Starry SkyA Story by Rhemaebel Emily is a little girl who searches for her star in the starry sky. Will she be able to find her one star out of billions or will the cruel hands of death reach her first? The
Starry Sky (Revision
for the submission and entry in the contest: Any short Story) By:
Rhemaebel Gonzales Cordova Twilight. In
the Town of Avodroc the day has ended and the townsfolk retired to the comforts
of their homes. People were walking home, stores were closing and houses were
lighting. There weren’t any bright lights in Avodroc like the cities. But
unlike the cities, this small town had an art that no painter can ever
perfectly recreate. In the dark sky there are specks of light that fade in and
out every millisecond. You can see small bits of light piercing through the
darkness. The town had a magnificent view of stars with their radiance
intricately designed through the night sky-but not everyone was happy with the
faint lights in this town. A little girl named Emily
was underneath her cover covers trembling with fear. She wanted to sleep but
every time she’d come close to falling asleep the noises from outside would
make her eyes snap open. The howls of the hound made her remember of frightful
things and the creaking of the branches, just outside of her window, slowly
creeps through her imagination of a beast in rage. The darkness and noises from
outside triggered her anxiety. In another attempt to
fall asleep she heard light footsteps gradually becoming louder and closer. She
shut her eyes, covered her ears, and took short breaths. Her door slowly
creaked open and before she knew it her protective blanket was taken off. “Mommy! Daddy!” She
automatically screamed at the top of her voice. “There’s a monster” and with
every syllable of her cry for help she gasped for air but the tears from her
closed eyes were swept away by gentle fingers And a velvet voice
answered her plea “Yes Emily? I don’t see any monsters here.” Recognizing the soft voice of her mom she
opened her vivid blue eyes adjusted them to see clearly that she was correct
and her eyes met with her mom’s similar to hers as blue as the ocean. She
embraced her mom tightly and felt safe underneath the warmth of her arms. Her mom tried to calm
her down by stroking her long, silky, blonde hair. “Emily dear, why
aren’t you asleep yet? Do you want mommy to turn off the lights?” her mom
asked. “No mommy, it’ll be
too dark.” She immediately replied “But how will you go
to sleep with the bright lights hurting your eyes?” her mom reasoned. “Mommy I’m scared of
the dark!” Emily protested. Her mom scooped her
up and turned off Emily’s light. She embraced her mom tighter and kept her eyes
closed afraid of whatever might come out of the dark. “Emily…” her mom
chided “…open your eyes” Emily hesitantly followed her mom’s instruction and
took a glimpse of her room. To her surprise her room wasn’t that dark. In fact,
the effects of light and dark amazed her. The light makes her and her mom’s
ivory, soft skin glow. Emily wondered where
the light was coming from there was no sun because it was night time. To her
knowledge “Mr. Sun” had to sleep every night to wake little girls and boys the
next morning. “Did Mr. Sun wake up
already?” Emily asked. “Of course not Emily
it’s just that Miss Luna the moon and the stars are lighting the dark sky” her
mom playfully answered. “Miss Luna? The
Stars?” she raised her eyebrows “You see the big
round silver ball in the sky?” her mom pointed out the window up to the sky. “That’s the moon and
every time Mr. Sun goes to sleep she wakes up and lights up the whole world”
her mom added. “And how about the
stars?” she asked again. “See those little
dots in the sky twinkling?” at once Emily peered out of her window and stared where
her mom was pointing. Sure enough she found them. It was difficult not to miss
since there were billions of them up in the sky. “Yes” Emily replied
in a mystified voice. “Well those are
stars. Do you know why they’re up there?” Emily just shook her head still
dazzled by the beauty of the stars. “They’re people’s
guiding light. God placed them there so that people who would lose their way in
the depths of darkness could know how to return home to Him.” Her mom told her. “And also Emily the
stars are here to keep little girls and boys safe from harm. So you mustn’t
worry.” Emily beamed at the thought that there was something that God created
especially for her. “I wonder… Where’s my
guiding star?” Emily scanned the sky looking for an indication that would point
out her star. “Emily my dear little
angel, you’ll find it soon.” Her mom cuddled her tighter. Ever since that night Emily kept looking up at
the sky and her mom would check up on her and ask her if she’d found her star.
Then Emily right on cue would say “Not yet”. Every night she would keep looking
at the sky and fall asleep next to her opened window. Her father, after a
few weeks of lifting Emily and tucking her to bed -only to find out a bit later
that she’d woken up and stared at the sky again, decided to simply move her bed
to a perfect angle that shows the night sky out her window. Every night Emily would look outside her
window clutched in her arms her favorite pink stuffed animal rabbit ”Mira” and
wait for her mom to come and kiss her good night or to tell a story about the
stars again. This was her sign that she’d stop her search for tonight and
continued on the next night and she’d fall asleep. One evening, “But Doctor we
thought she’d get better if we’d moved out from the city where she’d find fresh
air and…” Mr. Cousland trailed off confused and aggravated “I’m sorry Mr.
Cousland but I only said it would be a slim chance and according to the test
results she only has…” “There’s no need for
you to finish your sentence doctor.” Mrs. Cousland cut in. “But Honey no! Don’t
just…” “I simply wish she
could find and show me her star before the time comes.” Mrs. Cousland whispered
to herself “Don’t say such
things… NO!” Emily’s father shouted out of anger. “Mommy?” Emily,
wearing her pink pajamas and a pair of bunny slippers, appeared in the living
room she was tightly embracing Mira. “I heard daddy
shouting. Is daddy angry?” she murmured. “I’m sorry daddy woke
you up my dear Emily” Her dad tried to say this in calm tone but couldn’t hide
the tension in his voice to the point that he just sat perfectly stiff. “Emily” her mom stood
up from the sofa and knelt down to Emily. “You smell like mom’s
favorite flowers, pink carnations.” Her mom hugged her and enjoyed the
fragrance of her little angel. Emily wondered why her mom suddenly brought up
her favorite flower. “I’ll take you to
your room now say Good night to daddy and Doctor Avalon.” Emily obediently said
good night to them and kissed her dad. When both of them
arrived at Emily’s room, Emily quickly lay on her bed and her mom followed her
at a slower pace. “Emily have you found
your star yet?” her mom asked again for the nth time. “Nope” her usual
response “Is Mira keeping you
company?” “Yes, I don’t feel
lonely if Mira’s around thank you for your Christmas gift mommy.” “You’re welcome” her
mom sighed deeply and started “Emily, you know they
say that people who’ve already left our world are up there with the stars” “Left? Why did they
leave mommy?” she asked. “Well Emily nothing
in this world is permanent it has a beginning and an end” Emily looked at her
mom’s pale face, her weak hands trembling, her cheeks flushed out and looked
warn out, her lips cracked and tears were rushing down from eyes. Emily traced
with her tiny forefinger the deepened circles underneath her mom’s eyes. She
was curious why her mom kept her head wrapped with a turban and how her mom
gotten so much thinner. It’s only now that she has noticed these dramatic
changes in her mom. “Emily?” her mom’s
voice seemed so uneasy, croaky, and in pain it didn’t sound like her. “Do you want me to
sing you a lullaby?” Emily hesitated for awhile and nodded in silence. She
moved closer to her mom enclosing herself once again to her mom’s safe embrace
drowning herself in her mother’s cherry blossom fragrance. Emily stared long
and hard at her mom’s face forgetting for awhile her search for her star
because she closed her eyes and her mother’s voice dragged Emily to sleep until
the sweet voice faded into a simple tune and her mom fell into a “deep”
slumber. The next night
Emily stayed awake starring at the starless sky. Where were the
stars? How come they weren’t here tonight? Were they hiding? Perhaps they were
too sleepy to come out today? But where was her mom? These questions kept her
awake. Her face was stiff emotionless. She doesn’t understand why but she
couldn’t hold back the tears that were flowing. Since yesterday night
Emily didn’t see her mommy. Her daddy told her that everything was going to be
alright he kept repeating it again and again but she could sense that there was
a doubtful tone in her father’s voice that she couldn’t quite comprehend. When
Emily finally fell asleep the sun was about rise and when she woke up it was about
to set. Emily feeling dizzy
because of her hunger and insomnia headed downstairs. She was dumbfounded with
the sight of a huge crowd inside their house. People were getting served with
small pastries and hot drinks. She hasn’t seen this much people since the Grand
reunion her parents hosted in Zelansville. Emily walked and squeeze through the
thick crowd and finally found her dad crying silently over a rectangular box as
big as their sofa designed with some candles and flower. “Daddy!” Emily cried
out unintentionally she didn’t know why but she can’t hold back and understand
what her feelings are. “Where’s mommy? Why
are there so many people here? What’s that box?” with each question she asked her
voice rose a few octaves and people’s voices started to fade out until it was
dead silence. The guests were looking at the father and daughter anticipating
what would happen next. “Emily dear, Mommy
went to sleep now” her dad answered with much heartbreaking tension. “Well we can wake her
up later then. Are we having a party? We should wake up mommy now because she
really loves to talk to people!” whispers soon floated inside the slowly
shrinking room and Emily became silent people began to sob, cry -suppressing
the tragic scene. “Daddy!” Emily
shouted again and her father didn’t move an inch away from that rectangular
prism. “Wake mommy up! Wake
her up now! Daddy!” and Emily threw a huge tantrum, she started sobbing and
rolling down the floor throwing away the cushions everywhere, trying to rip
apart anything that she had her hands on. She never threw a tantrum before -this
was the first time. She was never a
spoiled child and she’d understand that she could no longer have time to play
outside when it’s raining; she could understand why she can’t have any ice
cream when she’s sick; she understands that she needs to finish all her
vegetables; she understands why she can’t buy the pretty dress that’s too big
for her. But right now how
come she can’t comprehend a single thing. She doesn’t know why her father’s
crying. She doesn’t know why there were people inside her house. She doesn’t
know why her father refuses to wake her mom inside the rectangular box. But what she does
know is that she wants her mom right now. She wants to be in her mom’s warm
embrace; to smell the cherry blossom scent; to see her turquoise blue eyes and
to listen to her lullaby. That something her mother can’t do anymore because
she is dead. During the
funeral, the dark sky and spring’s icy breeze were getting heavier and chiller.
This gloomy weather wasn’t of any help to Emily’s mood. People around her would
try to cheer her up, offer her food and ask every few second whether she was
okay or not-which irritated her a lot to. Relatives were saying their last
farewells, mentioning how “Ema Cousland” was a good Friend, Best Friend, Aunt,
Cousin, Sister, Daughter and Wife. After their long speeches they’d place a
white daisy on top of her coffin. She remained silent in the whole ceremony
nodded and shook her head to random questions that were asked to her. She didn’t
care what her answers were and wasn’t paying the slightest attention. Not a single word escaped her mouth until… Her
mom’s coffin was now descending into a dug up rectangular hole. She looked up
and ran towards the men who were trying to fill the hole with soil. “Stop! No!” She
staggered. “Daddy, stop these
bad people! How will mommy come out if she wakes up!? ” Emily screamed waking
the whole cemetery to life. It took her a couple of hours until she calmed down
and by this time the hole was completely filled. Emily was back to her stoned face her father
managed to take her away from her mom’s grave and settle her inside her uncle’s
car. He promised her that he would come home as soon as he finished some
funeral papers. He gave Emily her “Mira” and gave a gentle kiss on the forehead. Soon after, one by one her cousins went inside
the car; she seems to be invisible to them since they were talking about the
last “Kitty Bon Bon” episode. She didn’t care her face was as blank as the time
she watched the starless sky. She looked up at the sky as if expecting stars to
appear during the day. Disappointed, she redirected her gaze to somewhere else
and that’s when she spotted them. The car’s door swung open and she ran out of
the car. It was an old woman
carrying a bouquet of flowers. The old lady was a bit far away from Emily so
after about several turns she was out of breath when she reached the elderly
woman. “Excuse me, how much
are those flowers?” she asked with all her might embracing her Mira as if it
were something that kept her together. “”I’m sorry little
one but these flowers aren’t for sale.” The old lady replied. “Please I’ll buy them
for…” Emily reached inside her pocket
and it was empty. “Here you can have
Mira.” She offered her pink stuffed bunny. “She’s very lovely, she smells
really nice and if you have nightmares she’ll keep them away and…and…” Emily
kept thinking for more reasons trying to negotiate with the old Lady. “Little girl where
are your parents?” the old woman asked. “My daddy is
arranging something and mommy” she pointed to the direction where her mom’s
grave was. “Some bad people buried her. My mommy is…” she paused for a bit and
forced back all the tears that were building up. “My mommy is dead”
tears now rolled down on Emily’s flushed cheeks. “Dead” Emily kept repeating
the word as if this word was something new to her. A word she’d never forget. Emily started to cry
while the old woman looked at her with pity written all over her aged face.
Here in front of her is a little girl willing to exchange her favorite toy for
some flowers to give to her mom who just passed away. At young age already
scarred with much painful memories-The elderly woman thought. The old lady
handed her three pink carnation flowers. “Thank you!” Emily
for the first time in a long while smiled. The muscles in her cheeks ached as
if it weren’t used for smiling. She dashed off as soon as she said goodbye to
the old lady. Remembering the turns she took Emily successfully reached her mom’s
final resting place. “Mommy I brought you
pink carnations it’s from a really nice old lady I’ve met.” She said aloud
narrating to her mom about what happened, Describing the details about the old
woman. She was with her mom but she was all alone, cold, tired and hungry yet
she doesn’t have the heart to leave her mom. She fell asleep on the ground
lying on top of her mom’s tombstone. When she woke up it
was already dark, the chilly gush of the wind was the only noise around, no one
was there a normal 6-years-old girl to be alone in a cemetery would be really
frightened. “Mommy?” she called
several times and the call for help were equivalent to several tears falling
from her eyes. She was hoping for someone to respond but not a single person
was inside the graveyard at that moment. “Shine as bright as
the Stars” Emily read the written words on her mom’s tombstone and at the exact
moment when she read the last word, “Stars”, a reflection of light from the
tombstone caught her eye. She looked and saw for the first time a star
shining brightest of all amongst the thousands of little lights in the dark
sky. She started to follow the star and just continued on walking in the
streets she stumbled again and again but every time she did not shed any tears.
She just kept walking and walking her eyes focused on the star. Meanwhile, at
14th street in Avodroc village house 8, Emily’s uncle and her father
were at the living room bickering on how Emily’s uncle could be so careless not
to notice a little girl missing inside his car. The conversation grew louder
and louder. Tired, stressed out and frustrated Mr. Cousland was panicking all
the relatives that were available already searched the cemetery, Emily’s
school, the park and all other places that Emily would’ve gone. He was
panicking he even slammed the phone when the police told him that he couldn’t
report a person to be missing without a 24-hours interval. Mr. Cousland sat
with his face buried in his hands when suddenly his brother looked out of the
window and said something that made Mr. Cousland turn hysterically and ran out
of the door. “Emily!” He lifted
Emily and held her really tight making sure that his daughter was there that he
wasn’t imagining things that she’s safe. He checked for injuries or a cold
Emily had a few scratches on her knees. “I’m sorry for
worrying you daddy.” Emily felt so tired and just laid her head in her father’s
shoulder. Her daddy carried his worn out child to her room tucked her in bed
and asked where she went. Emily related everything that happened from when she
got out of her uncle’s car to the old lady that gave her three pink carnations
which then she placed on her mom’s gravestone. “So how did you get
home?” her dad asked. “Mommy helped me”
with this reply her father wanted to ask so many follow up questions whether or
not Emily saw her mom’s spirit. But before he could’ve formulated the right
words to ask as to not scare his daughter Emily added to her story: “See that star daddy?
That’s shining so bright that’s mommy. Mommy told me that people leave are up
there with the stars maybe she became one. Stars in the sky are there to guide
people who have lost their way in darkness.” Both of them were
quite for awhile Emily kept looking at the stars and her dad was looking at
her. “Mommy, thank you for
being my guiding star” she whispered and with these last few words Emily closed
her eyes and felt relaxed. At long last everything’s done after all those
nights searching amongst the stars in the sky; the tears that trickled down her
flushed cheeks; the questions that nobody could answer and the silence and
confusion, now she could finally go to sleep because she now knows where her
guiding star is. That night in the
little town called Avodroc, billions of stars brightened the dark sky. Emily’s
guiding star shone down on her and made her feel safe and at peace because she
knows she’ll never get lost in darkness, in fear, in hatred, ever again. Since
God has blessed her with her very own guiding star. The
End © 2013 RhemaebelAuthor's Note
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Added on January 2, 2013Last Updated on January 15, 2013 Tags: Stars, Inspirational, Little Girl, God's Gift Author
RhemaebelPhilippinesAboutI'm an amateur writer who dreams to become a big shot novelist and get my works published. A dream I hope with much effort can come true. I mostly write short stories and currently working on 2 novels.. more..Writing
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