‘Kokko ah ingeytha? Uduga innaane varah bodu singaa tharieh. Ethariakee varah reethi ali gadha tharieh. Fathis gadeega ethari ereema mulhi than alivaane. Ekahala dhevana tharieh neennaane. Ethari fennaanee hama ekani fathihu heylaa kudhinnah’.

‘Kokko. Do you know about a very big star in the sky? It’s beautiful and bright, and lights up the whole place! There is no other star like it! It’s only witnessed by people who wake up before sunrise‘.

I must have been 5 or 6 years old at that time, and I remember being extremely intrigued. How was such a thing possible? It sounded mythical and almost magical from how she described it! It almost seemed implausible; a star so big and bright that the other stars were regarded negligible compared to it? I wanted to know more and inquisitively started throwing questions.

‘How big is it? Does this star come up any other time? What colour is it? Why does it come up? Why is it so big? Is it magic?’.

Maama laughed away my inquiries and prompted me to quickly finish my lunch. I had just gotten back from school and she was yet to give me a bath and get me ready for my Quran lesson before I was allowed to watch TV at 5 pm. 5 pm was cartoon time and I always expectantly looked forward to 5pm on the dot. But on this day, something else intrigued and interested me more. I wanted to know more about this magical star!

‘Ehenvejjeyaa maadhamaa fathihu 4 jahaa iru Kokko jeheyne Maama goveema heylan. Heyleema ethari fennaane. Heylaigen buh thashi boegen Fathis namaadhu ves kuranvaane’.

‘If you want to see the star,  you need to wake up when I call you at 4 am tomorrow morning. I’ll show you the star and then you can have your glass of milk and do the early morning prayer with me. Okay?’.

Friday morning at 4 am and Maama didn’t have to call me twice to wake me up. I was thrilled and a little bit nervous at the same time. I remember Maama holding my hand and guiding me through the Gifili and out near the freshwater well. I remember the absence of noise, except the distant sound of a boat leaving the harbour, and the chill in the air. It was so serene and so tranquil and everything stood transfixed. Almost like it was just the both of us in a big world. I had never been up so early in my life .. and I’ve never before had a reason to.

‘Kokko. Mathi balaala bala’

‘Kokko. Look up’

I looked up and there it was, in all its glory. The biggest, most beautiful and brightest star I had ever seen. The other stars were merely just speckles compared to how magnificent and phenomenal it was. It lit up the entire place in an almost magical manner and I was astonished.

‘Fajuru Thari’

‘Venus’, she said.

I looked at Maama, and 23 years later I am realising that Venus wasn’t the biggest, most beautiful and brightest star that I’ve ever seen.

It was Maama. She was the one who lit up the place with her radiating unconditional love. And even the brightest star in the sky is negligible compared to her radiance.