Peter set down the sonic wrench and looked at the hologram projecting from the card on the workbench. He’d finally tuned the satellite correctly and the heart-shaped galaxy hung in the air before him, twinkling and flashing. Must be interference, he thought, before closing the card and slipping it into an envelope.

***

“Peter,” his mother called as he entered the front door, “can you take a look at the card you gave me? Something’s wrong with it. The picture is gone.”

***

He’d checked and rechecked a dozen times, the satellite hadn’t shifted, the signal was clear. The galaxy had disappeared.