Aria of the stars

On a hillscape that overlooked a torrenting black ocean, tens of thousands had gathered underneath the haze of the sun. There was bustle between them, still. But, it was entirely different in that moment. Their faces were not blank, and they didn’t seem to be moving for the sake of moving. On the faces of the Undine sat gentle smiles, and their feet moved for the sake of gathering together underneath the sky.

The ocean waves splashed wildly against the cliffside, sending splashes of soot flying through the air like rainfall coloured a shade of midnight. I stood alone upon the hill’s path, which had been bare of colour. Slowly I moved through the crowd, admiring each expression of the passerbys as I looked for the playwright.

I had thought long about how I had burnt away the kinship between me and the Demon of Portraiture. I could not for a second agree with what he had done. I wondered if I was angry simply because I was selfish. I wondered if I was only angry because he did not tell me so, when I had shown him my own heart in full.

Gazing at the ground with quiet eyes, I walked slowly upon its dusty form. My boots which had been shined quickly ran dry of fresh demeanor, and my heart fluttered with anxiousness.

Slowly however, did it fade away.

In the distance, where the whirring of the clockwork city had faded, in its place rang out a bell that marked the mid of night.

As I looked up into the sky in unison with the thousands that surrounded me, my eyes widened.

The heat of the sun that bore down harshly upon Crelle slowly began to die away, giving way to a gentle biting winter wind. The sharp-vermilion light too began to fade, and in mere moments, there was simple darkness.

As I stood within the crowd, anxious murmurs erupted between them, but those too were silenced in turn.

What replaced the red and orange splashes in the sky was a gentle, simply white light that hung so gorgeously within the darkness.

Underneath the sky of Crelle, I glanced up once more at the beauty of the quiet moon.

Against the haze of the sky erupted a fantastical aurora of colours, bright violets and blues that seemed to wave and shimmer against the slowly-fading steam.

Underneath the beauty of the night, I began to walk forward.

Hanging upon the edge of a wooden fence that overlooked the sea, held up in the arms of his mother, the boy marveled at the sky of a thousand colours.

"Look, mom! The sky is purple!” The boy pointed, wildly excited eyes upon his face.

Seeing his expression, it reminded me of so much.

“It is, isn’t it dear?” She smiled simply.

“I want to fly in the sky someday.” The boy spoke warmly.

Tears began to cascade down my face as I stepped past, despite the smile that crept upwards upon my cheeks.

And no matter how many of them I wiped away, I couldn’t cease the warm softness of my quick-beating heart.

As I stepped down the path, murmurs of the crowd filled my ears once more.

Underneath my footsteps, I felt the softness of the ground. To my surprise, dust no longer littered the soles of my boots. Instead, not unlike the ripple of the ocean waves, grass began to spread upon the ground.

In that moment, as bloom erupted forth, the path I had been walking along became gilded by wildflowers.

And soon, upon the hilltop by which grass had blossomed, I came across a woman cloaked in white, who bore the stars within her irises.

“Agreste-“ She spoke suddenly with widened eyes, walking up to me as she grasped hold of my face. “You’re crying…”

Softly she wiped the tears away from my cheeks, and still did I smile.

“No…” I shook my head. “I’m happy right now. Don’t worry your heart.”

I looked then towards the blankened midnight that had still been enveloped by a haze of steam, now glimmering under the moonlight that arose so bright.

In the place of the haze that had faded, I could hear the cries of excitement from the curious boy upon the wooden fence.

“Look, mom! A star!” He shouted with wild joy. “It’s like in that play!”

In the dark portrait of the night, a single star had emerged to shine bright.

Then, another followed in twin beauty.

‘Could then the third have been called a triplet?’ I wondered quietly.

It continued as such for minutes on end, as slowly a gentle hand painted the portraiture of a glimmering night sky.

In the end, my eyes faltered under the ache of my heart, which had appeared so suddenly, and then faded just the same.

Within an endless night, I had begged desperately to the sky in my silence, and for their sake, the stars had emerged.

I couldn’t speak a single word in response to their beauty.

I didn’t imagine anyone did. As quiet as the night was, too had been the crowd of thousands. In a world of machinery, the gears did not whir, and the clocks did not tick. The breeze did not sound out, and the ocean had quieted itself. There was not a footstep, nor a murmur, nor the joyous cries of a curious boy.

Underneath a sky of a million stars, everyone stared in awe, and felt their hearts in turn.

In the cold, there was only warmth.

“This…” Theresia spoke softly with wild euphoria lurking in her gaze that stared dutifully at the heavens. “So… I understand now.”

That was all that she could think to say. In the face of glittering beauty that blanketed the sky which enveloped the crowd, she too had become lost within the lightness of her heart.

Then, as the stars began to whisper their beauty, did they then invite their friends from the heavens, who graced the sky with their presence in turn. In an instant, a streak of bright-golden apparel burst through the violet sky. Then did another follow it. Soon, the sky was filled with rainfall of golden lights, and I couldn’t help but try desperately to bear the ache of euphoria that burnt so lovingly in my chest.

“Those are the perseids.” I spoke with a soft smile. “They are comets that move quickly, like lightfall. They are the ‘shooting stars’.”

As I looked over at Theresia, I could tell that for once, she wasn’t fully listening. Her lips were slightly pulled apart, unable to compose the wonder of her smile as she stared dutifully up at the sky.

Staring at the expression on her face, I couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter. Clutching at both my side and the railing, I fell to my knees in a raucous display of joy. My awe had faded, and only then could I appreciate how adorable I found the woman I had grown to love.

“What are you laughing at?” She asked of me suddenly.

I stood back up, my knees having left a memorable imprint in the soil below.

“I was just thinking for a moment, and I realised how silly it has been, to have seen the stars without offering up custom.”

“And what would that be?”

“When you see a star that moves quick through the sky, as if not to be seen, you’ll be granted one wish.” I smiled, moving her gaze back towards the sky with softened fingers. “So, look dutifully towards it, close your eyes once more, and wish silently in your own mind for the thing you want most. You will sleep sound tonight, and in the morning, it will surely be granted to you.”

The surprise on her face quickly turned flush, and then a gentle smile crossed her lips. Theresia closed her eyes, sitting in the peace of the quiet environment as she thought truthfully about the one thing she wanted most.

In that moment, as I stared at her smiling face underneath the moonlight, I knew well what I myself wanted.

I knew wholly that I wanted to marry Theresia.

Rather, the 'Agreste' that I wanted to be was one who loved, and one who was loved in return.

She opened her sapphire eyes, and looked softly back towards me.

“Did you wish?” I asked of her.

Theresia simply nodded sheepishly in response. Her face was lit ablush, so I pulled her in close, and marked her expression with my lips.

Hers against mine, I couldn’t compare the drowning feeling to anything else. The euphoria of the stars had engulfed my heart. Then, this warmth that I felt in her embrace was inconsiderable to that.

The warmth of my heart had engulfed my entire body, and I was simply happy to be hers.

As we pulled away, I met her gaze, which now truly reflected the rustling ocean in the backdrop.

“I thought I was to sleep first?” Theresia laughed softly. “How did you know what I wanted?”

I shook my head in response.

“I didn’t know. I just wanted to kiss you.”

As I had met her lips, the soot in the ocean of Crelle had fallen away to the depths, giving way to the bright-vivid shades of blue that waved against the opalescent foam.

In its waters, the lights of the stars were reflected gorgeously.