The night the stars disappeared
The Night the Stars Disappeared
It was almost bedtime on Aura Explorers Island.
The shops at Explorer Dock were closing, the last little boats were bobbing in the harbour, and the trees in Wonder Woods were turning into dark shadows against the evening sky.
Ava, Max and Elsie were sitting at the end of the dock, sharing a bag of marshmallows.
Max reached into the bag.
Empty.
He looked inside again, just in case.
"Who ate the last one?"
"You did," said Ava.
"I definitely didn't."
"You definitely did," said Elsie.
Max looked offended.
"I think I would remember eating the last marshmallow."
"You ate three at once."
"Oh."
Max thought about it.
"That does sound like me."
Elsie laughed and looked up at the sky.
Then she stopped.
"Where are the stars?"
Ava looked up too.
The sky was completely dark.
Not cloudy.
Not misty.
Just empty.
There wasn't a single star anywhere.
"That's strange," said Ava.
Max shrugged. "Maybe they're not out yet."
"The stars are always out by now."
Then they heard footsteps running along the dock.
An Explorer came racing towards them.
"Starlight Sanctuary!" he shouted. "Something's happened!"
The three friends jumped to their feet.
They ran across the island as fast as they could.
When they reached Starlight Sanctuary, a crowd had already gathered outside.
Ava pushed through.
Then she gasped.
The Sanctuary was dark.
Usually, hundreds of tiny lights floated above its gardens. They twinkled in the trees, danced over the ponds and filled the enormous glass dome in the centre with sparkling light.
Tonight, every single one had disappeared.
Elsie whispered, "Where have they gone?"
Nobody knew.
Then—
plink.
Something landed beside Max's shoe.
He bent down.
It was a tiny silver star.
"Look!"
Ava picked it up.
There were words written across the back.
WE DIDN'T DISAPPEAR.
Another star dropped from the darkness.
Plink.
Elsie grabbed it.
WE WERE TAKEN.
Max's mouth fell open.
"Someone stole the stars?"
A third star fell.
Ava caught it.
FIND US BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
Everyone looked towards the enormous clock above the Sanctuary gates.
It was nine o'clock.
"We've got three hours," said Ava.
Max grabbed his backpack.
"Then we'd better get moving."
The first silver star began to glow.
A thin beam of light stretched across the path towards Wonder Woods.
The Explorers followed it.
Wonder Woods was completely different at night.
Every rustle sounded louder.
Every tree looked taller.
And every shadow looked suspiciously like something with teeth.
Max moved closer to Ava.
"I'm not scared."
"I didn't say you were."
"Good."
A twig snapped behind them.
Max jumped.
"I was just checking you weren't scared."
"Of course."
They continued until Elsie spotted something sparkling beneath a tree.
Silver dust.
It covered the ground in tiny patches.
Ava crouched beside it.
"Star dust."
The trail continued through the woods.
They followed it until they reached the Wishing Well.
Something was sitting on the edge.
A small glass jar.
Inside was a star.
It was banging furiously against the lid.
"Quick!"
Elsie opened it.
The star shot into the air.
WHOOSH!
For a second, the whole Wishing Well lit up.
Then the star flew into the sky and disappeared.
"One found," said Max.
"But there are hundreds," Ava replied.
Beside the jar was a note.
ONE STAR FOUND.
THE OTHERS ARE WHERE STORIES SLEEP.
"The Story Nook!" said Elsie.
They ran.
The Story Nook was usually warm and cosy.
Tonight, books were scattered everywhere.
Some were upside down.
Some were open on the floor.
One was even hanging from the lampshade.
"Someone's been in here," said Ava.
Max pointed towards a shelf.
"Erm... I think they're still here."
A pair of eyes was watching them from between two enormous books.
"Hello?" called Elsie.
The eyes disappeared.
Something scurried across the floor.
"After it!"
They chased the creature between shelves.
Left.
Right.
Under a table.
Around an enormous pile of books.
Until—
CRASH!
Max disappeared into a mountain of cushions.
"I'm fine!"
A little figure shot through the door.
The Explorers raced after it.
They followed it all the way to Creativity Cove.
When they arrived, they stopped.
"Oh..."
Hundreds of glass jars were hanging from the trees.
And inside every jar...
was a star.
The whole Cove was glowing.
"It stole all of them," whispered Ava.
A noise came from behind them.
"Didn't."
They turned.
A tiny creature stood in the path.
It had long ears, enormous feet and silver fur.
"You can talk?" asked Max.
The creature frowned.
"Obviously."
"Why did you steal the stars?" Ava asked.
"Didn't steal."
"You put them in jars!"
"Saved them."
Elsie crouched down.
"Saved them from what?"
The creature pointed towards the sky.
A dark cloud was moving over Aura Explorers Island.
But it wasn't an ordinary cloud.
It twisted and curled as it moved.
Tiny flashes of purple light flickered inside it.
The creature's ears drooped.
"Star Storm."
Ava had heard stories about Star Storms.
They only happened once every hundred years.
And anything caught sparkling beneath one could be swept away forever.
"You were protecting them," she said.
The creature nodded.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
It looked at its enormous feet.
"Nobody asked."
Max looked at the jars.
"So... mystery solved."
Ava looked at the clock tower in the distance.
Ten minutes until midnight.
"Not quite."
The storm was passing.
And the stars needed to be returned before midnight.
"How are we supposed to get hundreds of stars back to Starlight Sanctuary in ten minutes?" asked Elsie.
Everyone became quiet.
Then Max smiled.
"I have an idea."
"Oh no," said Ava.
"Why do you always say that when I have an idea?"
"Because I remember your last idea."
"The raft worked."
"The raft sank."
"Eventually."
There was no time to argue.
They gathered every Explorer they could find.
Some carried two jars.
Some carried five.
One particularly determined Explorer managed twelve.
They raced across the island.
Through Wonder Woods.
Past the Wishing Well.
Along the Treasure Trail.
Over Courage Crossing.
Even the strange little creatures from Mystic Hollow came to help.
The clock began to chime.
DONG!
"FASTER!" shouted Ava.
DONG!
They reached Starlight Sanctuary.
DONG!
Everyone began opening jars.
Stars shot into the air.
Ten at a time.
Twenty.
Fifty.
DONG!
The dark Sanctuary began to glow.
DONG!
More jars opened.
Stars whizzed between the trees.
They filled the glass dome.
They danced above the ponds.
DONG!
"How many left?" shouted Max.
"ONE!"
Elsie held the final jar.
Inside was the tiniest star of all.
DONG!
She twisted the lid.
It was stuck.
"Oh no."
DONG!
Max tried.
Nothing.
Ava grabbed it.
"Come on!"
DONG!
The lid wouldn't move.
The final chime was coming.
Elsie looked at the tiny star.
Then she had an idea.
"Together."
All three grabbed the lid.
"ONE..."
They twisted.
"TWO..."
The clock began its final chime.
"THREE!"
POP!
The jar opened.
The little star shot upwards.
DOOOOOONG!
Midnight.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then every star in Starlight Sanctuary exploded into light.
Gold.
Silver.
Pink.
Purple.
Thousands of tiny sparkles danced above them.
And high over Aura Explorers Island, the night sky filled with stars again.
Everyone cheered.
Max collapsed onto the grass.
"That was exhausting."
Elsie sat beside him.
"I thought you liked adventures."
"I do."
He yawned.
"I also like beds."
Ava laughed.
The little silver creature walked over.
"Thank you," Elsie said.
The creature smiled.
Then it held something out.
A tiny silver key.
Ava took it.
"What's this for?"
The creature pointed towards the very edge of their map.
A place none of them had noticed before.
There, beyond Crystal Caverns, was a tiny silver door drawn into the side of a mountain.
Max sat straight up.
"Has that always been there?"
Ava shook her head.
Elsie looked at the key.
Then at her friends.
"No."
The three Explorers smiled.
Tomorrow suddenly looked very interesting.
The End