Starry Starry Night

"Ah... "

"...so that's it."

"My life is finally folded."

"And... I'm still couldn't live up to my parents expectation,"

"but... at least I'm able to save her."

"and died being useful,"

"..."

"I wonder if she would be alone"

"No.."

"That would be me..."

"..."

"I'm all alone now"

"Drifted away"

"From once I called life"

"It hurt."

"... really hurt."

"I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry."

"..."

He gradually regained his consciousness as he steadily took a long deep breath. He tried to move his body but was not availed, as aching all over his body, too fragile to even to move his hands. But his will didn't falter, he tried bit by bit.

The very first thing he did was to try to open his weary eyes but to his surprise his vision blurred. He tried to make sense of what he saw, at first it was just a blob of color then it slowly turned into a faint tint of a splatter of colors spread among its dark canvas, unveiling before him.

He tried to focus on it, in the hope it would improve his vision. He focuses on the one faint blue dot in the middle. The miasma of the blurs slowly lifted from his vision. With each graceful manner, the faint dots surrounding it began to show their glow. To his surprise, he caught himself gazing at the splendor space above him —a vast stretch of the universe presented to him, embellished with countless stars intermingled with each other. He gasped in astonishment as a tear escaped from his weary eyes. He tried to move his lips, tried to out loud his voice, but was unable to speak a single word.

"It's beautiful"

He thought and for a moment, he felt profoundly affected by the glimmering stars as he couldn't hold it anymore, his eyes glimmered as he continued to shed tears. It was quite a surreal sight for him. It felt like the stars waited for him, inviting him to dance in eternal waltz amongst their ever aglow. A waltz of thousand stars, as he would say.

He fell silent for once. A feeling of realization started to kick in, regrets and broken promises.

"If only I had seen this, when I was alive"

"I want to show it to her..."

"She would loved it"

He tried to raise his hand —reaching up to the stars. But his body was too weak as he lay on the ground, motionless.

"If I had been reborn again, If I had a chance, I would want to seek the stars, I'll try to reach it no matter how hard I try. I'll venture to the outside world just for this sight again. That's my final wish."

"..."

A shooting star soared through space. It glided gracefully across the night sky, as it wanted to be seen —leaving a trail of captivating colors, painting a mesmerizing sight to any who sees it. As if it was a performance on a big stage and only him as the spectators.

An omen, he thought as he closed his eyes and prayed for his wish.

"Heh... it would just be too good if I had been reborn..."

"...what an absurd idea."

To his astonishment, flickers of light started to reveal themselves. He felt overwhelmed by the many shooting stars, and one by one started to follow the path of the first star as it soared as far as his eyes could see. Transforming the night sky into a painting full of a rainbow of colors as the stars left their trails, each moving at their own pace.

Encouraged by the stars, He took a long breath, gathering one last push to regain his motivation. Once again, he tried to gather his strength to get up one more time, finger by finger, hand by hand, arm by arm. Screamed his lungs out filled with all his strength, his voice echoing across the stars. He was finally able to sit down. It was a success, although his body trembled all the way, he was able to manage it. At last, he could wipe away his tears.

He stared at his reflection in the water, he took a long look at his reflection only to realize, his face looked younger. He splashed the water over his reflection hoping it was just an illusion. But it remains the same. His body had regressed to its younger form. But in the end, he didn't seem bothered by it anymore. After all, he was already dead, he thought.

He kept walking into the unknown, meandering aimlessly. There are a lot of questions in his head, he gathered his thoughts and tried to make sense of all of this. He looked up at the stars, hoping for an answer but the stars remained silent.

As he walked looking for an answer, he heard a voice. A faint glimpse of her voice called his name, presence of a familiar feeling sent through his body. He looked around to find the source of the voice but to no avail. Her voice sounds anguish and sorrow, it ached his heart upon hearing it. It kept calling his name over and over. Deep down, he knew something still linger inside of him, but no matter how he tried to remember, he couldn't grasp it. He knelt as the water splashed all over his body. He felt defeated, and contemplated all of his actions. He looked at the stars but the stars remained silent. Without him noticing, tears started to run down from his eyes again.

"Ah... am I crying?"

"Why... am I crying?..."

"...I-i don't... remember."

He wiped his tears again. He started to walk again, looking for something that he knew he couldn't get. As time passed by, his body had regressed even more, like a child losing their parents in a supermarket. He couldn't walk any further as the water now is the same height as his waist. His memory can't recall anymore what happened before. All of it faded away, faded into obscurity, waiting to be cherished again someday, somehow.

As his body continued to regress, his entire surrounding became smaller as they adapted to his current body. His little body was unable to bear to walk anymore, he was prone on the ground and started to curl up his body submerged under the water. He took a long last look at the stars as his weary eyes can't bear it anymore. He sleeps into his long slumber. Waiting to be awakened one day.

Unknown to him, the universe already planned something greater for him. One last gift, a second chance, a second life to be cherished. Cherished with someone, someone who would mean very dearly to him. A promise that had been sealed forever in memory. A promise that would transcend into another life.

During his slumber, his mind began to wander. He slowly gaining his consciousness again as he could hear people talking, he could hear people singing, he could hear people laughing, he could hear people arguing, he could hear people crying, he could hear the piano playing, he could feel the warmth when someone put their hand on him, all of that while he was sleeping. A life he could've been.

As his senses began to work, he finally opened his eyes. He started to look around, he felt the warm sensation as he was being held by someone. As he looked up, he could see a woman, the face that brought a soothing warmth to him, a beautiful woman, cuddling him dearly, eager to let him go.

"My little boy," she cried joyfully. He turned his head to the side, seeing a man with a big posture. "Our little boy" he replied to her as he poke his hand to his chubby cheek. "Leon..." she exclaimed. "Leonard Aeronharte" he continued. "Ah… That's a good name," she agreed.

"From now on you will bear that name, my son."

"It's our prayer for you."

"No matter what will happened to you,"

"We will love you always."

"Leonard."