Stella just stared at the gigantic mirror in front of her. Over 8 meters in diameter! The largest telescope she had used so far was 20”. She knew that some objects could be seen in color with larger telescopes and she wondered how it would look like to see through these giants. “Amazing, isn’t it?” The guide stepped next to her.
“It's absolutely stunning,” Stella admitted. “I would love to take a look through it if it were possible.” The guide laughed. “Everybody wants to do that. Maybe they’ll add eyepieces one day.”
Stella knew this day would surely never come. The ESO was still doing a lot of research with the Very Large Telescope. And eyes were not as good and reliable as cameras. They were now in UT-4, the telescope with the laser beam. The VLT was built on a plateau in the Atacama desert, one of the driest places on earth. And also one of the darkest. No light pollution. Just absolute darkness.
Stella sighed. She wished John was here with her now. But in the last few weeks he hadn’t talked to her a lot. As if he’d simply forgotten about her. As if he was living his life without her. Maybe he’d even found new friends.
- What’s up with you?! - she texted
- Sorry, been busy.
- I noticed. What’s up?
- Just went out for a drink.
- Alone?
- No, with Tina.
Tina. John had dated her over year ago.
- We only talked. No date.
Yeah right. John had cried over her for quite a while after she dumped him. Why he even got back to her was beyond her understanding. While she had been a nice woman she certainly didn’t appreciate John enough.
Someone was shouting and Stella came back to reality. Slowly the shutters opened up to reveal the most magnificent and dark night sky. A single tear ran down her face. That was where she belonged.