Star sized reddish orange glowing sphere seen hovering, floating, and disappearing in Escondido's night sky.

It was around 12 that night that I had left a friends house and walked down the street to wait for a ride.
Minutes later I noticed a small red/orange glowing orb or sphere in the sky up high and off the horizon.  I was surprised by this due to the fact that it was not a clear night, but instead one with rather low visibility having only a few stars in the sky. At first I thought it was mars, but then quickly dismissed that as the hovering object began to move across the sky about the same speed as a plane, yet with no flashing lights or noise just a silent steady glow.  The object continued to float across the sky in an upward zig zag pattern for a few minutes, which made me think it could have been a red chinese lantern, but I could tell by the size ratio in the sky and the high altitude it was at that this could not be possible.
As it approached a nearby star the object stayed motionless, let off a white glow and then faded into a dim light (that could have been mistaken as a star) and then ultimately disappeared and vanished into thin air.
After its disappearance I was left in shock feeling uneasy, and overwhelmed, the experience even led me to tears.  Although the whole event only lasted roughly 3 to 5 minutes it changed my life forever.
Witness elects to remain totally anonymous; provides no contact information.  PD