He made his way to the dock, one foot after the other. Fatigue clawed at his legs, but he continued forward nonetheless. Considering autumn was well along its way, it was unexpectedly warm. He slowly eased himself onto the edge of the dock, feet mere inches away from the lake's surface. His shoes grazed the water, which slowly climbed up his soles to dampen his socks. It was nice to finally feel something, even if it was just the chill of the wind on his toes.
The moon hung low in the sky, partially shrouded by the dark silhouette of the forest bordering the lake. It wasn't quite full, but close enough that upon first glance you would think it was. It cast a broken beam of glare on the surface of the water, creating a pathway of light to his feet. He kicked at the water, watching the light dance among the disturbed drops.
The sky stretched into a dark dome above him. It was a beast of the great unknown, always undeniably present. Nothing could hide from its eyes nor evade its ears; the sky knew all yet betrayed nothing. Whispered secrets were swallowed by the shadows and held near and dear to its heart like that of a trusted friend.
Despite the dark abyss it seemed to be, the sky was studded with tiny pinpoints of light, deceivingly small. They were trillions of miles away - a distance he could hardly fathom. The vastness of the sky would have scared him in the past, but at this moment, he felt smaller than he ever had. Tumultuous amounts of space separated each star. It must have been such an isolated existence. Somehow, that brought him closure. Perhaps he was not the only one feeling lonely.
A moving light caught his eye. He squinted, trying to get a better view. There, soaring miles above the earth was an airplane, carrying people into the night. He envied them. Unlike him, they could escape. Unlike him, they had somewhere to go to.
He had never really taken a serious interest in astronomy - he always had trouble trying to locate the stars; trying to remember the constellations and how to find them. But now, every time he looked back into the night sky, it was a whole new experience. It was grounding to him, how he could look up and find a new star upon which he could gaze, but still be able to find the ones he had already seen.
It had been years since he had peered into the sky, searching for answers, looking to connect the dots in the spaces between the stars. And yet here he sat, experiencing that same childlike wonder - that same blissful carelessness every child had when they let their imagination ran wild.
The stars hadn't changed - he had.
The stars always sat in the same spot, cradled by a pocket of darkness. Families of stars gathered into constellations, passing their stories down onto the people of the earth.
It was funny, really, how he had completely forgotten about the stars. It didn't come as a surprise - with all life had thrown at him, their existence had slipped from his mind entirely. Night encapsulated half of the world at all times; there was never a moment where the stars ceased to shine. They continued to shine even during the day, although muted by the brilliant light from the closest and most radiant of stars - the sun. Despite their unmistakable fidelity to the heavens, they somehow always managed to escape him, leaving him with the pleasure of rediscovering them on the rare occasion his eyes were entranced by the night sky.
He let out the breath he had been holding for months. His problems and anxieties suddenly seemed so insignificant. At least for now, the only things that mattered were himself and the stars.
☆☆☆
This is beautifully written! Your diction is outstanding and reading this just gave me a sense of calm. Great work!
ReplyDeleteThis is very well written an very creative.
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous, It reads like a dream you can't quite remember. It was very calming to read, 100/10! :)
ReplyDeleteThis was extremely well written and captivating! I love it!
ReplyDeleteamazing as always <3
ReplyDeleteYour writing is stunning as always. I really love the way you built the character too.
ReplyDeleteI like how you took a different approach to this assignment than everyone else. Really well written and interesting!
ReplyDelete