Our Meeting Under the Stars

Caleb begins to have an odd dream every night. An empty landscape, stars, and mysterious girl. However, there's more to the story than meets the eye. Will Caleb discover the truth?

I can’t quite remember when the dreams first began.

I’d find myself in the middle of nowhere, on a grassy landscape. It was night, and bright stars were scattered in the sky. A cool breeze would go by, blowing my hair ever so slightly. I’d look around, and notice a girl sitting on the grass. She had long blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. She wore a white dress, and held her legs to her chest.

I called out to her. “Hello?”

She looked up at me, almost surprised to see me there. Then she smiled gently, and patted the ground next to her. I took a seat, and looked up at the stars.

“What’s your name?”

I looked at her, taken aback. Her voice was soft, almost fragile in a way.

“Caleb.”

“Nice to meet you, Caleb, my name’s Lucy.”

Lucy. The name suited her so well it was as if it were made especially for her.

“Why are you out here by yourself?”

She almost seemed to flinch at the question, but she smiled anyways.

“I can’t remember anything from before I was here. All I can recall is loud voices, sirens, and screaming.”

I looked at her, but she turned her head to avoid my stare.

“Sorry.”

She turned to me and smiled again. “You don’t have to apologize.”

She stood up and brushed off her dress, then offered me her hand, pulling me to my feet.

“Well Caleb, I think it’s time you went home. I hope to see you again.”

She released my hand, and a strong gust of wind blew. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again I was in my bed, the alarm on my nightstand blaring. I switched it off and lied there, thinking of Lucy, and our meeting under the stars.

That night, I had the same dream. I saw Lucy, and she greeted me sweetly. We talked of our lives, her sharing the small parts she could remember. She lived alone. Her mother had died of an illness when she was little, and her father and little brother had died in a car accident. I told her how I lived with my father and little sister, and that my father was a bad drunk. I felt relaxed and confident with Lucy, like I could tell her anything. No matter what we talked about, even if it was a bad memory, she could just smile at me, and all my troubles would go away.

When I’d wake up in the mornings after saying goodbye to Lucy, I felt somewhat empty inside. As the dream continued every night, the void in my heart increased. I began to spend most of my time sleeping, just so I could talk to her again.

One night I performed an experiment, to see if I could bring things into my dream. I grabbed a chocolate bar, and held it while I tried to sleep. When I opened my eyes, I saw Lucy staring at me curiously, eyeing my hands. I held the chocolate bar. I explained my experiment to her, then handed the candy to her. She opened the wrapper and took a bite, her eyes lighting up.

“That’s delicious! What is it?”

I was surprised. “You mean you don’t know what chocolate is?”

She made a pouty face. “Of course I know what chocolate is! It’s this stuff!” she cried, waving the bitten chocolate bar in my face.

I laughed, and watched her take another bite. She stopped, broke off half of it, and handed it to me. I thanked her, and ate it delightfully. We sat in silence for a while, eating the chocolate and looking up at the stars.

Things continued like that. I’d bring things with me when I went to bed, and then I’d show it to Lucy. Books, toys, candy, you name it. As I continued to have the dream, I slowly began to notice a change in Lucy. Everytime I saw her, it seemed like she was becoming more pale, and sickly looking. There was one time where we sat in silence the whole time because she was too tired to even talk. I asked her about it, but she said it was nothing, and changed the subject.

One night, as Lucy and I talked, I looked up at the stars and noticed something different. There were less stars than usual. On the first night I had come here, it was as if there were an endless amount of stars. But now there was over half of the stars missing. I’d check the sky every time I visited her. More stars would be missing, and I’d catch a glimpse of a star flickering before finally, it went out. Lucy became weaker and weaker, being unable to stand at some point. I helped her walk, hoping to strengthen her legs. She got the hang of it, but it took several visits before she could finally walk on her own. After that, we spent our nights strolling around, as to not weaken her legs anymore.

It had been almost a year since the first dream. Lucy didn’t seem to be getting any healthier. She also seemed to be bothered by something. I wanted to enliven her, so I made a plan.

That night, holding the product of my plan, I went to bed, and entered the dream. When I opened my eyes, Lucy was looking up at me.

“Welcome back,” she said, in a weak, frail voice.

I smiled and nodded. “I have something I want to show you.”

She curiously stood up, and walked beside me. I pulled out a jar that had a cover over the lid. I took the cover off and held out the jar. An abundance of fireflies flew out, shining almost as brightly as stars. Lucy’s eyes widened as she watched the fireflies dance around. She smiled, and stared in awe at the magnificent spectrum. I looked at her. She looked beautiful with the wind lightly blowing her hair, and the light of the fireflies glimmering in her eyes. Slowly, I took her hand in mine. She looked at me in surprise. As we stared at each other for a moment, we leaned towards each other. Our mouths brushed up against each others lips. As we pulled away, she smiled, tears in her eyes.

“Lucy?”

She quickly wiped the tears away. “I’m fine.”

We said our goodbyes, and I awoke in my bed.

The next night, when I entered the dream, I immediately knew something was odd. There were no stars in the sky, and the sun was setting. Lucy sat on the grass, staring into the horizon. She looked up at me, and smiled sadly. Her cheeks were stained from previous tears. She stood up and walked towards me. She was just as healthy as the day I’d met her.

“I remember everything now.”

My eyes widened. She had her memories back?

She took a deep breath, and began to explain. “It was after school. I was walking home. I looked across the street, and saw a girl being hassled by some boys. They suddenly grabbed her, and I ran across the street to help her. But before I knew it, a car came, and I got hit. I was half conscious for a short time. The boys ran away, and the girl called an ambulance. I remember thinking 'I can’t die yet. There’s so much I still want to do. I want to find love.' Then I was out. I’ve been at the hospital in a coma since then. The doctors have finally come to the conclusion that I’m not going to wake up, so they are unplugging me today.”

I could only hear half of what she was saying. Was this for real? No, that couldn’t be. This has all been a dream since the very beginning? Right?

Tears were in her eyes now, and she took both of my hands in hers.

“Lucy. This isn’t true right?” I gasped. “This has always just been a dream!”

She shook her head. “I saw you after I was hit by the car. I followed you home, and saw how hard your family life was. Your father always bullied you and your little sister. I was worried for you, so I could go into your dreams and try to make you happy.”

I held back the tears, and she squeezed my hands.

“But you were the one who made me happy. You showed me things nobody else had. You fulfilled my dying wish.”

I looked at her, confused. She smiled.

“You gave me love.”

I couldn’t hold back the tears this time, and I cried as I embraced her. I pulled out of the hug and kissed her for the very time. She backed away, and smiled at me, tears streaming down her face. The sun had finally risen after a year. It gleamed behind her.

“Caleb.”

I looked at her.

“Thank you.”

    I never had the dream again. The morning after the last dream, I read the newspaper, and discovered the truth. A girl named Lucy Samson had been hit by a car, and was in a coma for nearly a year. The medication wasn’t making her any better, and she got worse. Eventually, the doctors called it quits. She died this morning at 6:00 AM.

After learning the details of her gravesite, I paid her a visit. Her grave was crisp clean. However, nobody had left anything for her. I leaned down to read the writing on the headstone. “In Loving Memory of Lucy Samson. Beloved Daughter, Sister, and Friend. 1994-2010.” I glanced at the other headstones. They were also blank. “Candace Samson”, “Richard Samson”, “James Samson.” They must be Lucy’s family that died. I took three flowers out of the bouquet I had brought, and placed one at each of the headstones. I placed the rest of the flowers on Lucy’s grave. As I placed them there, I secretly made a wish. No, more like a hope. A hope that Lucy, wherever she was, remembered the chocolate, the jar of fireflies, and our meeting under the stars.

Author's Note

I hope you enjoy!

Reviews

[Iain L. Luen]

Nice read. This is my kind of story. I was afraid you were going to end it like the movie Carrie. It was beautifully ended.

[Riley Justine]

Sweet, simple, and amazing. Everything about this is absolutely perfect. Sadly romantic. I love it.

[Not here]

this was a really sweet story!

[Jennie Baron]

I enjoyed this story immensely and was very touched. The power of love can even overcome death! I'll not soon forget this story and I was glad Mila brought my attention to it. The way it developed was practically perfect. Definitely deserving of a contest prize.

[Mila]

Congratulations on winning The February Short Story contest! It was well earned!

-Mila

[Crazycatgirl_10]

Wow. That is the first thing that came to my head when I first read this. It is so sad. I really loved this. It is perfect in my opinion.

[x~Maxine~x]

Amazing, Chloe! I love this piece so much! I wish I had as much talent as you! :)

[Chloe]

Don't say that! You're an amazing writer! I love your poem by the way, keep up the great work!

[x~Maxine~x]

Thank you!