𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇𝑔𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 (Stargazing)

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 33

"Well... what happens next?" Taylor questioned, his eyes looking up towards me with a strange sense of wonder. I paused, looking away from him and onwards towards the small square that led us out of the attic. Slipping the necklace into my pocket, I picked myself up and began stepping towards Taylor. Turning back towards him, a gave him a quick, comforting grin.

"Come on, I'll show you," I explained, holding out my hand towards him. With a slight smile, he curiously lifted himself before following me down the wooden ladder. Entering the long, narrow hallway, I lead him down it before turning towards the stairs. My hand along the dark brown, wooden handrail, the two of us walked onto the hard wood floor, large cardboard boxes surrounding us. "Hey hon!" I called out, walking across the bottom of the floor into the dining room, noticing her light brown eyes as I stepped inside of it.

With a bright smile, Emily lifted her body up towards me.

"What's up Kev?" she asked, leaning her body back against the island that separated the kitchen from the dining room.

"Do you know where the box of our artworks is?" I asked, Emily's smile fading as she looked around the room.

"Uh, well do you want our drawings or our paintings?" she questioned, lifting herself up before walking towards a cardboard box across the room.

"Whichever one you want to show Taylor first, I told him about how we were paid artists," I explained, Emily opening one of the cardboard boxes marked with the word Painting.

"Oh, then let's show him both!" she exclaimed, turning towards me with a wide smile. Stepping past me, Taylor walked over towards Emily, looking into the box she had opened.

"Oh wow!" he exclaimed, Emily lifting up the framed painting her and I had made.

"Kevin! Look at this!" she called out, holding up the frame of the painting she had made. It was one of her earlier paintings of a flower. The bright white petals invited the bee on the canvas inside of it, allowing it to retrieve the nectar that sat within the center of the flower.

"Oh wow, I remember you working on that!" I called out, stepping towards the box marked Drawing. Ripping the tape off, I opened the flaps of the box to reveal the wonders inside of it. Wide eyed, I pulled out a long, black frame before showing it to Emily. "Look at what I found!"

Emily and Taylor turned towards the drawing, their eyes going wide with wonder as the warm, bright colors reflected from the glimmers in their eyes.

"Who is that?" Taylor asked, scooting towards the drawing as he admired the black figure within it.

"That was from my junior year of high school," Emily began, Taylor turning towards her. "It's a drawing of a rapper from when your father and I were younger."

"He is so cool looking though! I really like the drawing mom," Taylor replied, looking back at the drawing with wonder. "I have so many things I want to do now because of your story dad."

"Story?" Emily questioned, the glistening of her glasses looking up towards me. The atmosphere changed between the two of us as I told Emily what Taylor was talking about.

"I told him about how we met, dear," I explained, Emily staring deep into my eyes, her heart stopping for a moment. With a slight smile, she stood up before walking towards me, her feet lightly tapping along the hardwood floor. Kneeling to my side, she wrapped her arm around mine.

"We can show you how to draw and paint too if you want, Taylor," Emily reassured, Taylor's excitement growing with every passing second. With a roar of cheer, Taylor jumped up and ran towards his new room, leaving Emily and I alone. Her eyes turning towards me, they met in the middle, her smile growing alongside mine. "I think you should take him."

"Take him where?" I questioned, her eyes glittering brightly as we spoke. After a long pause, my mind suddenly figured out what she was saying. "Oh, you think he'd want to?"

"Yeah," she began, "Even if it never happens again, you should introduce it to him." With a quick kiss on the cheek, she stood up before returning to setting up the interior of our new home.

"Do you want to go?" I questioned, Emily turning towards me with her beautiful eyes.

"You're the one who told him the story. I think it fits better if you were the one that took him there," she explained, her smile growing widely as we spoke. Standing up, I returned the warm smile she gave me before stepping towards her, embracing her within my arms.

"Then I'll do that tonight," I replied, my mind anticipating the moment that was soon to come...

# # #

"Where are we going?" Taylor asked, the light green clock on the radio reading seven-thirty at night as the sun continued setting. The light pink sky provided an atmosphere that felt so unreal as I drove down the empty road. With the final moments of sunlight, I pulled into a small parking area, only about six parking spots on either side of the rectangle. With the pink sky going black, I stepped out of the car, my hand resting within my pocket.

"We're here," I replied, the car door's slamming behind us as we looked onward at the steep, dark green hill. The blades of grass sat on the hill, their blades pointing in a scrambled mess of directions. "We'll need to hurry though." Stepping across the small parking area, we began walking up the hill, the weight of our feet pressing down on us with every step. The light-colored sky brought me back to those times so long ago, when the world seemed so simple yet complicated.

Those afternoons I'd spend working alongside the nights Janine and I would go out. Every step up this hill brought back a different memory of ours, my hand lightly holding onto the beautiful necklace I had for so long. Upon making it up the hill, there was a flat surface of grass that led down to a steep, rocky hill. Further down the hill was lake Allatoona, its beautiful water mimicking the lovely sunset above it. Looking out towards the lake, we noticed the still water growing darker as the sun continued its quiet descent beyond the horizon.

Gripping the necklace in my pocket, I quietly pulled my hand out, the light silver glistening with the setting sun. As I held onto the necklace, my heart started beating slower, my mind coming to grips with the loss of everyone. Lifting my arm, I pulled it back alongside my foot, preparing myself for what I was about to do. With the final seconds of the sunlight, I swiftly launched my body forward, throwing the necklace out towards the lake. The silver necklace shone with beauty as the sunlight poured down on it, the air carrying it towards its resting spot within the lake.

With a subtle splash, the water rippled around where the necklace fell, Taylor looking down towards it. The sky turning black, I looked over to see Taylors eyes glancing up towards the now blackened sky. With a sudden gasp, he saw the beauty in nature that Janine had known for so long. The stars glistened in the sky, their bright white light sprinkled across it, giving a sense of beauty as the two of us looked up at it.

"Woah," he whispered, our eyes staring up towards the bright night sky. As seconds turned into minutes, I had found the calmness Janine had spoken about alongside showing it to Taylor. I noticed it, that even for a split second, Taylor and I had seen the peace within her soul...