>•~Falling Upwards~•<

Chapter Twelve: The Stars are Dead

A/N: jussssssst a sneak peak at a book I will write once this one is done (the title is the same as the one shown here!!)

Also TW for BLOOD in the poem down below!! (Please skip if you are sensitive to topics that relate to that)

By the way, "*~*" is the cutoff from a poem to the rest of the book, while "~*~" is a time-skip, and the little "~"s in between a name (ex: ~C~) show the perspective of a chapter. I don't know if I said that or not yet, but theree it is!!

(Alsooo yes, the poems are relevant to the rest of the story!!)

——

A scab;
The body's natural bandaid,
The body's way to heal,
After a hard fall.

An itch.
Itches.
It itches,
Little claws spiking up.

She has claws.
She rakes her own claws,
Deep in her skin.
Until the itches, they subside.

In her hands,
By her own cause,
She caused relief —
But also more pain.

Her blood pooled around,
It washed away the itches.
This would be a temporary relief,
As her body tries to patch itself,
Over and over.

*~*

~C~

  I made my way through the failing structure, and out the back door. My footsteps softly thunk behind me. They leave a trail on where I came. Each one overlapping the last.

  I sit outside. Now, night has fallen upon the world. It has brought us rest. Although I don't plan on using its rest. I am too wound-up to fall asleep.

  The creaks of a breeze brushing a plant sweep my attention away. From what I was thinking, I cannot tell. My mind just feels as though it is buried deep in a haze; in a thick fog. I am surrounded by worries that are not my own. At least, I shouldn't be worrying over this. I can't even make out what I am supposed to have my mind on!

  'That's a good thing,' I tell myself.

  It is better to be confused, than to be stressed out. That side of my quality, I quite enjoy. If I don't understand what worries me, then it can do nothing to me! Then whatever was bothering me, is completely harmless.

  Again, I hear footsteps behind me. This time, only one pair. I will guess this is August. April — I don't understand what she has against me, either. — Hah! Another stupid, damn thing I cannot wrap my head around.

  "C?" He asks.

  I turn around, and face him. He looks so much sadder with the darkness. The absence of lighting has brought out a side of him I have not seen yet. Not in my... I have lost track of how long I have been here.

  "Yeah?" I reply. My mouth feels dry, and I do not feel pushed to say many words.

  He sits beside me, "I am sorry for what she said."

  I shrug. I push whatever fragments of what I remember to the back of my mind. It is best to not remember things like that. Even just simple words that could yank me down somewhere I do not want to be,

  "It's okay. I don't really remember what she said anyways," I just say the truth.

  "You don't—" He cuts himself off, and just shakes his head. "Never mind. It's pretty tonight,"

  I notice that he changed the subject. However, I don't say anything on this. He is trying to be polite. I won't ruin that.

  I nod, "It is,"

  I said those words, but I had not looked up at the sky. I notice my surroundings now. I look up, and expect to see a series of stars. I expect to see that, because somewhere in my memories, I had seen stars before. Not here.

  The sky is bare. Just a series of black. Not a single light to guide the world. My breath catches in my throat. This feels wrong. What went wrong?

  "Where... where are the stars?" I ask August quietly. My voice is barely above a whisper.

  He looks at me, and raises an eyebrow. "Stars?"

  I blink at him. What does me mean? Does he not know what stars are? Is this what it feels like to not have another understand you?

  I tilt my head to the side. "Of course I mean stars! There should be stars in the sky."

August merely gives me a shrug. "I don't understand what you are saying."

  "What do you mean? Have you never seen a star?" I furrow my eyebrows.

  He is confusing me. Maybe August is just pulling my leg. Mhm, that must be the case. Even I know what a star is.

  However, when I look to the sky, I am in shock. Still, it is empty. All of the small beams of hopes and dreams have completely vanished. Where have the stars gone?

  "Hm, stars," He mocks me, and places his hands on his hips. August's head goes directly up to the sky. I am surprised his neck didn't break.

  I tug on his shirt, "Oh, come on August! I feel like I'm loosing my mind — You do know what a star is, right?"

  August seems a bit concerned. "C, my father once told me that people can believe something is real, when it never existed."

  I just stare at him. I am confused. August continues to ramble some story about his father, and his family. Yet, I cannot bring myself to listen to what he has to say.

  My head hurts. A sharp series of pangs march about in too many circles. I look back up at the empty sky.

Maybe that was all just my imagination.