(Based on characters in The Lightning in the Collied Night and The Loss of What Is Past)
SPOILER ALERT: There are spoilers below for both The Lightning in the Collied Night and The Loss of What Is Past.
28 July 2061
“Are you sure you can’t come with us, Daddy?” Yinuo asked her father in an earnest, pleading voice that he usually had a hard time resisting. “I know Mommy can’t come because she’s in Perth for her Love One Another rally, but can’t you take a couple of days off from your job?”
Kapono smiled regretfully at his six-year-old daughter. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but my lab mates at the university need my help this week on an important project.” Although he was working on a quantum physics research project at the University of New South Wales in Caringbah, the main reason he wasn’t going to join Yinuo and Anong on their camping trip was because he didn’t want to risk changing history. He knew from reading Lai’s diary that only the two of them had made the trip, and it was one of the highlights of his daughter’s childhood. He was glad New South Wales had moved their school winter break to the end of July so families could get away from the light pollution of urban areas for what would be for many a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Anong came in the front door of Kapono and Lai’s fourth-floor flat in Miranda. “Everything’s in the car,” he told Kapono and Yinuo. He’d borrowed Agueda Pereira’s small EV for the two-day trip to nearby Heathcote National Park. “Are you all ready to go?” he asked Yinuo.
“Absolutely!” she exclaimed with a big smile, mimicking her mother. She reached up to hug her father; he crouched down as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on his cheek. “Goodbye, Daddy. I hope you’ll be okay here by yourself.”
“I’ll miss you, honey, but I’ll be fine.” He returned her hug and kiss and stood up. “You and Anong will have a great time. I want to hear all about it when you get home tomorrow.”
* * *
As Anong and Yinuo followed the mile-long trail from the parking area to the secluded campground, they delighted in spotting native birds and other animals in the dense brush. Noisy friarbirds chattered loudly overhead.
“It sounds like the birds are saying four o’clock,” Yinuo remarked to Anong with a puzzled expression.
“It does, doesn’t it?” He heard another sound, stopped, and peered into the brush to their right. “Look over there—it’s a lyrebird!” he whispered.
Yinuo looked into the brush and saw in a small clearing a grey bird with a beautiful plumed tail. Both she and Anong were captivated by its amazingly complex call.
“Lyrebirds imitate many other birds, like the kookaburra. In fact, they mimic a lot different sounds,” Anong explained quietly.
Yinuo heard the lyrebird make an unexpected but familiar sound. “That sounded like a car alarm!”
“It did!” Anong chuckled. “Once I heard a lyrebird make a sound like a chainsaw.”
After enjoying the lyrebird’s broad vocal repertoire, they resumed their walk along the forest path. Anong loved hiking through Heathcote National Park. The area had for many years been home to Aboriginal people, and thus it reminded him of the forests near the Red Lake Nation reservation in Minnesota.
“Maybe we’ll see a koala!” Yinuo whispered excitedly to Anong.
“Possibly,” he replied encouragingly. “They love these eucalyptus trees.” I wonder if Lai knows Yinuo loves koalas. I’ll have to mention it to her when she returns from Perth.
After hiking for nearly an hour, they arrived at their campsite near Kingfisher Pool. They’d eaten lunch en route to the national park, so they made camp. Anong helped Yinuo put up her small tent, and he set up his tent next to hers.
“Anong, where’s the toilet?” Yinuo asked.
He pointed to a small wooden shack next to the campsite. “Right over there.” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a roll of toilet paper and bottle of hand sanitizer. “You’ll need these. There’s no running water here.”
“Oh ….” she said with a frown.
“Hey, you wanted to go camping. This is camping,” he said cheerfully.
* * *
Anong cooked an early dinner—his mother’s stew recipe—on a battery-powered induction cooktop. As the Sun began to set, the temperature dropped to a few degrees Celsius above freezing, so he set up an electric heater with a holographic flame effect since no fires were allowed in the park.
“Mommy told me that my grandfather used to make campfires at their cabin in Minnesota when she was my age,” Yinuo told Anong as they sat in their winter coats by the heater and gazed at its almost-convincing faux flames.
“I remember the fires we had back home when I was a boy. The Ojibwe used fires for many purposes, including ceremonies, storytelling, and connecting with our ancestors.”
Yinuo looked at him. “Do you miss your home back in Minnesota?”
“Yes. I really miss my mom and uncle, and my friends on the reservation.” He turned toward her with a hopeful smile. “Someday I’ll return there and see them all again.”
“I miss our cabin … and I miss my Auntie Katie. I don’t remember much about her, except she was very pretty and had red hair, and she was really kind to me,” she said sadly.
“Your mom’s told me a lot about her,” Anong said. “I wish I would’ve met her.” He looked toward the western sky, painted with bands of amber and red as the Sun dipped below the horizon. “We’d better get going—it’s almost showtime!”
They walked a short distance to a bluff overlooking Kingfisher Pool and joined several other campers there. Anong set up his small refracting telescope on a tripod as Yinuo scanned the darkening sky. Stars began to fade into view as if they were connected to a celestial dimmer switch.
“My teacher said tonight and tomorrow might be the best times to see it,” Yinuo told Anong as he worked on the scope.
“Yes, because the comet will be at perihelion. That’s when—”
“—it’s closest to the Sun,” Yinuo finished his thought.
“Right!” Anong grinned. “Since it’s like a big, dirty snowball, the comet’s tail will be longest then.”
“Yes, because of sublimation. But, Anong—I think it’s more like a snowy dirtball than a dirty snowball,” Yinuo corrected him gently.
Anong chuckled, “So it is, Professor Shen!” She’s going to be a great scientist someday. “Maybe someday you’ll study comets and other objects in outer space like black holes and wormholes, like your mom and dad.”
“I hope so.” Suddenly she jabbed her right index finger toward the horizon. “I think I see it!”
Anong peered into the early evening sky in the direction Yinuo was pointing. “Yes, there it is!” He saw a small, fuzzy white dot low on the horizon, with a plume stretching out behind it. “I’ll get the scope on it.” He bent over the elbow-shaped eyepiece of the old telescope, aimed it at the comet, and carefully turned the focus knob. “Oh, wow …! Come take a look!” Yinuo stepped over to the scope and peered into the eyepiece, and Anong took several photos of the comet with his phone’s camera.
“That is so cool! Or as my teacher would say, ‘It’s bloody amazing!’” She straightened up, “Do you want to look again?”
“Sure, thanks.” Anong gazed again through the telescope at the wondrous sight.
“How often does Halley’s Comet appear, Anong?”
“Every 72 to 80 years. I think the next time it’ll visit us will be in early 2134.”
“So, we might see it again?”
Anong looked up from the scope at Yinuo. “Well, you could certainly see it again.” I’d be over 100 years old. But, who knows? Maybe …. “Take another look, if you want.” Anong stepped back from the scope so Yinuo could use it. As he admired the beautiful object glowing just above the horizon, he remembered something from his childhood.
“My People tell stories about the comets and meteors that travel across the skies. The stories are passed on from one generation to the next by ayaadizookedjig—our storytellers. One of those stories is about Halley’s Comet, which the Ojibwe call Gichi-anang, or the Prophecy Star—even though it’s not a star, of course.”
Yinuo straightened up and looked inquisitively at Anong. “So, does your name mean star?”
“It does!”
“What does Wagamese mean?”
“It comes from an Ojibwe phrase meaning ‘man walking by the crooked water’—a river in the place where my ancestors lived. Do you know what your name means?”
“Yes; Yinuo means promise, and Shen … Mommy told me there’s different meanings for that. It can mean spirit or soul; it can also mean deep thought.”
Anong looked at her and smiled. Well, that certainly fits, for both you and your mother.
“What’s the story of the Prophecy Star about, Anong?”
“The story of the Prophecy Star tells us that, when nature gets out of balance and the People lose their spiritual path and purpose, a star spirit will return and either restore life from a new beginning, or help the People to survive and thrive again.”
Nature out of balance? Yinuo wondered. “Like it is now, because of the war?”
“Perhaps.”
“So, the star spirit is going to return and help us survive and thrive again?”
“That’s what the story foretells.”
Yinuo gazed out into the clear night sky ablaze with stars and planets—and a spectacular comet. I hope that’s true ….
Anong asked their fellow comet-gazers if they wanted to use his telescope; some had brought only binoculars. A few campers gratefully accepted his offer. After they’d finished, Anong and Yinuo took one more look at the fading comet through the scope, then they packed it up and headed back to their campsite.
Yinuo was worn out from her long, exciting day exploring the forest and the sky. As she got ready for bed, Anong tidied up their campsite. When he was finished, he went over to Yinuo’s tent.
“May I come in?”
“Yes.” He unzipped the door and crawled into the small tent. Yinuo lay in her sleeping bag with her eyes closed as her lips moved; she was whispering too faintly for Anong to hear what she was saying. He waited quietly until she opened her eyes. “I said a prayer for you, and for your mommy and your Uncle Bizaan.”
“Thank you, Yinnie.” He noticed a slight frown on her face. “Is it okay if I call you that?”
She looked uncertainly at him for a moment. “Well … okay. But only you.”
“Deal.” He visually checked her sleeping bag. “Are you warm enough?”
“I’m nice and toasty, thanks for asking.”
“Mino nibaan—goodnight, Yinnie.” He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead.
“Mino nibaan, Anong. Thank you for taking me camping to see the comet. This was the best night of my life. I’ll remember it forever.”
Anong recalled what Lai had told him about Yinuo’s extraordinary memory. I bet she will remember it forever! “You’re welcome. I’m really glad you could come with me to see the Gichi-anang. I’m right next to you if you need anything.” He looked to make sure her flashlight was beside her pillow. Then he backed out of the tent, zipped up its door, and went into his tent.
Yinuo closed her eyes and drifted quickly off to sleep, dreaming about the Prophecy Star and the star spirit.
Resources:
- (Noisy friarbirds chattered loudly overhead.) Wikipedia. “Noisy friarbird.” Accessed July 21, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noisy_friarbird.
- (… it’s a lyrebird!) Wikipedia. “Lyrebird.” Accessed July 21, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrebird
- (… their campsite near Kingfisher Pool.) NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. “Kingfisher Pool campground.” Accessed July 20, 2025, https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/kingfisher-pool-campground.
- (… at perihelion.) Wikipedia. “Halley’s Comet.” Accessed July 20, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet.
- (My People tell stories …) Ojibwe Lessons & Stories by ZhaawanArt. “An Illustrated List of Ojibwe Anishinaabe Stars & Planets, part 2 (J to Z).” Accessed July 21, 2025, https://www.zhaawanart.com/post/ojibwe-anishinaabe-stars-planets-part-2-j-to-z#viewer-mgbk.
(Image courtesy Space.com)
