literature

Stars

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Literature Text

The observatory sparkled from within with the buzzing of activity, the night sky being studied with every inch of detail. The mages there observed the night sky with little sense of wonder or mystery, many of them having seen it all before. Papers and pads were laid out on tables all around the room's perimeter, pencils and pens moving at miles a minute to record what they saw before it was all too late. The stars, after all, waited for none of the men that seek to study them.

Anna was a bit unused to all of this commotion over the stars. But then again, she'd never been in the observatory of the institute before, and found the experience to be one far different than what she did as a little girl. She could recall, rather vividly, the feel of the cool grass against her hair and the tips of her ears as she laid down in a field with her parents, gazing skyward into the night sky. The moon, one night, was so very bright that it made her eyes hurt, like she was staring into the midday sun instead of the harvest moon. Anna had even tried counting all the stars that night, and had lost count because of how many there were.

She had hugged her father as best as she could with her small arms, which only came about halfway across his torso, and asked him why there were so many stars in the sky. With his hand on Anna's shoulder, her father had told her that for every star in the sky, there was an angel left on earth that had some good to do. And the more stars that she could see on any night, the more she could tell how many angels there were. Being the inquisitive young mind that she was, Anna had asked her father why the angels didn't all come to their town and fix all the problems. He answered that meeting an angel means to have happiness spread over your life, and the angels had to walk around separate so that everyone could meet them, and have happy lives...

“Fascinating, aren't they?” came a voice from behind Anna, breaking her out of her trance.

“Huh? Oh, yes... absolutely,” she answered, looking over her shoulder to see the young man who had invited her in. The boy, Donovan, stood slightly above Anna with messy blond hair atop his head. His torso was clad with a standard cotton shirt, save the fact it was cerulean laced with large, pale orange crescent moons down his arms, seen as he raised his arm skyward from his black pants at the hips, pointing at one of the brighter stars that Anna could see.

“I've always had an affinity for them, personally. Just think of how many things we know because of the moon and stars! Why, we can predict the future from them, guide ships, tell time, draw power... it's unbelievable,” Donovan rhapsodized as he browsed the heavens. “I always wanted to see them up close when I was younger... see what they really are with my own two eyes. Don't you?”

He waited for an answer, but received none. Anna had once more returned to watching the stars. She was fixated on the brightest star in the night sky, the one Donovan had pointed out to her. Anna hoped it was her star... the one her father had picked out for her back then when he told her she was a little angel, the one who'd spread all the happiness into his life. He ruffled her hair with the palm of his hand as little Anna batted at his wrist with laughter. She'd grabbed for his arm and tried pinning him to the ground in an improvised moment of roughhousing, Anna's mother watching just a few feet away, smiling with pride and amusement at how Anna was slowly, but surely, growing up...

She came back again with Donovan waving his hand in front of her face, causing her to blink rapidly in surprise. “Well,” he said jokingly, “I didn't think you'd take to them that quickly.” He laughed a bit before taking his leave, having to plot the stars himself before his professor scolded him for not sticking to his assignment.

Left by herself again for the moment, Anna decided that now was the time to make her way out of the observatory. She turned towards Donovan, but seeing him turning his head from the stars to his paper and back again, thought better of interrupting him. The white mage reached for the door handle, only to find a sparkling, damp trail down the back of her hand. She puzzled for a moment until she felt the same sensation across her cheek. A tear? Her slender fingers traced over the trail from her eye down her face, a slight rose blush coming to her cheeks. Anna quickly wiped her face on the sleeve of her robe before anyone saw her, then pulled the handle on the heavy wooden door to make her exit.
By the by, in case you can't tell, Anna is the white mage from "Savior." This is just another part of her story, back when she was still studying at her school.

I edited my style a little bit to try and incorporate the limited dialogue, and I like how it turned out. Anna's feeling of the stars comes from that childhood sense of wonder and awe I got when staring at the stars in a really dark place, away from city lights. If you've never done it, you should try it. It's incredible stuff.
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middguy1's avatar
Anna now has a love interest?!

:D Very cool!