《Kansas, She Says, is the Name of the Star 》作者： - R. Garcia y Robertson【

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Kansas She Says Is the Name of the Star by R. Garcia y Robertson In recent years most ofMr. Garcias contributions to our pages have been fantasy stories including the Markovyadventures. A novel entitled Firebird related to the story of the same name has just beenpublished. With this new tale Mr. Garcia shifts gears to give us a science fiction story witha cinematic feel to it. Scarecrow Amy stared out her bedroom window as the summer sun settled into the flat cornfields spreadinggold fire over the green sea of leaves. Her red hair caught the slanting light giving her afiery orange halo. Alert brown eyes searched for the first evening star. Amy ached to make awish. Tonight she was twelve for the last time. Tomorrow was her birthday and tomorrow eveningwould be her wedding night. Leaning farther out the second floor window straining to see astar Amy rehearsed her wish. She wanted to be eleven again or even ten with her wedding dayyears away. Amy was not in the least ready for marriage. Especially to some stranger threetimes her age--if she was lucky. What a ghastly thought. She would much rather shovel manurewith a spoon. But no one gave her that choice. Fat chance. Everyone acted like marrying some strange man wastotally natural. No one saw it her way not Mom not Lilith not Delilah or Dot. Tuck andNathan were boys and naturally no help. And Dad had two teenage brides himself--one of themfrom Amys grade. So she appealed to the evening star since no one else would listen. There it was a glowing speck low in the north just over the shoulder of the scarecrow at theedge of the cornfield. A real star for sure too far from the sun to be Venus. From the housethe fence line ran due north and the star was right where Polaris would be but lower andbrighter. She made her wish at once quotStar light star bright first star I see tonight saveme from wedded blight. I wish I may I wish I might be nine again tonight.quot As if in answer the star shone brighter becoming plainly visible instead of just a speck.Astounding since there was no star that bright to the north. That had to mean her wish