Stargazing with You

Prologue

T he entire auditorium was captivated by him, hanging onto his every word.

I couldn’t blame them.

With the spotlight illuminating him on the dark stage, he emanated quiet confidence and charisma, from his dark hair down to his brown leather shoes. While every face in the many rows of seats was fixated on him, I looked around and watched their expressions, awed by the effect he had on them. My medical school classmates, seated on either side of me, leaned in to hear him speak, notebooks and pens or iPads on idle sitting abandoned in their laps. Every one of them, especially my female counterparts, had a small smile tugging at the corner of their lips, as if they couldn’t help themselves from smiling in the presence of someone who seemed to radiate with sunshine, created entirely from within.

The speaker’s voice grew soft, and a little coy smile played on his lips like he had a secret he was considering sharing with each of us .

“Looking at all of you today, I feel so incredibly lucky. I couldn’t quite believe it when the committee asked me to speak,” he said, gesturing with his arms open to the audience. “Seven years ago, when I first came up with the idea for the Artemis, when I was just a college kid with a lot of big dreams, I never could have imagined this day.”

He took a deep breath, surveying the crowd from one edge of filled seats to the next, drinking in the sight.

“Of course, I couldn’t have gone from that kid full of dreams to the man I am today alone. Not even a little bit. I have the most supportive family, who not only inspired the Artemis, but encouraged me every step of the way. I had the most amazing mentors who helped me turn my dream into a real, physical, tangible thing, that’s out in the world helping people today. And I...”

He paused, looking down, considering. After just a moment of hesitation, he scanned the crowd again, this time with purpose. Looking for something. Looking for some one . Until his eyes locked onto mine and stayed there, unwavering. I could feel my classmates shuffling with interest beside me, turning to look at me, turning to see who had suddenly caught his undivided attention among the sea of faces.

“And I have someone very special in my life, who has always believed in me. From that very first moment. My muse. My greatest friend. Whose presence in my life has molded me into the man I am today. Who I would be completely lost without.”

I swallowed hard against a lump in my throat that had appeared suddenly with a rush of overwhelming emotion. I gripped the armrests of my seat until my knuckles turned white. And in the silence that followed his declaration, every face who wasn’t already looking turned to stare at me, to follow his gaze. To see the “muse” that had inspired Javier Valenzuela, brilliant inventor and savior of countless lives.