Polar Vortex

by Matthew Mather

All of humankind was one big family, come to think of it. At war with each other one minute, then happy together the next.

“The star’s light takes thousands of years to reach us, and the star might be dead already right now, but we see its light. Its light never goes out, never stops being a part of this universe, and it is the same for all of us.”

I couldn’t help thinking of my own father. When he died I felt like I’d been cut adrift. As much as I’d felt like I didn’t need him anymore—when he was gone, I realized how much of my life revolved around him, how many things I wished I’d said but never could anymore. Was he up there, somehow looking down on me?