I Followed Fires

XLIX. Adèle

In a field of red flowers, a young woman and her two little brothers laid under the stars. 

Moonlight touched every inch of their skin as they rested in the sea of flowers. A blanket was laid out on the grass, where there lay various cushions and pillows brought from the house. The cool winds of the evening blew through their hair. It was the perfect evening, for it did not rain, nor was it too cold to go outside. Adèle, Theo and Cyril lay on their back as their fingers pointed at a clutter of stars that glittered in the vast canvas tinted with the deep blue that was the night sky. Adèle remained in the middle, whilst her little brothers nestled to  her on the left and right side. She spoke at length of how the stars were like eyes that watched over them, and how each and every star belonged to a person. This roused a childish curiosity in Theo and Cyril, and so they began asking her questions.

"Where's my star?" asked Cyril, turning his head to Adèle.

"Well, everyone has a star of their own choosing. Because you have just known this, you don't own a star yet, but you can choose one if you'd like."

"But there are so many to choose from," Theo interrupted. "How do we know if the star that we choose already belongs to some other person?"

"Didn't you know that I am an expert at stars and constellations? Point at a star and I will tell you who it belongs to."

Cyril pointed at star on the very left, and asked, "Whose star is that?"

"That? Why Cyril, that is mother's star, and at the very right of it is father's star. They chose their stars to be positioned right next to each other, you know. All married couples do."

"And where is your star?" Theo asked.

"My star is that one on the far north," she pointed at the twinkling star. "I picked that one when I was when I was a child, and whenever I feel sad, I look at it, and then I no longer feel sad."

"If that's yours, is that Bash's star?" Theo's small finger pointed to a star right next to the one she said that was hers.

She simply chuckled and replied, "No, that's not his, because Bash and I aren't married, Theo. Maybe you can ask him one day, but not today, I'm afraid. He is currently miles and miles away from us."

Cyril tugged at the hem of her dress and said, "I want to pick out my star!" He appeared to be annoyed that the topic of the conversation was beginning to change.

"All right, but pick wisely. This star will be yours forever, and make sure nobody else takes it away from you."

He remained silent for a moment, and began observing the night sky. Then, his finger pointed at a star on the east, which had a glow that was noticeably brighter than the others. "That one is mine," he said, with a smile on his face. "And it's brighter than others, which means it's the greatest out of all of the stars in the sky."

"Good choice, Cyril. I wish I could have picked that one when I was younger, but now it's too late."

Cyril gave a smug smile. "It's pretty too, isn't it?"

"It sure is," she replied, smiling to herself.