She Who Treads Amongst the Stars

Chapter 3: The Comet

As it turned out, Star Bits were indeed a sufficient substitute for hydration and nutrients. Inevitability, Rosalina's original larder either got consumed or spoiled. But the Star Bits she and Luma collected proved more than enough to hold them over. They also snagged a couple more opportunities to add to their existing stock. In the meantime, the travels never stopped. Many weeks went by, although the pair had yet to see anything of interest. Not a planet, not a star, not even a space rock big enough to hold Luma's mother.

I thought there was so much to see in space, the way Daddy talked about it, Rosalina thought despondently. She had to admit, she felt herself becoming grouchy about the whole affair, too. Slowly, a sense of futility crept into the ship's atmosphere. The cosmos was so huge: much larger than Rosalina could have ever imagined. Still, they had yet to find a single thing. Several times, she almost suggested going back home. But she knew deep down she could never bring herself to say those words out loud. She had made a promise to Luma— a pinky-swear promise at that, which was absolutely unbreakable within her mind.

She honestly wasn't sure if she even could return home at this point. They had shifted directions so many times that Rosalina didn't know which way led back to Earth. There were no significant landmarks to guide her back, except maybe that asteroid field they passed forever ago. Though, even if she could figure out a way to return, it would take quite a while to make the journey. Meanwhile, Luma would be in despair the whole time- and probably upset at her as well. These thoughts hurt Rosalina deeply. She tried her hardest to hide those prospects in the back of her mind. The unsettling feelings they produced were almost too much for her to take.

One day, Luma slept on one of the cots while Rosalina watched over the helm. They did this in shifts whenever they needed to catch up on some shut-eye. Though right now, Rosalina felt rather tired, too. She put the ship on autopilot and closed her eyes, intending to rest for only a few minutes. But Rosalina ended up falling asleep, her stuffed bunny held loosely in her arms.

After a few hours, a bright blue light pierced her vision, breaking her from the spell of slumber. She had been dreaming about home, so she believed the light to be that of the morning sun. Unfortunately, she was greeted with a rude awakening. The cold metal seat in which she lay served as a stark reminder that she was not home and that this could not be the sun she knew. Still, this sudden flood of vivid light jarred her senses in a way that she had no other true comparison.

"Mgh..." she mumbled sleepily, trying in vain to shield her eyes; the turquoise glow was almost blinding. She rose, using nothing but her sense of touch to stumble towards Luma. She had a hard time adjusting to such a luminous glow, fighting to keep her eyelids open. She could barely discern Luma himself – or any other object on the ship for that matter.

"Luma! Wake up! Something is causing this...this light! Do you know what it could be?" Rosalina said, shaking the star child gently. Luma blinked his eyes open, only to cry at the intensity of the glare.

"I don't know! I can't – I can't see a darn thing!" Rosalina thought she saw Luma shrug, but she honestly couldn't tell. "Maybe it's a star?"

"Finally!" she exclaimed, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. She hoped Luma was right. She waved her hands in front of her eyes, wishing it wasn't so darn bright. And then, something strange happened. It was almost as if the universe had heard her plea. The luminosity gradually dimmed until it was tolerable. Rosalina wasn't sure what caused that to happen— or why— but she sure was thankful.

"Golly, I can see again! How strange," she murmured. She and Luma both pressed themselves to the windows, finally spotting the source of the light. It looked like a mysterious turquoise ball made of ice. Rosalina squinted at it as it continued to shimmer.