The Last Light a Star Left Behind

That light wasn’t actually the light of a star being born. It was the light left behind by an enormous star that had finally lived out its long, long life. A star that had quietly held its place for millions of years had, at the very last moment, gathered every bit of its strength and burst outward in one tremendous flash. People call this moment a supernova.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a sad moment at all. Just before it fades, a dying star can shine brighter than its entire galaxy, for only a few weeks. Long ago, some of these lights were recorded as bright enough to be seen in the sky even in broad daylight.

Byeol-maru drifted slowly toward the light. Hyeongseop rested his forehead against the window and watched, for a long while, as the brightness spread outward like an explosion.

The materials that once made up the star don’t disappear completely. Iron, gold, carbon, and other elements scatter far and wide across the universe. Given enough time, those scattered pieces gather together again, becoming new stars, new planets, and sometimes, even a small part of someone’s body.

The carbon and iron inside Hyeongseop’s own body were no different. Long, long ago, some nameless star had scattered them into space with a final burst of light, just like the one shining tonight. Which means Hyeongseop is, in a way, a child made from a gift a star left behind.

Our own Sun won’t end in such a dramatic burst. It’s simply too small a star to ever become a supernova. Far in the future, it will quietly swell up, then slowly cool, drifting off to sleep at the end of its life. Some stars end in a tremendous burst, and some end in quiet sleep.

Even now, that star’s last light keeps traveling on, out toward the far edge of the universe. Perhaps tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions of years from now, someone living somewhere very far away will look up and see this very light, from this very moment.

Hyeongseop looked down quietly at his own hands. Every fingertip suddenly felt a little bit special. The star shimmering far away didn’t seem to be disappearing at all. It looked, instead, like it was setting off on a very long journey, one that might someday end in being reborn as a new star, or maybe even as the starlight inside another child, somewhere far from here.