Inkling | rejected & unpublished short stories

Some Stars

He owns magic tissue.

It is made out of spun stars, sparkling and twirling light rays in the room. The tissue could turn tears into elation, happiness. It is undeniably different. He needs to give it to someone he could spend his life with. At least when she cries, he could make her feel inexpicably okay again.

She is made of stardust, personality-wise. She is the exemplary character of those who dream to be wild and tame at the same time. She is a bottled-up galaxy; stars, meteor showers, eclipses, all stashed in a glass membrane. Trapped would be the most inaccurate way to describe her. She is composed, content and free in place.

"I need someone who would listen to me regardless of bedtimes and legitimity of an opinion," he tells her, handing her the magic tissue. "I need someone who casts a lantern fair in their eyes when they speak of the things they love, someone who would not say yes immediately to adventures but crafts them instead. I need someone who would not mind the fact that I am who I am."

She stares at him blankly, looking like a silent galaxy. Where did the stars go?

"Will you be that someone?"

Seconds passed as she opened her mouth and snapped it shut. He waits for the asteroid in her to hit a stray planet. Then she finally spoke, "But I'm not someone."

"You're not?" he says, "But I need you."

"You don't. You need someone, I'm not someone. I am who I am," she shakes her head, pressing back the roll of tissue in his hands. Gently, she takes a step back. He wants to see an eclipse at her cold withdrawal but all he sees was a hanging Moon, resorting from crescent to invisibility. "Go find that someone. I cannot fulfill the expectations of being a someone."

When she turns her back, it is not him who fell to his knees. It was the galaxy in her, calling turmoil as the planets rebelled on their orbits. She needs him but he needs the wrong thing. She never dreams of being selfish by keeping him confined in her nova.

Perhaps she was wrong too. Maybe she never need him after all, she needs the starry tissues.

Why do we always demand the things we mistakenly need?

She flees and the world thought it was a shooting star slashing the sky.

Author's Notes:

I'm back on Wattpad, gasp. This time I'm not bearing commitment on a long story but I'm bringing suitcases of tales. Mostly random ones because I'm currently cutting the barriers and inner critics living in my head at the moment. I'm just going to let my ideas go loose and stuff.

Story inspired by that photo I found on Pinterest. Starry references inspired by the meteor shower I didn't get to see.

And yo, thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you guys clicked me from Instagram, hellooooo, nice to meet you here in Wattpad-land. P.S/ Iffah you must and will comment on this story hahahah.