The Fifth Star Serve — Under the soft hum of the school lights, Vera rubbed a chilly volleyball against her yellow shirt. Read the full story →
Under the soft hum of the school lights, Vera rubbed a chilly volleyball against her yellow shirt. She wanted every ball warm before the team arrived, because cold balls made hands sting. Thump, rub, thump, rub. Then something silver fluttered from the net cord and landed on her sleeve.
It was a tiny moth with dusty wings, shivering in the gym air. “Need a warm spot?” Vera whispered. She tucked it beside the little cloth star she had sewn over a rip in her number five jersey. The moth rested there while Vera warmed all five balls, one by one, and no one came in to see. When the others finally burst through the doors, the moth flew up, leaving the star softly glowing. Ever since then, the player who carries the fifth warm ball wears a star, and if you peek at this jersey, you might find where the kindness settled.
