The sky was falling. At least, Ann imagined as much as she stood with her back to the ancient stones of Hadrian's Wall.

It was such a dark, cloudless evening; even the most distant stars were visible without the moon obscuring their light. Yes, Ann could barely see the camera and strap hanging from her neck, never mind the telescope sitting on its tripod.

Her parents had gifted her the camera on her sixteenth birthday, so with the thing being nine years old; it was no wonder it wouldn't connect to her state-of-the-art telescope. Not that it would stop her from trying, of course.

She was still unplugging cables in a frenzy, cursing and rapping the side of the camera, when she heard someone approaching. Ann had forgotten she wasn't alone until her fellow friend and Astronomer Lilly came trudging back over the rough terrain holding a well-aged bottle of Shiraz.

'What?' Lilly demanded. 'It's not like we're underage. Plus, you know as well as I do that there's no fun in stargazing without good wine.'

Ann chuckled. 'I prefer to see my stars, but thanks.'

Lilly persisted. 'Don't get all judgemental on me. It's bloody freezing out here, and we need something to warm us up.'

Ann shook her head this time. 'We're in the north of England. It's always cold. Anyway, you shouldn't have brought that here. Wine and History are not a good mix.'

Lilly went to pick up the two glasses sitting at the top of her backpack, pointedly ignoring Ann. Then her jaw dropped as she watched them roll onto the patchy yellow grass.

She sighed with relief when the glasses didn't shatter and tried again. Only this time, she remembered to yank one of the wool mittens off her hand first. Of course, she had to shove Ann's glass in her face for her to get the hint. 'You'd rather I drank both?'

Ann paused before sliding her camera back into its worn-looking case and bowed so low she almost toppled. 'I humbly accept this fine offering,' she noticed Lilly staring up into the starlit sky mid-pour and had to snatch the bottle and glass from her before the whole lot spilt. 'What is it? What's wrong?'

Lilly pointed toward the southern skyline, and as Ann followed her gaze, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Sirius A, The Dog Star, was already the brightest in the sky, much larger than its dying counterpart Sirius B, but now it appeared ready to explode. It wasn't blinking blue and white as it did the last time Ann had seen it; now, it was flashing through what seemed like every colour of the rainbow, again and again, each burst more chaotic-looking than the last.

'This is normal,' Lilly insisted, sounding relieved. 'You see? Sirius behaves like this all the time or did since it happened roughly nine years ago, and the light is only just now reaching us.'

'That's mind-blowing.'

'But still normal.'

Ann leaned in for a closer look at the tablet, unwilling to take her friend's word.

'Fine,' Lilly barked, stubbing her fingers against the screen. 'Sirius is known as the multicoloured twinkling star. Supposedly, its light refracts as it passes through a planet's atmosphere. Satisfied?'

'Hardly.'

Lilly chuckled. 'Well, at least you were right about one thing. Wine and Astronomy don't mix.'

'That's not quite what I'd said about wine. And I don't care what the textbook says; that star's not twinkling. Come on, look at it,' Ann pointed again. 'That's not normal. It can't be.'

Lilly patted Ann on the shoulder. 'You're mistaken. It does happen sometimes.'

Inwardly fuming, Ann bent her eye closer to the telescope lens, hoping to drown out her friend's voice. 'One second.'

'Did you say something?' Lilly asked a few minutes later, her wine glass pressed to her face.

Ann pulled away from the scope with difficulty, seemingly fighting the urge to keep looking. 'There were four one-second flashes of light. Then a pause and another one-second flash of light. Don't you see what this is?'

Lilly puffed out her cheeks with the light from Ann's torch, under-lighting her face as if she was the villain in some bad movie. 'What am I not seeing?'

Ann tilted her friend's head until she gazed in the right direction. 'There! It's Morse Code with light.'

Lilly snorted into her drink. 'You've got to be kidding? And who, pray do tell, could be signalling us from the Great Beyond? We're talking about a star that's over two-hundred and thirty-seven million-year-old. A star! Last I checked, stars don't speak Morse. They don't communicate at all because they're stars.'

Ann knew what she'd discovered, she also knew how ridiculous it sounded, but she couldn't ignore it. 'Pass me your tablet.'

Lilly rolled her eyes. 'Why?'

'My camera won't work, and I want to record a video using the telescope as a guide.'

She handed the device over without a fuss but still shook her head. 'You're hopeless. I admit, I thought it odd at first, but now, I know we're wasting our time here.'

'But, we came to Hadrian's Wall to star gaze.'

'We came because the entire class did, and I joined because I said I'd help you find a project for your dissertation, but I don't think this is it. Why not study Proxima Centauri or anything else?'

Ann sighed. 'Everything else is or has been studied to death, Lilly. I need something different.'

'Fair enough.' She replied, walking back down the hill.

Ann's heart sank. 'You're not leaving, are you?'

'Of course, I'm not leaving! But we have to tell the Professor that we need more time.'

Ann checked her watch, amazed that it'd been hours since they'd arrived. 'Can you still see the others?'

'I can barely see you, not to mention those damn wild sheep over there. Give me a minute.'

The Astronomy Professor and the other four students who'd come with them had seemingly moved further along Hadrian's Wall, but why they'd not said anything was a mystery, not to mention cruel.

Ann didn't dare turn away from where she stood, facing down the sloping hill. She was so scared that she couldn't help but squint at every shift in the shadows or rustle of nearby trees.

Even the cattle were now silent, which was most unsettling. 'Lilly.' She whispered, hoping that her friend might still somehow hear her.
Nobody could hear her, though. Ann was alone with only Lilly's distant torchlight to keep her company.

The star Sirius A began flashing brighter than ever, demanding Ann's attention, so she quickly connected the tablet and telescope before pressing the video record button. 'Okay, what is it you want to tell me, Sirius? What could be so important?' Ann realised she was talking to herself this time and didn't care.

Sure enough, the pattern was repetitive. Four one-second flashes of light would be four dots if Ann's memory served her right. 'H? Okay. Keep them coming.'

A one-second flash of light arrived next, following a pause. 'E.'

A one-second flash of light that grew brighter than the rest came next, followed by a pause and a prolonged burst of light that lasted three seconds.

Then came another break in the pattern, a one-second flash, and another before the same sequence was repeated.

Ann felt herself sweating now despite the cold wind battering her skin. Still, she continued to transcribe the lettering. 'LL? It has to be.'

Her heart was hammering so hard she could hear every beat. Then there came further rustling from behind, though much closer this time. Still, Ann didn't dare turn around.
Instead, she focused on Sirius. 'A three-second flash, another one and another. What are you trying to tell me?!'

No sooner had she yelled did the Morse Code start over, leaving her to work through the lettering in her head. And she had to go over it several times to be sure she'd gotten it right. 'Hello. That can't be it-' Ann's breath caught as she realised the implications.
Her mind was racing. 'Hello. You're saying hello to me?!'

'Who's saying hello?'

'Professor, I-' Out of the corner of her eye, Ann noticed, to her dismay, that the star Sirius had stopped blinking so erratically.

The Professor shook his head when he noticed the still full wine glass resting on the ground. 'Lilly said you needed more time, but I think you've had enough already. Ten minutes, Ann; if you don't have your dissertation proposal in mind by then, you may never have it.'

Ann wanted to scream, and she nearly did when she noticed her video wasn't there. The device had recorded something, but the footage was black with no stars in sight, yet as she went to take one last look at Sirius, she could have sworn the star blinked if only to mess with her.

Was Humanity alone in the universe? Or were there other intelligent lifeforms out there, after all? Those questions would stay with Ann for years, but because of them, she'd never give up the hope that they were patiently waiting for another moment to say hello.