“Let’s see, after sitting cross-legged, I should...” muttered Philip. “ ...put my dominant hand in my lap and my left hand... wait, should the dominant hand be under my belly or a bit away from it?”

The little boy sat on his bed at home, for the first time trying to meditate. He was very eager to get into action, almost jumping like a spring if not for having been told to take it easy. After all, sitting still for as long as he did, anyone would feel impatient. And, coincidently, one of the things Philip truly excelled in is impatience.

“Haste makes waste.”

He remembered his mother’s words and calmed down.

“I wonder if she’s well. I hope she’s not hurt…”

“But no matter what, she wouldn’t want me to sit here and worry. She’d want me to live my life and fulfil my own happiness. Good thing my happiness is her well-being!”

Feeling inclined to start the meditation, Philip decided to place his dominant hand on his lap, and not below his tummy. He put his left hand above his right. His left arm was broken and so he moved it very carefully. Miss Brent had wrapped his arm with a white bandage, very tightly to his annoyance. The bandage limited his movements but made it possible for him to move it more easily, which was a blessing in itself.

He closed his eyes and mouth, breathing only through his nose.

“How do I not think... is that even possible?

As he sat in silence, the little boy drifted into deep thinking. He thought about his mother, he thought about Barney, and his two elder sisters, he thought about Instructor Clave. After a while, he suddenly remembered that he wasn't supposed to think.

"Aaaa, dammit! This is soo hard!" Philip flung his eyes open and rolled around in the bed to satisfy his irritation. He had unknowingly begun thinking about various things and didn't discover it until it was too late.

"Ok! One more time!" said Philip and tried again.

It was better this time. But he noticed that trying not to think just made him think even more. However, if he didn't try to think, how would he make himself not think?

Standing in front of a dilemma he was unable to solve, the little boy decided to go ask his two sisters. Maybe they had a solution.

"So what you're saying is that you shouldn't think, but at the same time that you will think unless you think about trying not to think? And if you think about trying not to think, you are thinking, which you shouldn't." Mary said with a smile.

"Mmm," admitted Philip.

Two two sisters looked at each other and broke out in laughter.

"Little brother, you really are something else, aren't you!" said Laura, "It's the first time I've heard someone have this kind of problem! I'm so going to tell this in school! I'll bet it will give everyone a big laugh!"

"Don't be mean to our little brother, sister," Mary shot a glance at Laura. "come up with a way to help him instead."

"Why?" returned Laura. "It's obvious isn't it– the answer? Little brother, you’ll allow me to tell this for my friends at school if I give you the answer, right?

Philip didn't think long before shining up in a smile. "Sure!"

"Then listen carefully now because I'll only say this once," said Laura. "The answer is.."

"... to not try anything at all!"

"What do you mean not try anything at all? I don't want to offend you elder sister Laura but that sounds like a big lie when it comes out of your mouth," said the boy in return.

"You little rascal! You really think that elder sister would lie straight up in your face?! Look, I'll swear on everything that is divine, " she said and puffed out her chest. "that I didn't lie, or I shall be struck by lighting a thousand times in a row!"

"That's you being unfair, elder sister!" Philip said and began to pout. "Now I don’t dare to test if you are right or wrong because you might be hit by lightning!"

Laura looked at Philip with large eyes. A smile grew wider and wider across her face. She had been a bit hesitant to her father taking in the boy at first, but now she discovered herself to really have begun liking this seven-year-old boy who seemed as earnest and hardworking as no one before! And he was quite cute too, she had to admit.

“And since when were you allowed to worry about your older sister?” said Laura and used her thumb to load up her index finger and lightly hit Philip’s forehead. “Just trust me, okay?”

“Fine,” said Philip. “I’ll go back to my room and try again then. Thanks!”

As the little boy left the two sisters' room, Mary turned to Laura.

"Hey, sis, how did you know that not thinking was the correct answer?"

Laura laughed cutely and stuck out her tongue. "I didn't, but that little kid always thinks too much. So I thought making him think less might do the trick."

“Shouldn’t suppress my thoughts then. And according to Elder sister Mary,” said Philip. “my meditation will work as long as I don't try anything at all – I wonder how they know this. They wouldn’t know how to meditate themselves, would they?"

He took a large, deep breath. He was ready.

"Focus," said the boy, "is the key."

Once again diving into a state where he sat still and allowed everything to wander freely, the little boy had unknowingly entered meditation. It was a peaceful state of mind. As one meditated, one wouldn't be fettered by what happened around oneself, and time, well, time was something one often forgot while meditating, often to a degree where thirty minutes would feel like ten, and in extreme cases when a day could feel like an hour.

As he sat in meditation, everything around him was quiet. It was as if his mind was an undisturbed lake's surface – like a mirror, displaying how calm he was. After quite an amount of time, a ripple appeared on the surface of the lake, causing yet more ripples to spread out from the first one, covering the entire surface of the water.

"That– how long was that?" Philip was roused awake from the meditative state of mind.

"And I was wrong earlier – about the key," said the little boy, "It's all about awareness. If I want to reach perfect meditation, I need to go through various stages of awareness and ultimately become one with a state where I have no awareness at all!"

"But this state of mind– can it really attract a star's attention? If I don't have any awareness, how can I sense what's going on around me– how can I sense the stars above?

Philip sat in deep thought for a while. He looked out the window, noticing how Night had approached and daylight was lone gone. For how long had he been meditating?

"There's only one way to try if it works or not," said the boy. "I need to go out and test it!"