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The black sky was speckled with thousands upon thousands of stars, casting a faint light upon the earth. The night was chilly for a summer night and a light, flower scented breeze blew through the treetops. The starlight, which was just bright enough to allow you to see if you let your eyes adjust, shone down on two boys.
These two boys were laying hand in hand on the top of a hill, admiring the sky. They had left their home a few hours ago to walk out to the hill where they could be alone, and had talked and laughed the whole way. Now, however, the endless night sky seemed to have silenced them. No sound louder than a whisper had been uttered for a long while, and even the whispers were few and far apart. Occasionally, the taller boy would point to constellations and name them, and tell the shorter one about their history. The shorter one, who also had shorter and messier hair, would smile, not because he was deeply interested in astronomy, but because he liked hearing the taller boy talk.
It really was a perfect night for stargazing. Not a cloud to be seen, and warm enough that you could be outside without a coat. The ideal conditions, really. It all made the universe seem that much more impressive and infinite, despite the universe needing no such help. Of course, the nature of the two boys’ relationship also contributed to their opinion of that particular night sky. The simplest things can come across as breathtaking when you experience them with a loved one.
The taller boy pressed the other boy’s hand tightly, catching his attention.
“What is it?” the shorter boy asked.
“Well Simon, I was just thinking” the taller one began. “The universe is infinite. There are endless planets and stars and galaxies out there, and at least some of them are probably similar to this one. So, in an endless universe, there must be endless possibilities.”
Simon nodded, and the other boy continued,
“So just… think of all the things that had to go exactly right for the two of us to end up here. An infinite universe with infinite possibilities, and we somehow ended up not only living at the same time, but being the same age, meeting, and falling in love. How lucky is that?”
Simon was silent for a bit.
“Extremely lucky” he then said, “unless it’s not luck. Maybe it’s destiny.”
The other boy rolled his eyes despite the dark making it pointless.
“Destiny? I don’t think I believe in destiny” he said.
“I think it’s more likely than luck” Simon responded.
“Either way, aren’t you glad we ended up together?”
“I’m very glad.”
“Destiny or luck, it worked out pretty well.”
“It was destiny though.”
“Was not.”
“Was too.”
If it was luck, it was far luckier than they thought it to be. Because infinity is not something the human mind can properly comprehend. What they thought of as a tiny chance was actually a much tinier chance, making their union even more incredible. Especially if you want to count alternate universes. Extremely lucky indeed.
Though I wouldn’t rule out destiny, because I know of few realities where those two boys exist at the same time and don’t end up together. But they didn’t know that. They were just two boys in love, on an insignificant planet in the endless universe. That very moment of contemplation of the infinity of everything was completely irrelevant in the big picture.
But then, so is everything. And if nothing matters, things will only ever have as much meaning as you give them. And if you see it like that, those two boys on a hill on a beautiful summer night were the most significant people in the universe.