When the Stars Burn

Chapter 2: δύο

The first thing that registered was darkness. She forced her eyes shut and opened them in a futile attempt to seek light. None came. This was followed by a bone-chilling cold that seeped through her blood. She sought for warmth when her hand unintentionally touched something. She tried to feel the object.

It was thin and stretched out.

She was desperate for anything with a semblance to the warmth of the hearth so she clutched it. Just when her hand surrounded it, it lit up.

It was a string that went on and on until the light it emitted was no longer in sight. It seemed to go on forever and she felt a compulsion to follow the path it led. Why? She wasn't certain.

She had been walking for hours and hours on end. There was no assurance that the string was going to lead her somewhere but if there was a chance, even just a minute one in this vacuum, she was going to risk it.

She looked up to what was supposedly the sky but saw nothing but darkness— an empty space devoid of stars. She wondered where it might all lead. She wondered why she was there. She wonde—

"Lei, are you okay?"

Lea was snapped out of her momentary indisposition by a concerned Joanna.

"I'm sorry, I think I fell asleep. What was that again?"

Joanna looked at her sceptically, as if wanting to say something, but eventually chose to bite her tongue. "If you say so," she murmured, doubt palpable. "I asked if you knew what this meant?" She delicately showed the faded script to Lea.

Lea fixed her glasses and took hold of a magnifying glass. She hummed as she gathered her bearing. She recognized the symbols.

όνειρα

"Dreams," she whispered and caught Joanna's interest. "óneiroi. It's the personification of Dreams."

"Do you understand any of these?" Joanna gestured at the scribbles on the tablet that they have painstakingly uncovered.

Lea shook her head. "It's in ancient greek. We need someone to translate it for us."

"We have an affiliation with Freie Universität Berlin, right?"

"Yes. They have an Institute of Greek and Latin Languages and Literatures."

"Great! We could transcribe this and have someone from Berlin translate it for us!" Joanna exclaimed giddily, excitement overflowing due to the prospect of discovering something that may prove itself historically groundbreaking. The curators before her have tried but none of them had come as close as she and Lea were.

Lea would have been as enthusiastic as her partner if it weren't for the dream that had been plaguing her every time she closed her eyes. It was always stark, cold darkness. The skies were pitch black, stars were snuffed out and she was alone in a vast, vast vacuum. It was frightening but she could never really pinpoint why. She tried to shake it off but failed all the same.

She was distracting herself by brushing away the dust off the tablet when a knock echoed in the cavernous hall. She looked up and saw someone who drew a smile out of her dreary soul.

"Hi," she whispered, eyes twinkling, nightmares all forgotten.

"Hi," he replied and walked towards her with hands tucked in his pocket.

"What are you doing here?" she asked a little too excitedly, brushing away the strands of her hair back to her messy ponytail.

"I was looking for you," he admitted sheepishly and grinned.