Though they say he can be tempted down with caramel apples, that is not true.
He does prefer caramel apples, but not enough to make illicit trips down to you to get them.
He is surrounded by myth, and only some of it is true, while other parts are lies and wishes, and some of it is true-ish.
He is hard to see on cloudy nights, though you might glimpse the tip of his tail, shining from the darkness, like a sequin in a skein of black silk. However, if you do not see him, that does not mean he is not there.
They say he can tell princes how to win battles, knights how to defeat dragons, or lovers how to end their quarrells or mend their broken hearts. They say that by naming him, by pointing to him and beseaching him with a phrase beginning with "I wish..." that one can accomplish anything. He often wishes this were true, though it is not. He is generous.
He wanders sometimes, and when he does some people remark he is a shooting star, and will indulge in wish-making again. But the truth is, he is lonely, and searching for someone with which to speak. He does not come down often, so he tries to see as much of the world as he can from where he is, pacing back and forth, tilting his head this way and that.
But if he does come down, and you happen to be there, do not offer him tea, for he does not drink it. Do not remark that you have been waiting a long time. Do not be angry with him for his sudden appearance. You do not know when he may come again next.
Instead sit down, wherever you wish, and tell him something, about yourself, about your life. Confide in him with secrets and hopes and secret hopes. It does not matter to him if there is sorrow or hurt or anger or joy. He simply likes the company. And if you happen to have a caramel apple at exactly that moment, he may tell you something of himself.
He may not be able to mend your broken heart, and he may not turn you into royalty, and he may not come to you or leave you at the best of times, but he will sit with you and be quiet and listen. And at the end of it you may feel better anyway.
Art by Johanne Hevelius
Text by Lucie MacAulay
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