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This was Masuria. Vast lakes fragrant with fish, long stretches of coastal reeds, wooden jetties, forests and sunshine. Hundreds of different yachts, both beautiful, gleaming, and stately, and more modest, simpler ones. A swarm

of white sails gliding gracefully ahead. This was Masuria. Sailing harbors with neatly placed boats, stumps of masts, lively conversations, the laughter of crews – experienced sailors, long-time regulars, but also those just beginning their encounter with the great lakes. Campfires and guitars at dusk. Vacation time, adventure time, time for new experiences and experiences. Cooking on the stove in the cockpit, the discomfort of sleeping on a bunk, clearing the ropes, morning washes in cool water. And then just set the sails and set off. Amid the squawking of grebes, to new lands, new ports, new people and events. It was Masuria.

We were settling in for bed, moored wildly in a small bay among the reeds. The wind swayed the tree branches, the water gently lapped against the sides. I decided to leave the mess hall to soak up the atmosphere. The reeds trembled around us, rustling gently. Otherwise, it was quiet. And empty. Only we, lost somewhere in some charming cove, were getting ready for sleep, a moment's respite from the constant stream of new impressions. Night. The faint outlines of the tree line on the opposite side of the water. I looked up instinctively...

It was almost shocking. Completely incomprehensible. I'd never seen anything like it before. Clouds of bright dots, separated by patches of dark blue sky. Millions of stars from east to west, south to north. A bright streak, like mist, stretched across the dome above me. The Milky Way. Our galaxy. Silence, night, stars. No artificial light. I stared up, completely transfixed by the sight. But they were also in the water. They rippled gently, shimmering in the ripples of the lake. A vast expanse of glowing dots was within reach. Like a vast stage set above the heads of astonished spectators.

But no. It was quite real. In a split second, somewhere in the east, a bright line crossed the sky. A meteorite. A distant piece of cosmic matter burning in the atmosphere. Or maybe not? Perhaps it was a shooting star, meaning something, portending something. Perhaps it had splashed silently in the lake and would now shine down there, not just for us humans. And what? What about what I see? Where...

Where did all this come from, from whose hand, why did it come into being? How important must a tiny and uneducated person be if all this is for them? How much someone must love an inconspicuous and limited person if they gave them this space, these stars. These lakes, forests, reeds. All this beauty we don't see. Only in a moment of silence, a stillness of thought, sometimes do we experience boundless astonishment. Is this for me? Who am I? Why so much? I can't cope with myself, I have so many problems, I'm often not okay. After all... Is this for me? I mean so much? Yes—it's hard to believe. That so much. For us, these views, this space, the sky, the stars. For us, the ability to see it, to feel it. We mean so much. Simply put. We are not just anyone, living here on Earth, a grain of sand in the desert. We are not forgotten, lost in space, alone, hurtling blindly around the sun. But it takes a moment like this to understand it. A brief moment of awareness.

Because sometimes it happens that you can "touch" the world. Feel that you're not alone. And all you have to do is look around, here, on the lakes. Is it? It's incredible—you're not wrong. There's something in these forests, the reeds, the birds, in this water. In the vast, starry sky above me. Something. You see it, it's right before your eyes. Do you feel it? Yes—I felt it everywhere.

It was night. A beautiful Masurian night amidst a thousand lakes, hills, and pine-deciduous forests. And there I was, with my companions on this sailing adventure, here, in this moment, at this time, in this place.

I don't know how long I stood there, staring at the sky. Finally, I climbed into my sleeping bag on the bunk and wrapped myself tightly. And only one intrusive thought slowly wandered through my mind, smiling mysteriously.

Who am I?