The sun dipped below the horizon, casting its golden glow on the clouds. After a long day, the tired people dragged themselves home, walking past Matthew and Pierre.
The town started buzzing. Food vendors and street stalls were getting to work and setting up. As the sky turned dark, the street vendors started turning on their lights one after another.
Matthew paced around the residential building and glanced at Pierre now and then. The latter just crouched without budging.
Suddenly, Pierre pushed himself up by his knees, but then he stumbled and fell flat on the floor. He tried to climb up from the floor but slipped and fell back down.
Matthew quickly walked over. "Stay put. Just lie there for a bit where you fell."
Pierre struggled to get up again, but his legs weren't cooperating. So he tumbled back down.
Matthew added with annoyance, "You've been crouching for too long, and your legs are probably numb. That's why you can muster any strength from them. Just lie down and take a break."
Pierre frozed for a second. Realizing Matthew had a point, he just sprawled on the floor.
A beam of light shone on Pierre's face as tears streamed down from the corner of his eyes, shimmering. Matthew was taken aback. "Why did you cry?"
With a bitter look, Pierre muttered in a raspy voice, "Why is life so difficult?"
Realizing Pierre was finally opening up, Matthew added, "You've got a lot on your mind, huh?"
Pierre took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, but the lights in the streets made everything blurry. The stars seemed to have disappeared, and even the moon was nowhere to be seen.
He suddenly asked, "Why are there no stars? It's not even a cloudy night."
Upon hearing Pierre's words, Matthew was perplexed, not knowing how to continue the conversation. After a pause, he replied, "The lights are too bright, overpowering the starlights from above. That's why you can't see them.
"If you're interested in stargazing, leave the city to somewhere quiet. You could consider a mountain village or somewhere with barely any lights. The stars are more visible in the night sky over there."
When Matthew spoke about quiet places, he was thinking about solitary prison. During sleepless nights in solitary confinement, he'd gaze out through the bars at the night sky. The stars were huge and bright. That was his personal experience.
Since Matthew had gotten out of prison and returned to Lambda City, he didn't get to see the stars again.
Pierre seemed to have ignored Matthew's words as he continued murmuring.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Great Medical Saint (Matthew)