The Night Sky Festival by S A Stovall

Author:S A Stovall [Stovall, S A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay romance
ISBN: 9781644050514
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2018-12-14T07:00:00+00:00

THE EVENING of the Night Sky Festival.

I walk the short road of Baker to the large festival area. The setting sun soaks the sky in reds and oranges, blanketing everything in a dying warmth. It reminds me of when I was younger, before I moved away from home. I lived on the edge of Mexico and Texas, and the switch from day to night was glorious. The temperature drastically changes, as if the world has become inverted.

I hold my camera up and point it at the sky.

The stars….

One by one they peek out of the darkness, dotting the evening with an otherworldly glitter. When the sun sinks into the horizon, a single sliver of red refuses to go. It highlights the vast desert and foothills in the distance, creating silhouettes of nature all around us.

The breathtaking sight is one of the many reasons I became a photographer. I don’t have the imagination to think up something so grand, but I do have the appreciation to know it’s a sight that should be shared and rejoiced over. I snap a few photos, making sure to get the red of the fading sun. But once it’s gone, I set my camera on a tripod.

I know the type of photo I want.

A time-lapse—a photo that slowly takes the image over several hours. It’ll make the stars look like they’re swirling in the sky. And the pristine view, unpolluted by smoke, smog, or ambient light from skyscrapers, will make for the perfect time-lapse photo.

“Hey, Zach!”

Once my camera is set up for the photo and secured into place so one no steals it without cutting through several metal posts, I turn to see Ethan. The young man jogs over to me and then motions to the festivities. “I’m glad you made it. Are you ready to celebrate?”

“Celebrate what?” I ask. “Christmas Eve?”

“Well, er, you can celebrate that too, if you want. But I meant celebrating friends and family. That’s what the Night Sky Festival is all about. You see, we get everyone together and then we dance, and then at the end you pair up with someone and—”

“Okay, okay,” I say. “You’ve already convinced me to show up. Let’s do this.”

Ethan holds out his hand. I take it, and he smiles, his grip warm but in a pleasant way.

When we reach the festival grounds, I have to stop myself from locking up in shock.

The whole town is here. Hundreds of people. Food sizzles on nearby barbeques, and a band plays live music, the notes swirling into the sky to dance with the stars. Lights—blue and white—dot the stands and line the dancing stage. I think they’re Christmas lights, but they’ve been fashioned in such a way as to appear like stars themselves.

And, of course, little UFOs are strung up on festival stands or hung from telephone poles. Baker wouldn’t be the town it is without a guy selling abducted cow purple jerky.

Ethan pulls me to the group of people dancing on a large flat stage constructed over the sands.

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