2026 stock "A vibraphone, a snare drum, a knitting needle, a cymbal, and a marimba compose five flickering points: stars at the threshold between perceptibility and deep space. The constellation they form shimmers dully, its design clearly painterly, but out of grasp. I stand on the outskirts of a large city, trying to keep them all in view. But, I just can’t make out anything. So instead, I fix myself to a singular point of the five. My eyes strain and tremor as I gaze at one star amongst trillions, backlit by the rising glow of urban lights. I am steadfast, patient, and determined; there is nothing comfortable about this strenuous waiting game. 


Until, there it is. Etched on that star, not in the space between, I again see the shape that the constellation had suggested. But, it burns passionately now: its details fully illuminated, its brushstrokes glimmer in prismatic light. I focused my gaze even further; I am at my limits. And then, it truly comes into focus: deep ravines, craters within craters, vines entwined, kaleidoscopic pebbles. A universe contained within a point makes itself known. I could stay here a while.    


But suddenly, a passing car horn catches my attention. I avert my eyes from that star and towards my own situation, looking around a city I no longer recognize. How long had I fixed my gaze towards the heavens? A lifetime? Two? I look back up, unable to locate that star. Until another cosmonaut, who had been at my side for who knows how long, points skyward. And there it is again, growing brighter and brighter. Until it not only eclipses its four companions, but every other point in the sky. And we stare entranced, as the impending supernova envelops us in its searing white light. How lucky are we to feel a supernova’s heat, not only once, but five times over?" - Jack Herscowitz