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Dear Mother,
2:30 am, March
The stars are still tonight, mother. They don't move with the liveliness they usually do. I fear something is wrong. I cannot find Stellceta. And Morosa is fearful; I can tell by the way she looks around and up at the stars again. She hasn't awoken the stars, I think. I have long suspected she was the Keeper of the Stars, but I could never find proof. Until now. She is ill, I suppose. Maybe I can come out tonight, just for a minute? I know I promised I would never leave at night, but how can I see such sorrow radiating from my friends? It would be cruel, cruel to leave them like that, cruel to let them suffer alone. I am sorry mother, but I must bring back the Star's song. Don't worry, I shall be careful. I suppose I should get going, or else the sun shall rise and the stars will have to hide.
I am writing this now from outside. It is as I feared. My stars have become silent. Even Stellceta. I won't let her down. Or you. I'm worried that I already have, however. I am going to go search for Stellceta now, but I'll come back and write later...I'll tell you everything. I promise.
As I promised, I'm here to continue my letter. It's been nearly an hour since I left this letter. I wish I could put what happened then into words properly, but I'm not certain. I will try...
Morosa sits beside me, looking up at the stars, her head down.
"I'm certain it's here," I reassure Morosa, already starting to search the gold-paper-covered ground. Stacks of papers surround us. They are full of the dreams of young children.
"What are you looking for?" Morosa asks, curiosity in her tone. I turn to her.
"You told me about the lullaby to wake up the stars. I'm going to find it, then sing it. I'll wake up the stars since you aren't able to."
"Zerise, there's no going back after this," Morosa warned me, her gruff voice lathered with worry. "You'll become the Keeper of Stars, and nothing will ever be the same again."
"I know, Rosa. But you'll die if you have to awaken the stars, and Stellceta, again." Tears prick at my eyes as I think about the fact that Morosa might not make it. Morosa nuzzles me. "But you're simply an 11-year-old girl. A human. It would be hard for you. And I wouldn't even mind dying if I knew you were fine."
"No!" I shout, startling myself. "No, you are not dying," I say more quietly, turning back to the sheets of paper. I pick one up and read it.
"Not this one," I mutter. It describes a child's wish to talk to a dolphin. Normally I would have thought it cute, but not today. Not when Morosa depended on the right paper. The search continued for nearly half an hour. Suddenly Morosa's ears went flat against her head and she growled.
"Rosa, what's wrong?" I ask, my eyes scanning the area. Nothing seems amiss.
"Are you certain?" I ask. I don't exactly doubt Morosa, but sometimes even she is wrong. I start walking towards where she is growling.
"See, no on-" I'm cut off by a rock streaking past my head, barely grazing my left cheek. Someone's here, just as Rosa said.
"Who is it?" I mouth at Morosa. She shakes her head at me and pounces into the shadows. A strangled scream comes from it. When Morosa reappears, she is dragging a person behind her.
"Did you...kill him?" I ask Morosa. There isn't any blood anywhere.
"No. I don't kill humans. He's just unconscious. But he did have something." She gestures to his hand, which has a gold paper tight in its grasp. I walk over to him and gently open his hand, tugging the paper out of his hand. It's thicker than the other sheets, and it's slightly heavy. But it's paper! I think. My eyes move over the paper and I gasp in surprise. I turn to Morosa, "Is this-"
She cuts me off, "Just read it."
I finish reading it and turn to her. "This person- they want to become the Keeper. And they know how to. How can we take this wish from them?"
She shakes her head and turns away, "They won't want to. I promise you, thye will not want to. Besides, they're too young. You're too young."
"Well, it says there's a key, but there is only a picture of a key. and that doesn't really help." I say. She nudges the paper with her nose.
"That key isn't as fake as you'd think." She says. I look at her, puzzled. She places a paw on the picture.
"Try touching it." She suggests. I am still confused, but I do as she says, and touch my hand to the paper. To my surprise, I feel smooth metal, instead of paper, but only where the key is. "The key.. it's inside the paper! How can I get it out?"
"I'm not certain. Maybe try..." Morosa's ears perk up. "Shove your hand in. It'll work, I promise."
I nod uncertainly and roll up the sleeve of my red dress. I tap the paper once, then shove my hand in. It feels weird, almost tickly. I feel around for a bit before grasping onto the key. I pull my hand back and stare in awe. The key is in my hand, shining bright gold. I turn to Morosa. "Come on. I must go awaken the stars."
Finding the chest, however, was much harder. "Base of the sun and moon? Where is that supposed to be?" I mutter to myself. I look up in the sky and see the light of dawn is tinting the sky a light purple. Dawn.
"That's it!" I exclaim. "Dawn, Morosa! Sun and Moon. It's the base of both!"
"And I see the chest!" She calls back. I hurry over to her. And true to her word, a silver chest is sitting in front of her.
"So it's only visible at dawn," I note, coming to stand beside her.
"Yes, Zerise," Morosa says, looking down. I think we both know what is going to happen next. What I need to do.
"Guess this is it, isn't it?" Morosa whispers, her rough voice breaking.
"I'm not dying, Rosa. I'm just.. fulfilling my destiny." I smile at her weakly. I reach towards it but then draw my hand back. You can do this, Zerise, I think to myself. I shove the key in the keyhole and turn it. Click. Sitting in the chest is a folded silver paper. The Song. With a shaking hand, I pick it up. It quivers in my hand, as though its song just needs to escape.
"You're ready." Morosa urges me. I unfold the paper and open my heart to the words.
As I sing, the stars above brighten. They start dancing to the song, twinkling and beautiful. I stop to take a breath, and they stop as well.
"Awaken your lovely song, free those lyrics in your head, dance and fly across the night, know that you are brilliant and strong..." I continue singing. As I reach the final verse, a bright animal made out of geometric shapes swims through the stars.
"Welcome home, Stellceta." I whisper after I finish the song.
"And welcome home Zerise, Keeper Of The Stars." She returns, her starry eyes sparkling.
And so I was, mother. I'll miss you, but remember, I and Morosa are still here, we are simply unseen.
