⏱ ~4 min reading
Little Solomiya loved the day very much. She loved it when the sun jumped across the floor in golden spots, when her mother's voice somewhere in the kitchen sang about a little fox, when it smelled of fresh bread and milk. And Solomiya also loved it when the light was on — big, bright, everywhere in the house.
But tonight... the evening was different.
Every time her mother came to cover her with a blanket and reached for the light switch, something inside Solomiya felt cold. She grabbed her mother's sleeve and whispered:
"Don't turn it off, Mom. Please.".
“What are you doing, daughter?” Mom asked gently.
“I’m… scared,” Solomiya admitted. “There are terrible things lurking in the darkness.”.
“Which ones?” Mom sat down on the edge of the bed.
Solomiya thought for a moment and began to list:
"Well, there's the creaking tree under the window. In the evening it creaks "cree-er-r-r." And there's the wardrobe - something rustles inside it, as if someone is breathing. And there are the shadows on the ceiling - they're crawling, I can see them!"
Mom looked at her daughter with a quiet smile. She didn't say anything then. She just patted her head and left the nightlight on.
The next day, Solomiya woke up to find something new on her bedside table. A small flashlight in the shape of a star, with a tiny button on the side. Solomiya pressed it, and the star lit up with a soft, warm, yellowish light.
"This is your helper," said Mom, coming in with a towel. "He will be with you even when everyone is asleep. At night he will shine even brighter - because stars are best seen in the dark.".
Solomiya held the star in her palm and felt it: it was warm. Not like a hot cup of tea, but like the palm of a little sister she didn't have yet, but who she dreamed of.
In the evening, Solomiya herself asked her mother to turn off the big light. Her heart was still beating fast, like a bird's. But the little star lay on the pillow next to her.
Solomiya looked around. At first the darkness seemed thick. That little star shone - and little by little the room came to life. She could see the shelf with books. She could see the edge of the carpet with flowers. She could see how gently the blanket covered her legs.
Suddenly Solomiya heard a familiar sound:
— Scream-er-r-r…
It's a closet. Solomiya tensed. But this time — instead of fear — she became curious.
“Who are you?” the girl whispered quietly.
And it seemed to her—it just seemed, perhaps, but very distinctly—that the wardrobe answered:
— It's me, the closet. I'm creaking because your favorite toys are huddled inside me so they don't freeze. I have your teddy bear, Tishko, there. He's cold today. He's alone.
Solomiya froze. Then she slowly got out of bed, holding the star in front of her like a small torch. She went to the closet, carefully opened the door, and found Tyshka, an old friend with fluffy ears.
“Come with me,” she whispered.
Solomiya hugged the bear and went back to bed. She put him next to her. Now there were three of them: her, Tishko, and the star.
And then a miracle happened. The squeaking stopped. The wardrobe fell silent, as if it had fallen silent because it saw that its toy had been taken care of.
Solomiya lay in the darkness and listened. She heard other sounds—her father's soft breathing from the next room, the gentle ticking of the kitchen clock, the rustling of leaves outside the window. All these sounds were no longer frightening—they seemed to be singing a lullaby.
"It turns out," Solomiya whispered to Tyshko, "the darkness hides nothing. It's just waiting for beauty to be seen in it.".
In the morning, when mom came into the room, Solomiya was sitting in bed with a star in her hands and smiling.
“Mommy,” she said, “I’m not afraid anymore.”.
Mom sat down next to her and hugged her.
"I knew you could do it, daughter. The darkness isn't evil. It just doesn't know how to speak loudly. You have to be quiet to hear it.".
From that day on, Solomiya turned off the light herself. She carefully placed the star on the bedside table, and Tyshka next to it on the pillow. And whispered:
"Good night, room. Good night, closet. Good night, tree outside the window. I'm with you.".
And the darkness around her became soft, like her mother's voice. It was not fears that lived in it, but little good friends. Solomiya smiled with her eyes closed - and fell asleep, holding the little star near her heart.
✨ Darkness hides nothing - it just waits for beauty to be seen in it ✨