The North Star

Nagase Koji silently sits in her living room slowly tracing her index around her hand humming a tune she heard her mom singing a few days before. After a few minutes, she hears faint yet quickly paced steps outside the front door, followed by a light knocking on the door. 

Nagase smiles and yells just loud enough to be heard

"It's open! Come in!".

Her friend Minawa Miharu walks in, "Hey it's me!"

"You know you're not allowed to be here while my mom isn't home." Nagase says as Minawa sits down.

"Yea yea yea, but how could I not come over when you are moving away in a week?!"

"I guess that's true, I'm still glad you came"

"I can't believe you're leaving Nagase, what am I going to do without you?"

Nagase laughs halfheartedly.

"I'm sure you'll find somebody! you can still send me mail whenever you want."

"I guess." Says Minawa. "I'm still going to miss you"

"I'll miss you too." Nagase gives her a comforting smile in her general direction.

Minawa suddenly exclaims, "Oh I wanted to give you this." 

Nagase feels a small object slide into her hand.

"I know you've never been able to see me so I wanted to give you this."

"What is it?"

"Its something my grandma made for me a long time ago. Its a pendant in the shape of a

 crescent moon with my name inscribed on it. So now you'll never be able to forget!"

Nagase smiles "thank you so much".

"Well duh, you're my best friend. 

Just because you're leaving doesn't mean we won't be friends"

Nagase's mom's car can be heard entering the driveway. 

Nagase shouts, "You gotta go!" 

"Crap you're right. Hopefully, we can talk again before you leave town!" 

"Y-yea, bye."

She hears Minawa close the door behind her and begins examining the pendant with her fingers. Tracing every bump and edge carefully with her finger. Spelling out her friends name as she feels over every letter. She then grips it tightly and holds it to her chest.

"Thank you.."

Nagase's mom walks in.

"Hey hon, did I just see your friend sprint out of our house?"

"Nooo." 

"Nagase I told you no one is allowed over while I'm gone. What if a stranger came in?"

"I know I'm sorry."

Her mom sighs. "I know you want to see your friends before we leave but please be careful."

"I promise I will."

She sighs again. "Thank you.'

Nagase quietly hides the pendant in her pocket.

3 weeks later

Nagase lays in bed listening to the birds' chirp outside.

She can feel the warmth of the sun from the window beside her.

A light spring breeze envelopes her, shifting the hairs on her arms. 

Chilly, yet the looming presence of the approaching summer was apparent.

She sits up and tries to get used to the room she will now be living in for knows how long.

She can smell the new paint as it continues to flood her nostrils blocking any chance of 
enjoying the smells of spring.

Her mom told her the paint was baby blue because her mom knew it was one of the only 
colors Nagase still remembered from when she was little.

She made a mental note to thank her for that later, yet at the same time, she hated it.

She wanted nothing more than to forget.

Slowly she stood up and began walking towards the door.

She had to keep her hand on the wall because she still wasn't used to this new environment. 

Everyone always kept her door open because she had no real use for it unless someone was over. 

As she slowly and carefully walked down the hall feeling for things that told her where she was like the edge of a door or a light switch she jumped when heard her mom banging around in the kitchen. 

Nagase sighed and walked in that direction. "Hey, hon! how was your day?" Says her mom as she walks in. "Ok, I guess." Nagase says as she plops down on the couch. 

Nagase's mom's voice suddenly gets stern, "did you even do anything today? you look like you 
never even left your room"

"I didn't, not much I can do. all my friends are gone along with everything I cared about"

"Nagase you know we had no choice, don't make me feel worse than I already do. I was really 
happy you were finally getting used to being social" 

"Oh well." Nagase says as she sighs. She reaches into her pocket and rubs the pendant. She 
always kept it with her and was more and more often having to hold onto it." 

Her mom clears her throat. "But hey, you start school tomorrow. Are you excited?"

"A little. It'll at least get me out of the house."

Nagase wanted to stay strong for her mom, she knew this was hard for her too. She wasn't 

excited at all about going to school. She knew no one there and didn't even know how they would react to her.. condition.

Nagase remembers that it took a long time for anyone to talk to her back at her old school. 

Minawa was really her only friend. She would walk her down the hall and make sure no one tripped her or tried unsuccessfully to make her flinch by sticking their hands in her face. 

She was truly the only one who cared. 

Nagase went to bed that night thinking about her old school, she remembered going to school for months having to have a teacher take her to her classes or having to use a white cane. 

She hated using that thing, preferring to memorize the places she regularly went and just walking. 

Obviously, that's not an option while in a crowded hallway. 

Then Nagase remembers meeting Minawa. they met while in class one day when Minawa tapped on Nagase's shoulder. Nagase had never been so surprised in her life that she practically jumped out of her seat. 

"Oh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you I just wanted to know if you had a pencil I could 
borrow?"

 Still waiting for her pulse to lower Nagase laughs and says "oh yeah you're ok you just surprised me, here." she handed Minawa her pencil. 

"Thank you! you are a lifesaver. I'm Minawa by the way." 

"Nagase, nice to meet you too"

Ever since that day they were impossible to separate.

They managed to convince the school to let Minawa escort her between classes. they laughed and made jokes. Even occasionally going to each others house but most of the time Minawa had to come over for obvious reasons. 

Nagase smiles as she remembers the good times they had, 

And for the 1st time since they left Nagase fell asleep peacefully to the sound of crickets chirping and the cool breeze once again surrounding her. 

Knowing the stars were shining in the sky above her.