A Starry Night

(Note:  This short story was something I poked at during my down time from the serial.  Originally, it was just supposed to be a wolf staring at the night sky, but with this being me, I decided to make it a little bit more than that.  I wanted to write something, short, sweet, cute and a little bit sad, but hopefully fun to peruse all the same.  I gave this a quick edit, so apologies if you notice anything that feels a bit off, but hopefully that won't dull your enjoyment.

Anyway, without further ado!)

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I’m staring at the stars again tonight.  My tail wags as I rest on the soft grass  There’s a small breeze kicking around, giving me a tranquil, almost nostalgic feeling.

I’m not sure why I find the quiet of the night so appealing, but I do.  I find I do my best thinking at night.  Away from the noise and the bustle of the big city, and all that light pollution.  Too many people, too many idle conversations and banal arguments.  Sometimes, you just want to sit down, contemplate without interruption.

The moon’s especially large tonight.  A big, silvery ball, bathing everything in its glow.  Yes, I’m a wolf.  No, I don’t howl at it.  I still find it comforting, but...come on, howling’s silly and a bit beneath me.  I won’t judge if that’s your thing, but it’s never been mine.

I raise my hand, gently tracing a pattern in the night sky.  It’s like playing connect the dots, only I get to decide the rules.  It’s just a way for me to keep focus, but it helps.  Today, I’m drawing a tree.  The stars are in just the right position to add a nice, firm trunk.

I’ve always been this way, I admit.  I blame it on my love of astronomy.  I still remember begging my parents for a telescope all those years ago.  They acquiesced, but only if I promised to use it every time I had a clear view of the evening sky.  I made good on that promise, but eventually, I found that there was only so much a telescope could show you.  It’ll only give you a tiny view through an equally tiny lens, but never the full picture.  For something that was designed to let you see the vastness of space, it amazed me how little a telescope could actually let you see.

There’s a star twinkling tonight.  I could swear it’s winking at me, but I pay it no mind.  There’s an odd sound on the breeze, too.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d mistake it for a laugh.  I’m certain my mind is playing tricks on me now.  It’s fine.  I have a lot on the brain, anyway.  It’s why I’m out here, after all.

Suddenly, another wave of nostalgia comes over me.  Well, less nostalgia and more...deja vu.  I’ve done this before.  Like, this exact moment.  I recall every second of it.  Tracing the tree.  Admiring the moon.  Daydreaming about my old telescope.  That twinkling star, and the giggling that followed.

I shake my head, paying it no mind as that flickering star grabs my attention.  My claw reaches over to circle around the scintillating entity, and the giggling grows louder.  No way I’d mistake that for anything else.

“You really should be careful where you put that finger.”

I sit up, looking around.  That was a woman’s voice, clear as day.  She sounds young, around my age (23, but feeling like I’m going on 35), yet I’m the only one sitting on the hill.  I chose this spot on purpose -- no one comes here at this time of night.

“You’re not going to find me if you keep staring around like that.  Look up.”

The voice draws my view back towards the sky.  The stars shift.  I could clearly make out a face, that of a vixen’s.  My hands rub at my eyes.  There’s no way I was imagining this.

“What the hell?” I whisper out.

“Yes, I know you have a lot of questions right now.”  The stars move around in time with the voice.  Despite how large that entity appears, her voice is quiet, soothing.  “And no, you’re not dreaming, I promise.”

I’m speechless.  I try to talk, but nothing comes out.  This is unreal.  

The sky’s talking to me.

“I’m sure you’re wondering ‘why me’ right now,” the voice whispers.  “How, too, but that’s pretty obvious.  Well, it’s not the first time we’ve talked like this.  In fact, by the time tonight’s over, you won’t recall this conversation, either.”

“Wait, I...I don’t get it.  What are you talking about?”

“This.  What we’re doing right now.  Just us, talking.”

The stars move again, as the rest of the starry vixen begins to take shape.  She’s not just moving a few stars -- everything is moving all at once, giving her a form that takes up most of the black sky.  More stars gather around where her head is, forming what appears to be long, flowing and glittering locks of hair.  There’s an odd lavender glow to her hair, as if an entire nebula came to life simply by her willing it.

She’s beautiful, in a moderately off-putting way.

I stir against the cool grass.  “I...I got that much.  I mean...what am I even talking to?”

The starry vixen moved in a way that resembled a shrug.  “That’s a bit of a loaded question.  Let’s just say I’m reaching out to a fellow admirer.”

“Um.  Okay.”

Another giggle fills the night sky.  Surely I’m not the only one seeing this --

“And yes, you’re the only one seeing this.  It’s just you and me tonight.”

Holy crap.  She’s reading my thoughts.

“Okay.  This is getting weird.”

“Yes, but I hope it’s a good kind of weird.”

I look away for a moment, not sure how to respond.  “Well, this isn’t how I expected my night to go, so...yeah, it’s a good kind of weird.”

“Wonderful.”  Again, the vixen shifts herself, appearing to lie down.  The colors underneath her shift, forming an unusually long blue nebula, which she stretches herself out on.  She’s staring directly at me.  “You know, I’ve always enjoyed talking to you.  You’re fun.”

“Um, thank you?  I think?”  I blink.  “Wait, you’ve said we’ve done this before.  I’m pretty sure I’d remember talking to a bunch of stars.”

“You choose not to remember, actually.  By the time we’re done tonight, you’ll ask me to make you forget me again.  I don’t mind.  It feels like I get to meet someone new every night!”

“Well, tonight’s different.  There’s no way I’ll forget this.”

The vixen giggles.  “If you say so.”  Her smile widens.  “So.  What would you like to talk about?”

“Wow.  Who’s asking the loaded questions, now?”  My tail flicks back and forth, my fingers rubbing across my chest.  Here I am, talking to a gigantic space vixen, and she’s giving me permission to poke her brain.  Well, there’s only one place to start.  “You, I guess.  If that’s alright.”

“Of course it’s alright!  Ask away.”

“What are you, really?”

“Again, that’s complicated, but let’s say you’re a part of me.”

“A...part of you?”

“Yes.”  Her hand waves.  It appears as if time and space distorts around her fingers.  “All of this is me.  Well, not all of it.  Not yet, anyway.  Space is a big place, after all, and I can only grow so fast.  But where your planet is, that’s a part of me.  I’ll let you imagine where on me, if you want.”

“I dunno.  Are we, like, talking about your head or your tail or --”  Suddenly, my face runs hot.  I blush, turning away in admonishment.  She smiles wide.  “Oh, come on, that’s no fair.”

Another giggle follows.  Her tail bats back and forth as she reaches out for the Moon with her long fingers, plucking it out of the sky as if it was nothing more than a cute little bauble.  She stares at it with a mixture of curiosity and fascination.  I’m not sure how she’s doing that, but I don’t dare try to make sense of it.  “You know, I’ve looked at this little guy so many times, but it still amazes me how wonderful it looks up close.”

I swallow hard, watching her play with that silvery ball.  “Still confused why you’re talking to me, of all people.  I’m not as interesting as you think I am.”

“Oh, I disagree.  Every night, you come to this same spot, and you stare up at all of me.  It’s cute.”  She rolls the Moon between her fingers, showing a display of dexterity even I’d be incapable of.  I couldn’t even imagine what effect she was having on the tides or gravity or --

“Oh, don’t be such a worrywart.  You’re perfectly safe, I promise.”

I swallow again.  I really need to be careful with my thoughts.

“So, tell me,” she continues.  “Why this particular park?”

“You’re going to think it’s weird, but I’ve always felt attached to this place.  I live in the big city, but it’s all...noise.  I can’t think.”

“Is that so?  What do you think about?”

“Nothing, really.  I just let my mind wander.”

The vixen stops playing with her toy, giving me a side glance.  I can sense what she’s about to ask next, as if she’s asked that question a dozen times already, and is simply going through the motions.  Yet, that curiosity of hers never fades.  “What do you do?”

“I write.”

“What do you write about?”

“This and that.  I like to write fiction.”

“Ooh.  Are you working on something right now?”

“I am, actually.  It’s about --”  I freeze.  The celestial vulpine woman is leaning forward, staring at me with piercing eyes.  “Um, it’s about...you.  Well, not you exactly, but...I’m writing a journal.  It’s about this woman I keep meeting every night.  We talk, we flirt with each other a little bit, but I can never remember her name, or her face.”

The vixen suddenly looks unusually sad.  “I see.  You seem to care about this woman quite a lot.”

“I do.  Not in a creepy way, I promise.  She’s like...a kindred spirit.  Someone who gets me.”  I close my eyes.  “And I think that woman is you.”

“Maybe I am.  Maybe I’m not.”  She sits up on her makeshift bed of stars, tucking her legs in front of her.

“When I wake up in the morning, I write a new entry, in the hopes that I’ll remember who she is.  The memory’s always blurry, so I jot down as much as I can remember before it’s too late.”  I know where this conversation is going.  “I want to keep meeting her, again and again.  She’s an enigma, and that mystery is what makes her so special.”

This time, the vixen remains silent.  She places the Moon back where she found it, safe and sound.  “It’s okay, you know.”

“What?”

“You can ask me.  I don’t mind.”  Her voice is sweet, tinged with a hint of regret.  “I love these little conversations.  We can have as many as you want, until you’re ready to remember.”

She called it.  I chuckle to myself.  “I’m sorry about this.  But I promise, when I’ve finished filling that journal, I’ll show it to you, so we can remember all the fun we’ve had.”  I curl my legs against myself, similar to her.  “I’m sorry our talk tonight was a bit on the short side.  I’m...assuming we talk for much longer than this.”

“It’s alright.  Like I said, you’re fun to be around.  Even if I can’t be there with you.”

“How come?”

The vixen smiles again.  “I’m too big.”

“Oh.  Heh, yeah.  Well...maybe I like my girls big.”

“Good.”  She giggles again.  Her hand pierces through the night sky, reaching down for me and filling my vision with blinding light.  My mind is starting to feel hazy.  “Well, I hope you have a pleasant dream tonight.  I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

It’s getting hard to think.  I remember her name, finally.  “Me too, Stardust --"

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I’m staring at the stars again tonight.  My tail wags as I rest on the soft grass  There’s a small breeze kicking around, giving me a tranquil, almost nostalgic feeling.

I’ve been making a lot of progress on my story lately.  It’s a journal of sorts, about a girl who I swear I’ve met at least a hundred times, but I can never remember her face, or her name.  There’s always one image I associate with her.  She’s always wearing a flowing purple dress that glitters like the stars in the sky.

I look up at the twinkling lights, my fingers reaching over to etch out another constellation.  I think I’ll try a clover tonight.  I keep hearing this weird sound on the wind, like a giggle, but I pay it no mind.  The breeze is pleasant enough to put me at ease.

I lose myself in my thoughts, as I contemplate the next entry.  It’s almost done, and I can’t wait to show it to everyone.  Especially to her -- whoever she is, at least.

Tonight’s a lovely night.