Chapter One

This is the first chapter for the Wishing Star

She could lead the masses with a single word or calm a raging storm with a single look. Forest fires blazed in her eyes, ravaging all that stood in her way. As she walked, the earth shuddered underneath her touch. Silence hung around her, as if the air itself stood in awe of her with bated breath. She stood towering over her peers with her sheer presence alone. Students and teachers alike scurried away from her, like cockroaches from an unexpected bright light. I could see the emptiness in her eyes. I could see the loneliness and pain that grew with each passing day.  Every lonely monster needs a companion, although, she was far from a monster, but a lingering presence from an age long past. She belong far away from this world of the mundane. She belonged in a world that still shimmered with untold promise, not half-drained like a prisoner of an invading parasite. My heart ached every time I was blessed to exchange paths with her.  I longed for the day that I could approach her, but I scarcely dared to wish such a thing into existence, but as the universe and all of its galaxies would have it, that day came several millennia sooner than I thought.

 

* * *

 

I perched on the highest point of the rafters, hiding from the world literature professor. I hadn’t meant to start a riot while studying French literature, but the words just slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. The librarians never glanced this far up, so for now I was safe. I sighed and soundlessly drummed my fingers against the wooden beam beneath me, preparing for another long, lonely night away from home. A sneeze caught me off guard. I glanced down to library floor to see a young woman with messy, shoulder-length mahogany hair and blue eyes that shone as brightly as the stars back home, framed by thick, black, rectangular-framed glasses. She sneezed again, her glasses slid slightly down her nose. She leaned her head against a bookshelf. Her shoulders slumped as her book bag clattered to the floor. No one said anything as they silently brushed past her. My interest piqued as I watched her slide to the floor and rest her forehead against her knees. As I crept forward, craning my neck over the side of the beam, she sniffled, then brought the sleeve to her gray twilled sweater to rub the tears off of her face. One of the librarians came towards her, gently telling her that the library was closing soon. I quietly swiveled, then backtracked to the disused bookshelf I used to scale up to the rafters, climbing down them swiftly. Peeking around the corner, I watched as the girl took a shuddering breath, wiped away a few lingering tears, then shakily rose to her feet. I quietly crept closer, watching out for anyone else. Seeing that there was no one else, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, but without looking up, she turned and engulfed me into a hug, burying her face into my shoulder. I could hear the nearby clock tick with each crescendo of my heartbeat.

“I knew you would be here. I’ve seen you in the rafters before. You’re the one who stole my glasses back from Brandon.”  A slight heat rose to my cheeks. Those were her glasses?

I stared down at her, startled.  Her arms constricted tighter as a warm wetness bled through the fabric of my shirt. The girl trembled. Quiet sobs snuck passed her lips, causing my heart to wrench with each sound.

“Shhh, shhh. It’ll be alright. You’ll see.” I wrapped my own arms around her a little tighter, unsure of what else to do. After a while, the sobs evened out into shaky breaths. Her grip loosened as her frame relaxed. I held her a little closer and swayed. Silence hung in the air for a brief moment. “I may not be a doctor, but it seems to me that you are suffering from a serious lack of hugs.”

She laughed, the hiccupped. The sound of it startled me. It was beautiful, as if her soul was truly happy with the tinkling sounds it created. I never before heard a human laugh like that, then again, with a closer inspection, she was different than most humans. She felt more alive than anything else on this desolate planet. I almost felt warm, warmer than I had ever experienced, before it went away when she pulled back.

Could this be her? Could this be the one that will help me to be a wishing star? My heart leapt then sank at the thought. I couldn’t survive another let down. Not another heartbreak. This could prove fatal. Stars die from heartbreak and are born of love.

“Are you okay?”  Those twinkling, star fire eyes met mine.

“Yes, just lost in thought. I must off before the world literature professor finds you embracing me. I may or may not have started a reenactment of Les Miserable in his class earlier, barricade and all. I wouldn’t want you to be guilty by association.”

She sighed and dropped her forehead to rest it on my shoulder, withdrawing her arms from me in the process. Panic swept through me as a coldness replaced the warmth.

“Although, if that does not deter you, I would love to have your company for a little while longer, if that’s what you wish of course.” I looked at her hopefully, already drawn to her as a moth to a flame from the short time I stood in her presence. I could feel my heart soften with her smile as she returned mine. This could be the start of something different… something warmer… better…

“I would like that very much, thank you.” She wrapped her arms around herself and glanced up shyly. I swept my foot back gracefully as I dipped into a bow.

“I would be honored by your presence milady.” A teasing smile danced on the corners of my lips as I glanced up through my fringe of hair and winked. Her lips twitched as a joyful smile blossomed in return on her lips. She blushed. Something inside of me fluttered at the sight of it.

“Okay.” She bit her lip, trying not to giggle at the sight. I straightened and extended a hand towards her as her smiler grew ever more radiant. She placed her hand into mine and drew close.

“Where to, milady?” She buried her face into my arm as she laced her fingers though mine.

“There’s a park not too far from here. If it’s not too snowy, that’d be the perfect place to go.” I bent down to collect her book bag and placed it on my shoulder.

Reviews

[Mychaos]

A lovely start. Definitely caught my interest, I would love to read the rest.