In the depths of the primitive night, when tranquility seized the place, and calmness wore the cloak of time. The pleasant darkness of the night, mingled with the serenity of the moon, became so gentle - how to describe it when it was dispelled by the moonlight, forming a painting in itself framed behind nature amidst olive groves. There are soft summer breezes blowing in the heart of this stunning place, where branches rustle amongst themselves, creating a harmonious musical composition in tandem with the babbling sound of the stream adjacent to the trees. Everyone merged together, forming a symphony untouched by meddling hands. The rustling of trees along with the babbling stream descending from the dense darkness of the night, merged with the moonlight, formed the repository and destination for that timeless meeting in the old, bygone era.

He was waiting for her, at that spot near the stream, when the moon was at its zenith, embracing the Pleiades, that was when the meeting was to take place. The sound of hurried footsteps climbing the slope from behind – she had arrived with her splendid presence and beautiful appearance. Fear was apparent in her, as she had sneaked out of her sleeping quarters to steal a few minutes to bid him farewell. He took her velvety hands and a current of mixed emotions ran through him – sadness at the last meeting before migration, and joy at being with her now, with nothing else mattering, at least because she was close to him.

How can you return to me when, at dawn, you will board the ship migrating to the south? Perhaps my body is departing from my homeland, but my spirit will never leave. It will remain, hovering above our tender village, above the roofs of its houses, its trees, the sweetness of its stream, and above that slope that has often hosted our meetings. My spirit will remain here to whisper to you at night and during the day...

If only carrier pigeon flocks could reach your distant place so that I could send my messages with them. Who will carry the messages of my heart to you to tell you that I await your return? No one... No one can do that. Then she lowered her head in regret and sadness onto his shoulder, with tears in her eyes.

We will continue to take risks, trust me. Look at the horizon, do you see these beautiful stars - while her head was still leaning on his left shoulder - look under the horizon, it's the star Alpha, one of the stars of the Southern Cross constellation. It is the only one visible among the five stars of the constellation in the sky of our village, but when I am in exile, I will see all of them in the middle of the horizon. They are flashing beautifully, so when the moon descends to this position (and he pointed towards the horizon), look attentively at that star and address it, because you will be looking at it before me. Contemplate it and send your loving heart messages to it. When my evening comes after yours, I will also look at it so it can relay your passionate messages to me. Only then will your heartbeat quicken when you realize that I have received them. Please promise me that you will look at it every night... Yes, I promise you that I will always look at it and hear your voice through it, and see the spark in your eyes in it, but promise me that you will return to me, promise... I will, my love, I will return to you, trust me, I will... We must leave now as time is ticking and we might be discovered...

Despite the changing seasons, the shifting lunar phases, the progression of time, and the passing years, they continued to gaze at the Southern Cross constellation as often as they could every night. Despite the time difference between them, they communicated through its twinkles, and in their hearts was enough longing to cross oceans and seas. It was as if a bridge connected their hearts. They never ceased to marvel at the stars; countless travelers, shepherds, sailors, and poets have relied on them to determine their course and destination.

Through them, the first humans understood their direction, and perhaps once feared and worshiped them out of reverence and sanctification. Poets, writers, and storytellers sought their vast cosmic content to extract beauty, to shape their words, to compose their poems, and to refine their prose. They even named their sons and daughters after them, bestowing names like Thuraiya (Pleiades), Jauzaa (Gemini), Najm (Star), and Qamar (Moon).

The human connection to the stars is primordial, going back to the very beginning of creation. And just as they were used to describe beauty, they were used for witchcraft and deception—such as predicting future events by interpreting celestial omens, prognosticating the future from the stars' movements.

The joy humans felt when they progressed from observing the stars with the naked eye to using a telescope is immeasurable. This was what the Italian scientist Galileo did when he was the first to point a telescope at the sky to discover planets up close—those celestial bodies that long occupied his thoughts and contemplations. He discovered Jupiter, Saturn, and some of their moons, until one of Jupiter's moons was named after him (Galileo's moon) to commemorate his achievement.

From the heart of the desert, the shores of the oceans, and the ends of the poles, humans have depended on stars to guide their paths. Stars have played a significant role in saving us from being lost deep inside ourselves when our directions are scattered, and we lose our sense of place. They serve as our savior, the only hand that grasps our arm, leading us across the noise-filled, dark, and fear-filled road towards the shores of hope...

Two astronomy enthusiasts met online via the website of the International Astronomical Association: a young man from Rosario, Argentina, and a girl from a village in Latakia, Syria. Both shared a love for astronomy, star gazing, and tracking constellations. The young man was keen to visit his Syrian friend, expressing his admiration for the modest makeshift observatory she had created in a room perched on the roof of her house, equipped with several telescopes aimed at the sky. The girl consistently documented her observations, shared her experiences with others via the website. Likewise, the young man had established a more advanced observatory with better resources in his hometown, Rosario, with larger telescopes.

They gathered in her observatory because he wanted to see how the Alpha star looked in the Syrian sky. She had been particularly interested in this star and often gathered information about the Southern Cross constellation, clearly visible in the Argentine sky. In Syria, only one star from this constellation is visible. During their break, while sipping Mate tea, in a moment of peace and tranquility, the young man confessed his feelings for her and revealed a shocking fact: he was an Argentinian of Syrian descent, specifically from her village. His grandfather was among the masses of Syrians who migrated to the New World around 1887. His grandfather was passionate about star gazing and had been always looking at the sky every night in Rosario, especially at the Alpha star and the rest of the constellation. He used to send messages to his beloved who remained in this village through the twinkling of stars and got her reply as well.

One day his lover told him via the ether of the star that she was forced into marriage. He became severely depressed, reclusive, and confined to his room, looking at the stars every night. The sparkle of the Alpha star was no longer visible to him. After a short period of marriage, he was found dead under his room window, dying of sadness and grief while staring at the sky. This story of his immigrant grandfather was the reason for his passion and interest in astronomy...

His Syrian friend could not contain herself, she grabbed his hands tightly, causing the Mate cup to fall from his hand. She stared at him intensely and said: "You promised me when we met on the hill that you would return, but you didn't. I called you every night through our star and heard your response the next day until my family forced me to marry, and I couldn't resist them. You never left my imagination. One summer night, as I was looking at the sky contemplating our messenger of sighs, I found myself collapsing on the ground, leaving life out of sadness and grief... You've returned to me now after a long absence, don't leave me again." "I will never, ever do that, I promise," he said. Then they looked at the sky together, and the Alpha star was shining brightly; it had completed its mission. They finally reunited after a love journey that lasted nearly 130 years.