The Spare To The Throne

Chapter 35: A Star Is Born

Flashback

"Mason," I whisper. "Mason wake up." I shake him by the arm. He mumbles something incoherent in the unsuppressing bondage of drowsiness. I jerk his shoulders earnestly and his slumber wears off slightly.

"Get up," I stress. "Mason get up."

His eyes open, revealing an awaken state. Perplexity is etched all across his face. "Farrah, what the hell-"

"They're out," I pant. "The stars are out and you said we can watch them tonight."

He groans, placing a hand over his face. "Are you sure?" he asks, indicating he doesn;t want his time wasted, again.

"I'm sure," I say. "I'm sure."

He stand up in a weary state. "Only for a few minutes." he yawns.

I nod in agreement, leading the way over to the window. His room window lead out to our small roof patio and if you sit at just the right angle on it, you can get a picture perfect view of the moon and stars all at once without shifting your gaze.

I climb out first, eager that light pollution in the area had somewhat decreased.

"Watch your step." Mason warns in a tone that lets me know he's more awake. I climb onto the patio effortlessly and Mason joins soon after.

"You're right. They really are out tonight, huh?"

"Yeah." I whisper with my head tilted back. Twinkling diamonds of fluctuating sizes shimmer intricately. The moon glows its beam as the center of the show and I think of all the stars as backup dancers. Attention for the moon is exigent, but the stars, my oh my those stars just take my breath away. Everytime.

"This is better than Tv." I conclude and Mason chuckles lightly. My statement is opinionated since we can't even afford television. But I know deep down that this is as entertaining as it gets and I'm deeply grateful. Grateful for my eyes that I'm using to see these showstopper gems in the sky. Grateful for all the stars but most importantly grateful for this moment right here. If there's a life remote, I'd pause this feeling right here and revel in it.

"There," Mason's finger extends out to the sky, tracing a line of linear gems. "The big dipper."

I follow the trace of his hand and sure enough there is was. "You mean a frying pan." I rephrase.

A burst of laughter escapes both our lips. "Shh," he places a finger on his lips. "We'll wake mom."

I sigh, thinking of our mother. It won't be long before she wakes up to go to work again. One woman, balancing three jobs. Wonder woman could never.

"I wish she can see this," I retort. "Her and dad."

Mason's body stiffens at the mention of dad. "Yeah." he replies.

I lay down and Mason does the same. After minutes of silence, I ask a question.

"Do you believe that when we die, we become stars?"

Mason scoffs. "Where did you hear that?"

I shrug. "A book."

"It's a nice thought," he admits. "Fictitious, but nice."

I thought the same thing. How comforting to imagine a place where all you do is shine in all your glory above for someone to see and admire. But reality is, all things come to an end. Even the stars have a time limit to how long they can burn. And I think of dad.

"Do you think dad will become a star?"

The question leaves my lips involuntarily. I'm simply thinking out loud but I regret it when Mason's head snaps towards me with blinking speed.

"Don't say that." he berates with glassy eyes. Instantly I feel terrible.

"I didn't mean it like that." I retort, but deep down I know there's only one way to mean a statement like that. I don't even know why I said that. These days dad has been fighting a lot harder than usual and I don't know. I just thought the stars are beautiful. And they seem to have one of the best views ever. Dad deserves a best view. But that sounds wrong. Immoral since he's still laying on a hospital bed, sedulous to live. And all I can do is hope. Pray credulously that treatments are working so that one day, he too can gaze upon the stars. 

"Dad's not a star," Mason pierces the silence. "He's the fucking moon."

I gasp, matching his infectious smile. This is faultless. "The fucking moon," I whisper.

"Dad's the fucking moon!" Mason bellows into the night sky. There's no doubt in my heart the the stars above heard us.

"The fucking moon!" I howl and I hear myself ring. 

I laugh as Mason throws his arms up in the arm. "Whoo!"

Our voices carry through the vast sky. It echoes away, forever traveling for the world to hear.

"Mason, we're gonna wake up mom." I reproach as the realization of our nuisance.

His eyes widen right before he covers his mouth with a hand. We stare at each other frozen in place. Just then he snickers and I snicker and we're both a snickering mess. I turn my attention back towards the sky. The scenery is magical and I close my eyes, testing my photographic memory before opening my lids again. In my peripheral, I see the glimmer of the biggest star amongst all. It's separated away from the cluster of all the other constellations but its light shines brightest of its peers.

"Look," I whisper, pointing to the star. In all its isolation, it was glowed fervently like the moon. "She's beautiful."

"How do you know it's a she?"

The answer to this comes instantaneously. It's simple. The star is mom. Standing solely yet independently. But still sparkling hard to make ends meet. And it's thriving. A celestial body flourishing without the help of anybody else.

"I just know," I smile blissfully. "Esma. It's name should be Esma. What do you think?" I look to catch Mason's reaction.

His head is tilted back in the direction of the star. He nods approvingly. "Esma, I like it."

....

A/N: Thank you guys so much for still reading this book. I see your comments and votes and I can't even describe how happy it makes me. More chapters on the way. Okay, that's all. Love you guys <3