Starfall

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<<cacheaudio "mainsong" "music/kindred.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "endsong" "music/elementalist.mp3">>

<center>We stand before each other, only a few inches separating us. I can't meet his gaze, and I know he can't meet mine. [[I know we were thinking the same thing.]]</center>

<center>One month ago, [[I fell from the stars.]] </center>

<center>That was three weeks ago, on the brink of my exhaustion and hunger. [[I stumbled upon his house.]] </center>

<center>His name was <<textbox "$name" "">>. I knew from the moment he said it to me that [[I'd never forget it.]]</center>

<center><<if $name is "">>Did I...did I forget [[his name?]] <<else>>[[Yes.]] $name.<</if>> </center>

<center>His name was <<textbox "$name" "">>. I knew from the moment he said it to me that [[I'd never forget it.]]</center>

<center>$name was always so... [[Intriguing.]] [[Good to me.]] </center>

<center>His one condition to letting me in his home was to answer a riddle. [[He had asked...]] </center>

<center>When he saw [[a helpless girl]] at the foot of his door, he didn't hesitate to let me in. [[He's taken care of me ever since, even now.]] </center>

<center>As we stand before each other, ready to say good-bye. I was the first to speak. [["Perhaps we don't have to say good-bye."]] [["Thank you for everything."]] </center>

<center>"What is always here, but cannot be seen? The more light there is, the less that they gleam?" <<textbox "$riddle" "">> [[I think I still remember my response...]] </center>

<center><<if $riddle is "stars">>Ah yes, that's what it was. The shock on his face was priceless, but he [[let me in.]] <<else>>No, no. It was something else, [[if I recall...]] <</if>></center>

<center>"What is always here, but cannot be seen? The more light there is, the less that they gleam?" <<textbox "$riddle" "">> [[I think I still remember my response...]] </center>

<center>I was hesitant to enter at first. Even though I had earned this mortal's welcome, I didn't want to admit that I needed help from a lesser being. "Do you want to come in?" he asked impatiently. [[Yes I did...]] </center>

<center>$name looked startled for a moment, in a way that made him seem displeased at my revelation. But surely, my eyes were just [[tricking me.]] </center>

<center>Silence. There was a look of longing in his gaze but <div class="vanish">it disappeared as soon as it surfaced.</div> Surely my eyes weren't [[tricking me.]] "Why do you have to leave?" he asked sadly. "Duty calls," was my default answer, "I've been away for too long; the balance of the cosmos depends on me." </center>

<center>His expression softened. "Do you remember?" he finally spoke. "It seemed like a lifetime ago, but do you remember how we met?" [[Yes I did...]] </center>

<center>We didn't speak much for the first few days. Our time together mainly consisted of $name giving me food and me sounding like a broken record everytime I said [["thank you".]] </center>

<center>I had been living in the forest for nearly seven days, trying to survive on berries and hare that I'd chase down for hours... For someone who was covered in filth and scratches, he was so...good [[to me.]] </center>

<center>Only a short while later and he learned of my passion for drawing. I drew his house, the meals he cooked, and him... [[...smiling at me warmly.]] [[...in a brightly coloured dress.]] </center>

<center><img src="https://i.imgur.com/JjaKENl.jpg" height="500"> "Do I look this handsome when I smile?" he asked. "No," I responded. "You look even better." His lips slowly curled up before he gently placed them on mine. It was [[our first kiss.]] </center>

<center><img src="https://i.imgur.com/W8tCRqR.jpg" height="500"> I'd never heard anyone laugh so much in their life. That had earned us [[our first kiss.]] </center>

<center>But we both agreed it was a mistake. Until I found what was in [[his office.]] </center>

<center>Astrology books, star maps, a telescope... This man was studying about the galaxy; my palace, my abode, [[my home.]] </center>

<center>It was a slow descend. The stars flitted left and right of my periphery, pinpricks of hot, burning masses bulging and erupting. I didn't realize I was [[falling]] at that point.</center>

<center>Flickers of images and sounds emerged in my head but were briskly [[shoved aside by the view.]]</center>

<center>I let myself drift, being stirred back and forth between the tides of time and space. Unseen forces drew away shards of my stardust. Shards of me. [[They drifted away, too.]]</center>

<center>It [[jolted]] me from this reverie. </center>

<center>It reminded me that I was not a pathetic ragdoll to be shoved around but a [[star.]]</center>

<center>I am a child of the nebulas and [[a glorious ambassador of the sky.]]</center>

<center>I pushed my limbs in frenzy against the current of gravity towards Earth. My focus narrowed. My movements became absolute. [[Fight...]]</center>

<center>[[Fight.]]</center>

<center>[[Fight!]]</center>

<center>[[Fight!!]]</center>

<center>[[FIGHT!!!]]</center>

<center>Yet I could not fight the very foundations of [[my existence.]]</center>

<center>I split in every possible way as my cosmic spirit formed a mortal body. ...[[Silence.]] </center>

<center>My eyes snapped open, unfocused, staring blankly at the mass of dull colours that moved as quickly as my drumming heart. Grass. Trees. [[Forest...]] </center>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/62cbjMj.png" height="220"> <center>[[Begin]]</center>

<center><<audio endsong play>>"...It's time," I say sadly, lowering my head. "Do you really have to go?" $name brings his hands to my cheeks, and flinches when he finds them wet with tears. [["Yes I do."]] [["You can come with me."]] </center>

<center>Neither of us can hold it back. $name kisses me, and suddenly the tears were gone. A soft moan escapes my mouth, and that only urges him to press his lips against mine harder. The space between our bodies disappeares, and I could feel [[his rapid heartbeat against mine.]] "Do you want this?" he murmurs. </center>

<center>He looks as shocked at my words as me. His expression confirmes that I had said it, though. [["What do you mean?"]] he speaks hushly. </center>

<center>"Occassionally, I see humans being brought to our home," my voice is shaky and hesitant, "they become stars—we both become stars." [["...forever?"]] he asks quietly. </center>

<center>"Yes, you will no longer be a human and I, no longer a god," I say firmly. [[His hands are still touching my cheeks, barely.]] </center>

<center>I have one moment of clarity before my head is surely bound to lose all thought... [[Yes!]] [[No...]] </center>

<center>Somehow, clothes just began disappearing, one after another. I look deep into his eyes the entire time, wordlessly begging for more. He knows exactly what I want, and touches me in just the right way, before [[everything fades to black.]] </center>

<center> He doesn't restrain the hurt in his eyes as he wrenches his arms from me. "Sorry," he sounds like a whipped puppy, "I got ahead of myself." [[Reach out to touch his cheek]] [[Look away]] </center>

<center>"You know I can never say no to you, silly," he says playfully. I grin brightly, and clasp his hands in mine. "Then close your eyes, $name, and I'll take you there." He complies, but I still wonder if I had made [[the right decision.]] </center>

<center>We arrive, at the place I called home, but only for a split moment. Our bodies glow, and I can see familiar faces of Gods around me staring in shock and disapproval. I didn't care. [[This is what I wanted.]] </center>

<center>"I'm sorry too," I say, looking into his eyes for the last time. "I'll miss you." "I'll miss you too," he whispers. [[...No, you won't.]] </center>

<center>I can't stand to see the pain on his face anymore. I turn, and barely audibly whisper, [["I have to go."]] </center>

<center>"Yes, you do," $name replies, divulging [[no emotion.]] </center>

<center>"Will you at least kiss good-bye?" I offered, as a feeble attempt to patch things up before I leave forever. I knew his answer before I even asked. [[...No, you won't.]] </center>

<center>I raised my hand to his forehead, and channeled my energy. $name looks surprised at first, then dazed, then...[[nothing at all.]] </center>

<center>He passes out on the floor, and I leave him there. You'll never think about me again I think sorrowfully. I turn and I leave. [[And I don't look back.]] </center>

<center> Life as a god again wasn't difficult to adjust to, but everyone began socializing with each other significantly more. They all talked about what new foods they ate and the humans they met. But whenever someone asked me about my time on Earth, I always say that I met someone... [[...and he was everything to me.]] [[...but he wasn't that important.]] </center>

<center>They always give me a sad smile, and sometimes a tentative hug. They never ask about $name though, because... [[...they've never been through something like that.]] [[...they can tell it's too painful to talk about.]] </center>

<center> Some could tell I was lying, but most couldn't. It was probably for the best, that I don't say much. Perhaps everyone will follow my example and we can return to the way we used to be: [[elitist, distant, and unyielding.]] </center>

<center>They'd never understand. Us Gods operate by duty, not emotion. Leaving $name was surely the best choice [[for me.]] </center>

<center>Maybe this event...everything that's happened: the fall, the time on Earth, the inevitable return to home...it all happened for a reason. Even Gods are susceptible to fate, [[I suppose.]] </center>

<center> <img src="https://i.imgur.com/ourXVvZ.png" height="200"> [[Credits]] </center>

<center>"What's happening?" $name asks, panicked. "We're turning into stars!" I yell, as if the louder I speak the longer I can postpone [[our transformation]]. </center>

<center>My skin peels off, revealing a hot, burning mass. It's blinding, but I'm not blinded. "Take my hand!" $name looks stricken with fear. [[Comply]] [["No, we can't touch."]] </center>

<center>We touched, just barely. In exchange for a moment of having everything, we split apart and [[became nothing.]] </center>

<center>He reaches for me anyway, before I could take [[my hand]] away. </center>

<center>We were never anything again, but we were more in a second than anyone ever was in [[their lifetime...]] </center>

<center>...but we never got to say [[good-bye.]] </center>

<center>When I open my eyes again, we are entangled together on his living room floor. Though neither of us are clothed, I feel [[surprisingly warm.]] </center>

<center>"You're awake," he murmurs, his breath tickling my ear. "Yes," I purr, "how much time has passed?" "Not long enough," $name grabs me by the waist and pulls me in [[closer.]] </center>

<center>"I really must leave now, my love," I say, voice tinged with pain. He nods wordlessly, and gently slips my clothes [[back on.]] </center>

<center>We part with one final kiss, and he whispers, "I'll never forget you." "Who are you again?" I say, and we laugh forcefully. "Good-bye, $name. I love you." I turn to leave. [[And I don't look back.]] ...but I should have. </center>

<center> <img src="https://i.imgur.com/ourXVvZ.png" height="200"> [[Credits]] </center>

<center>We touched, just barely. In exchange for a moment of having everything, we split apart and [[became nothing.]] </center>

<center>As an attempt to repay $name for his kindness, I taught him everything I knew—everything there was to know—about the stars. He was fascinated with the universe, and I was fascinated with him. [[Was it love?]] </center>

<center>Our time together was [[too short to tell...]] </center>

<center><<audio mainsong play>>If above the reaches of man stretches a measureless region of space, if nothing but the dark and the cold and the lifeless envelope the Earth, [[where do the Gods reside?]] </center>

<center>Humanity may never draw a satisfactory conclusion. In [[fantasy]], the strings of science are severed and magnificent tales are relayed of brave knights combatting beasts of otherworldly terror. Some say it is to gain the blessing of the Gods.</center>

<center>However in [[reality]], we haven't the slightest fascination with the humans, how courageous or cowardly. </center>

<center>We orchestrate unworldly tunes and feast upon meals too divine for the mortal tongue. We even roused our fair share of rumors of both fiction and fact about each other. Our holy abode rests [[between time and space themselves.]]</center>

<center>We exist both nowhere and somewhere; partly and wholly. In reality, we haven't the slightest intervention with the humans that subsists [[apart from their imagination.]] </center>

<center>Until now. We fell, too gracefully, from [[grace.|Beginning]]</center>

<center>When he saw [[a helpless girl]] at the foot of his door, he didn't hesitate to let me in. [[He's taken care of me ever since, even now.]] </center>

<center>Music from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_DbCpFvHA">League of Legends</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl8QLfgmCWQ">Winged Souls</a> on YouTube. Background image from <a href="http://www.neopets.com/~zirc">Whitespace</a> on neopets.com. All other images, text, concepts made by me (Cindy Luo). Thank you for playing Starfall! [[Play again|Prologue]] </center>

<center>The sky was dark as I flew back up, as if brooding a storm. It foreshadowed [[foul things.]] </center>

<center>My heart ached the entire time, from both anxiety and longing. I wanted to [[forget]] my role as a God. </center>

<center> But everything was normal when I arrived. The universe was in perfect balance. [[The universe did not need me.]] </center>

<center>His name was <<textbox "$name" "">>. I knew from the moment he said it to me that [[I'd never forget it.]]</center>