A freezing breeze of air brushed my cheeks as I stared off the twelve story building. The night had just fallen and the town was busy bustling below. Cars sped by with incredible speed as others trudged on at a slow pace, peacefully puttering down the highway. A siren could be heard in the distance; a dog barked loudly in an alley to the right. The night was not peaceful by anybody’s standards but it was perfect. I love the bustle of Thailand. Everybody has a place to go or somebody to meet, yet I stand on the roof of a distant hotel, high above the bustle and noise with nowhere to go and nothing to distract me.

I was waiting, waiting for the orange stars that would soon illuminate the night’s sky. They don’t sparkle or twinkle and are not held still by the night. Instead the orange stars dance through the sky, flowing up, around in circles, enticing the eye with every move. They flow with the wind and breeze turning and twisting around clouds as they cut through the blackness. These objects of pure beauty are rarely seen; in fact, they are only visible on three days out of the whole year.

The city below was now silent; few cars were left on the road. I wondered if the lights would ever come. Then, as if on cue, the night was suddenly thrust back, streets began to glow and shouts of glee could be heard. I rushed to the edge of the building and peered over the edge, below there were hundreds of people all laughing and chatting together. They all held white lanterns and were beginning to light them, one by one each began to glow orange. The fire inside seemed to flicker in excitement. I stared in wonder, the time had finally come! All of the lanterns were released together; thousands of orange stars were lifted into the air. A wealth of excitement filled my whole body; I twirled in spot and saw thousands of lights spread out over the whole city. My eyes twinkled as the lanterns flowed from left to right following the wind with amazing synchronization. These lanterns were truly the most amazing things I had ever seen before in my life!

I stared at the lanterns until the last one had faded into the blackness of the night. Even years later I can still see the lanterns, dancing and flowing through the jet black sky. There was nothing constraining them, they freely roam the sky. They are free to escape from the bustling city below them. The lanterns only fly three times each year, making them rare and hard to find, but nothing compares to the beauty and grace that the lanterns display through their journey out into the night to join the stars.