I wish to become a professional like Topher’s dad, Tito Bill, but as an orthopedic surgeon—a high-paying job so I can live the good life, Benjamin wished, though skepticism crept into his thoughts. What am I doing? This is ridiculous… As above, so below? Really?

Topher thought back to the icebreaker game they had played the previous day. I want to be a superhero—like Michael. A magical girl—like Allison. A cartoon character—like Sophie. A K-pop idol—like James. A mermaid princess—like Roanne. A space captain—like Benjamin. And a paladin—like me.

Topher made up his mind. I wish we could become heroes from the stories we love and the things we like.

Unbeknownst to Topher, his eyes began to glow, radiating light across his face and chest. A lone blue-white shooting star blazed brightly among the falling meteoroids, and a faint aura of magic swirled around the wish-maker.

The unique blue-white meteor continued its journey, leaving Earth and the other meteors behind. It flew through the Solar System—past the red planet Mars, the asteroid belt, and then the gas giants: stormy Jupiter, ringed Saturn, icy Uranus, and oceanic Neptune.

The fallen star finally settled at the farthest reach of the Solar System. The blue fireball conjured seven panels around itself:

The central panel showed Topher playing an RPG video game with his party, battling a seven-headed dragon.

The west-central panel depicted Allison streaming her favorite magical girl anime series, Go! Princess Precure (2015), on her pink tablet in her bedroom.

The east-central panel showed Sophie happily watching SpongeBob, where SpongeBob had a dilemma with his pet snail, Gary, during a sunny day walk. It turned out that Gary had stopped to help an old friend.

The western panel depicted Roanne reading The Little Mermaid to her younger sisters, Christine and Sarah, while their older sister, Kate, smiled at the scene.

The eastern panel showed Michael in a Superman tank top, the emblem standing out as he leisurely played basketball in the backyard.

In the far west panel, Benjamin was engrossed in reading the sci-fi classic novel Dune (1965) in the library, with his trusty cobalt blue and gray sling bag beside him.

In the far east panel, James was jamming out to his favorite song, “Thinking Out Loud” (2014) by Ed Sheeran, singing while strumming his guitar on the patio.

Powder-blue smoke puffed below the enlarged bolide, and seven figures emerged in the nebula, standing at the base of the panels, their backs turned to the viewer.

By Topher’s panel stood a prepubescent paladin boy, wearing a silver winged helmet and a flowing white cape that touched the cloudy ground. He shone brightly in warm white—a mixture of white gold and ivory.

By Benjamin’s panel stood a space captain in his mid-teens, donning a helmet and space armor coated in cobalt blue and titanium. He wore space gauntlets, and a holographic cyan interface surrounded him, displaying various futuristic data in widgets.

By James’ panel stood a K-pop idol in his late teens, with platinum blonde hair, over-ear headset separates, and winged, fingerless gloves. He wore a stylish matching white jacket and pants, accented with cyan webbing, green shoes, and an electric guitar on his back. Neon orange musical staff coiled around him, with cyan, magenta, and yellow musical notes popping to the beat.

By Michael’s panel stood a superhero in his early teens, wearing a partial helmet that covered only the back of his head. He sported golden bracelets on two-thirds of his forearms, a sleeveless red-maroon spandex suit, and boots. Scarlet energy discs radiated from his body.

By Roanne’s panel stood a mermaid princess, just barely a young woman, with a gray hair adornment—twin fish clasped with crab claw chains—fastening her long, straight, red hair, some of it tied in front and the rest hanging down. She wore seafoam green balloon sleeves and a flowing skirt that swept the ground. In her hand, she held a lunar scepter, while glittery indigo waters swirled around her, glistening pearly white.

By Allison’s panel stood a magical girl with long, wavy blonde hair, styled with a ribbon at the back of her head. She wore translucent petal sleeves, long baby-pink gloves, a pink miniskirt, a rose bow at her waist, and high-heeled boots. Her aura sparkled pink, and hearts floated around her.

Finally, by Sophie’s panel stood a bee girl cartoon character with shoulder-length, light brown hair in two twisty pigtails. She wore goggles over her head and a choker around her neck. She sported glovelettes, a yellow sleeveless mid-rib varsity jacket with insect wings, mid-thigh shorts, and running shoes. She buzzed and hovered over a radiant, hybrid-animated cluster of pollen.

A pegasus pony appeared, flapping its small wings and leaving a few feathers behind. It flew over the seven characters, transforming into a tiny flash of light as it disappeared into the vastness at the edge of the Solar System.

A few hours before midday, in a long corridor, Topher wandered around until he decided to enter a room. Inside, he discovered a storage room filled with unused furniture and items that were no longer needed.

To his surprise, a sparkling blue-white shooting star illuminated his face, downsizing until it was just bigger than the palm of his hand. The fallen star zipped away from him, and Topher followed it outside.

Sometime later, Carlisle, still catching his breath, appeared at the only open door, hope lighting up his face.

“Bud, I know you’re in here,” Carlisle, Topher’s butler, called as he entered the storage room, looking for the boy.

But Topher was nowhere to be found. As realization sank in, Carlisle muttered, “Topher’s gone. He was here, but he’s already left. I’m too late. Where do I even start looking for that kid?”

“Bud? Bud, where are you?” Carlisle raised his voice in concern.

“Your mother’s going to kill me,” he added, walking down the quiet, empty hallway as he continued his pursuit.

Meanwhile, on the shore, the tourists continued enjoying their vacation. Topher, with the shooting star now at his side, realized that no one else could see it. I’m the only one who knows you’re here, he thought.

“Where are you taking me?” Topher asked the blue fireball, though it gave no answer.

“It’s okay, Buddy. I like surprises anyway,” Topher said.

The pair continued walking until they stood in front of a cave entrance.

“This is where you want to go?” Topher asked, looking up at the shooting star. “Cool, this is an adventure.”

They entered the cave.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been inside a cave. It’s still as awe-inspiring as ever—no sky above, just the long path, with walls of earth, rocks, and boulders everywhere,” Topher thought, charting the way forward in his head with his buddy by his side.

The fallen star flew hurriedly toward two boulders wedged together. Topher followed, curious about what his little friend was up to.

Before his eyes, the shooting star magically enlarged a board game, first outlining it in blue-white light before fleshing it out with powder-blue smoke. The finished product was a wooden board with a navy crystal ball in its center. The front face had intricate carvings resembling an Aristotelian universe.

“If this is what I think it is, then these seven must be the luminaries,” Topher said, tracing the concentric planes. There were seven, corresponding to the light-giving bodies as they were known before modern times.

“I’m not sure if these are meant to represent the Sun, the Moon, and the traditional planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn,” Topher remarked thoughtfully.

“Then this must be the Earth.” He touched the crystal ball in the center.

“People used to believe that the Earth was the center of the cosmos, not the Sun—at least during Antiquity and the Middle Ages,” Topher recalled from history.

His little friend, the shooting star, suddenly flew into the crystal ball, surprising the boy.

“Why are you in there? Please, come out!” Topher pleaded, but the star remained, sparkling inside the crystal.

“If you won’t budge, then you’re coming with me.” Topher tried to move the gigantic board wedged between the boulders, but it was stuck.

“I need help. I can’t do this by myself.” He made up his mind and headed back down.

Unbeknownst to him, an ivory luminary appeared near the blue fireball inside the crystal. It orbited briefly before dimming as Topher left for the cave’s exit.

Just after getting off a banana boat, James and Michael—still wet and wearing life jackets—ran into Topher on the beach.

“You’ve got to help me save my little friend trapped in a magical board game,” Topher blurted out.

James and Michael exchanged confused looks.

“My buddy—a shooting star—created the board inside a cave. That’s where I left him,” Topher explained.

“A cave, you say? Give me your phone, and I’ll install a GPS app on it. Let’s go rescue your friend,” Michael said, suddenly fired up.

“We can call the others—us cousins. Your GPS location will get us to the cave entrance, and we can meet there,” James suggested, offering his help to convince Topher.

“Thank you so much. Every minute counts for my little friend.” Topher handed his phone to Michael.

“Could you tell me more about what happened?” James asked, putting an arm around Topher as they walked together.

The Pangilinan siblings were eating lunch on a picnic mat under the shade at the shore.

“I’ll beat the challenge of that rocky terrain, even if it means going deep underground,” Michael boasted, sitting beside Benjamin on the left.

“It’ll be fun for us cousins—and we’ll bond more, as friends,” James added cheerfully, sitting on Benjamin’s right.

It isn’t safe for us to go inside that cave, Benjamin thought. But that board game—double the size of a standard one—with the crystal ball and the carving of an Aristotelian universe… I can’t even find it on BoardGameGeek.

Benjamin was torn between the safety of the group and his curiosity about the mysterious game.

I’m glad I told Benjamin the details. It’s only a matter of time before he gives in, James thought with a cheeky smile.

“If you—my brothers—are going, then I’m coming too,” Sophie said, always one to go with the flow.

“And I believe in magic,” she added, clinging to James’ arm.

The clear blue sky glistened above, and the sea waves sparkled in the sunlight. Roanne was swimming gracefully, her long hair floating as she exhaled bubbles through her nose. She blended into the underwater world in her white dress, exploring the corals and fish before swimming above the sandy sea floor.

Emerging from the water, her wet hair clung to her back, and her dress, now translucent, stuck to her body. Later, Roanne changed into modest, down-to-earth clothes—a beige buttoned blouse, a long moss-green skirt that reached her ankles, and tan sandals. She carried a woven basket on her arm, like a small-town girl.

Topher crossed paths with Roanne on the shore.

“Good afternoon, Ate Roanne. Sorry to bother you, but could I ask for your help?” Topher asked, polite as ever.

“Come, sit with me by those rocks. Let’s share my lunch, and we can talk about your predicament.” Roanne took Topher’s hand, leading him to a spot by the rocks.

“What’s the problem?” she asked, handing Topher a rice meal wrapped in a large banana leaf.

“Could you eat with your hands?” Roanne asked again.

“This is nice,” Topher said, delighted by the experience.

“We have to save my little friend. He’s trapped inside a magical board game,” Topher explained.

Roanne paused for a moment, deciding to let Topher keep his ‘imaginary friend.’ She understood that a boy his age might need such a companion as part of growing up.

“I want to free my little buddy so he can return to the stars,” Topher said, looking up at the sky, as if his gaze pierced through to the universe.

“But if he goes back, he’ll leave you behind,” Roanne gently pointed out.

“It’s okay. I want him to be happy. I can’t fly, but he’ll travel the universe and see all those wondrous things,” Topher said, turning briefly to Roanne before gazing back at the sky with a grin.

“They say, ‘When you love someone, you set them free,’” Topher added, leaving Roanne taken aback by his wisdom.