Midnight Musings: A Collection of Short Stories

Starlight

She was born from starlight. Just a tiny seed, then. She had no physical body or dreams or purpose, but she was there. There she would float, she would exist, until someone defined her purpose. As she looked down upon the world she saw many things and learned as much. Fear, sorrow, and desperation were among them; as were joy, love, and peace. She accepted the chaos of these conflicting ideas, for she understood they were all part of the world she had been born into.

One day, the world shifted on its axis and the little seed, along with countless others, began to fall from her place in the sky. The gods noticed and tried to catch them before they fell but most fell right through their grasp. She did not. Hands that embodied the feral night caught the little seed and held her up to the sky again.

"What is your name?" the Night asked.

She glowed sheepishly, saying, "I do not own one."

The Night looked at her strangely. "Everyone has a name," said the Night.

"Well, what is yours?"

"I have many. You may call me Tiathulin," the Night replied.

The little seed thought for a moment. "How is it that you can have many names, and I none?"

"I suppose," mused Tiathulin, "that it must be because a name is either given, taken or earned, and you have not existed long enough to have been through any of those things."

She looked at the world around her before the little seed spoke again. "Why do we need a name?"

"Because it defines who we are," replied Tiathulin.

"Who am I?" she asked.

Tiathulin considered the seed for a long time. Nothing yet defined her, she simply observed the world around her without compassion or even a soul to share. "I will take you to my kin. Together, we will forge a name for you. It may take many years, and the journey may be long, but when it is over you can return to your sky if you wish. Will you come with me?"

The seed's glow dimmed as she considered the Night's offer. Finally, she said, "I will."

Together they traveled the world the little seed had watched with impassionate love for so long. She met many beings, and all left an imprint on her. One god she met bestowed upon her the gift of the sun, light, and happiness. Another gifted the little seed with an affinity for chaos and shadow. Yet another showed the seed how to love and how to hate and how to fear, things that she had only ever observed before.

She met creatures that gave her their gifts, allowing her to call upon them whenever she wished. The powers of the elements, all twelve of them, wound around her essence and merged with it. Over time, the little seed gained a body, the gifts she had been given etched into her skin with the ink of starlight. Her hair was long, stars and shadows and bright fire woven into its strands. Her eyes started silver but began to change with the emotions she now had the power to experience, and they radiated her power and confidence for all the world to see. Her body was long, graceful, and strong as she danced to the rhythms of the world, her voice as soothing as liquid night. Sunlight settled into her skin, lighting her from within. Her ears were pointed, like an alf's, because the dragons sang to her and made her theirs.

Finally, the Night turned to the little seed, who had grown into a tree, again. "You've seen much," she said, "but your journey is only beginning. You will reach the stars with the things you have learned, your roots spreading deep into the world for all to know. I will send you to live among them, but first I must give you two last things. The first is my essence."

As she said this, the Night reached deep inside and pulled away a part of herself, giving it to the young tree. "Now your soul can never be touched, because I will protect it with everything that I am, as will the beings who have attached themselves to me. I will always be with you, my dear. You need only call."

"Thank you, Tiathulin," she said, as the Night's essence wrapped around her body and sunk into her skin, liquid starlight painting their connection bright, right in the center of her chest. "And the second?"

The wild Night took a breath, calling power into her voice. "I bestow upon you a name: _______. It means 'Eternal Star,' a fitting name for one who will live so long and see so much. This is only your beginning; take and earn for yourself many names, so that the world may know you forever by the time you're ready to dance among the stars once again."

Then the Night, which the young girl born from starlight had come to know as a friend, sent the Eternal Star to live among us. Here she walks and has walked for millennia long, spreading her knowledge and learning from each and every being that comes across her path. There are many more like her among us, and even though they may seem extraordinary, know that we are just the same. We earn the gifts and strifes we own. We take new names for ourselves just as much as we are given them. And most of all, we learn by experiencing, again and again, the wonders of the world.