhales deeply and offers a faint, closed-mouth smile.
"Look, Sarah, tonight the moon didn't show up, so the stars can shine without being overshadowed," Bernardo says as he rests his head on one of Sarah's legs, prompting her to stretch it for comfort.
"Tonight the sky is less flashy, but it's still beautiful," Marcela adds, taking advantage of the moment to rest her head on Sarah's other leg. Sarah lies back, arms crossed behind her head.
"It's as if someone reached out and stole the moon from the sky. Imagine how sad it would be if it never came back," Bernardo muses aloud, raising his hand and closing it into a fist above him.
"Even if it can't be seen right now, it's still out there, and it'll return soon!" Marcela completes the thought, glancing upward.
A smile spreads across Sarah's face as she closes her eyes and tries to listen to the sounds of the night.
"Be quiet," Sarah murmurs.
"Cooool…"
"Coool…"
Bernardo and Marcela mimic Sarah's mother, who inevitably bursts into uncontrollable laughter. Her laughter soon pulls the other two into giggles. This small corner of the world belongs solely to them.