Quick Author's Notes: I wrote this a while ago. I don't particularly like it.
Courage
Kino grinned softly as she folded her arms behind her head and turned to stare at the stars. It was a cloudless, moonless night; the sky was a deep blue-black. Clumps of stars glimmered as if they were fish scales catching the light from beneath the surface of some ocean. Lying here, in the middle of a field of beautiful flowers, Kino felt as though she was a star herself, lost in the sky.
"I think travelers are stars," she commented to Hermes, who merely scoffed.
"What do you mean, Kino? Humans aren't like stars," he stated matter-of-factly. Kino chuckled.
"Stars are always moving," she replied quietly. "Always traveling. They seem to stay in one place for a long time, but eventually they move on. Like us." Kino reached over and carefully plucked a fluffy dandelion. It was covered with soft, white strands. Kino lifted the dandelion to her face and lightly breathed on it, watching in wonder as the strands instantly lighted from the dandelion's head. The warm summer breeze caught the strands and whisked them away to an unknown place. Kino sat up and leaned backwards to rest on her elbows.
"I think travelers are flowers, too," she commented. "You know what they say; when people look at the sky, they feel the need to go on a journey. But it takes a certain moment in a person's life to gather the courage to do so."
"The journey of a single step begins with a thousand miles," Hermes quoted.
"I think you mean 'the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'," Kino corrected.
"Oh yeah, that's what I meant," Hermes said sheepishly.
Kino turned back to the flower, now devoid of any seeds. She placed the dark green stem atop two other flowers and looked back up at the sky.
"Look, Kino!" Hermes shouted suddenly. "It's a shooting star!"
Kino smiled and said, "I guess it's time for that star to end its journey."
"Does it take a lot of courage to end a journey, Kino?"
Kino ran a hand through her dark brown hair thoughtfully. "I don't know, Hermes. I've never heard of a traveler who ended their journey. Who settled down in a country and got married or had children. I don't think that they are a real traveler if they decide to do that."
"Do you think you'll ever settle down, Kino?"
"No. I don't want to. I don't think I can."
"You know you're going to want to, someday," Hermes said in a small, uncertain voice. "When you're an adult, maybe."
"Maybe," Kino agreed. "Who really knows? All I know is that now, this star will never become a comet."
