In the 1990s, the idea of something like Starlink—a network of satellites flying in formation—was purely speculative. Yet, in 1993, I had an experience that felt eerily similar to what one might describe today when recounting a sighting of those satellites.

That year, I was on a memorable Christmas shopping trip with my half-brothers, who were much older but never felt like anything but brothers to me. My oldest brother had just gotten his driver’s license, and my middle brother rode along to supervise. I was nestled in the backseat, the car filled with the energetic sounds of “I Got the Power,” as they jammed out, the atmosphere light despite my mother’s worried reminders for my brother to drive carefully.

Just as we prepared to make a turn, disaster struck—we were involved in a serious accident. I remember being thrown against the window as the car rolled, a moment of chaos that left us shaken but miraculously unharmed. The kind paramedics who arrived brought comfort with stuffed animals for the kids, and I clutched a calico teddy bear as we were sent home from the hospital, a tangible reminder of our brush with danger.

Later that night, my brother, my father, and I gazed up at the sky. I had long since stopped believing in Santa Claus, but something extraordinary caught my eye. I saw a series of lights dashing across the night, resembling a sleigh in flight. They moved so quickly that we could count the individual lights—nine of them, just like Santa’s reindeer. We exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what we had just witnessed.

In that moment, the spectacle felt miraculous, especially considering how we had narrowly escaped a serious accident just hours before. I didn’t force myself to believe in Santa, but I was filled with a sense of wonder—a belief in something magical. That year, all I wanted was a special baby doll, and I received it, which felt like another small miracle amidst the chaos. The memory of that night, with its mysterious lights cutting through the darkness, remains etched in my mind, a vivid reminder of the unexpected and the extraordinary that life can offer.

Or… perhaps we just hit our heads too hard in the accident lol