There was something about the stars. There was a magic to them, something that went just beyond the light that they created. Yes, the stars shone, but there had to be more to them than that. The Shadow Man knew that.
Every night, whether for mere minutes or whole hours, he would go out and look up at the stars. The city of New Orleans, as big and bright as it was, could not block out all the stars. Like a child, he would stare with wide, open eyes, waiting for the stars to release their magic. It had happened before, and he knew that one day it would happen again. Magic had a way of working like that.
Stars were something that his friends on the other side rarely saw. In a way, the Shadow Man had a gift. Rather than being trapped to the world of the dead, only let out when summoned by him and others like him, he could freely move about the living world.
Still, the night was known as the time of the dead. Few living souls could say that they always knew that they would see another night.
Even the Shadow Man for some time could not be sure.
Then, a single drop of starlight fell from the heavens. From that drop of starlight came a magical silver flower. Before this, the Shadow Man had never been one for flowers (though he did keep a spare one on the front of his suit sometimes for decoration). They died too quickly, picked, mauled by the feet of careless walkers, or lost to weather. This flower was special.
He surely was not the only one who would have tried to take the flower. It was luck, along with his careful observation of the night sky, that helped him find the flower before anyone else did. New Orleans was the kind of city where anyone and everyone wanted a little (or more) magic.
The flower could easily heal sickness and wounds, restoring him to health as he needed. Not only that, but it kept him young.
Most importantly, it kept him firmly on the side of life.
Yes, that was a special flower, his flower.
The man had managed to scrape together the funds for the restaurant through hard work alone. The Shadow Man stood to the side, watching it glow in the night sky. He had heard about this place for a while, though he had never dropped by until the grand opening. He had been sure that it would never actually come.
"No magic," he whispered to himself, "incredible."
There was no way that he would be getting a meal there, however. The srteet was lined with people waiting to get in. The smell of gumbo filled the air, so strong that even from where he stood the Shadow Man could smell it.
His shadow had gone closer a few times, surveying the inside, and confirmed his susupicions. It truly was a place made on hard work alone, a place free of men like him.
"Not that it needs to change." He turned and left. The restaurant certainly looked nice, but it was made by men. The building could fall, the lights going out if there was a problem with the electricity. Stars lasted forever, and that night they shone bright.
Besides, he had enough people looking to do magic with him already. Once he finished looking at the stars, there would be work to attend to. There were dreams to be made real.
The flower was his. He was the one who found it, cared for it, and made sure that no one else ever harmed it. That little piece of the stars belonged to him, not to some man who got a bit lucky and was able to fund a restaurant.
Pure hate ran through him. They were just going to waste the flower on one pregnancy, to cure one sickness. If they wanted to use it, then they at least could have used it correctly. The flower could easily have been used multiple times; now, it was gone.
Then, a speck of silver got his eye.
"This is so strange," a woman said.
"How often do you think that this happens? It is a strange coincidence." The man sighed.
"Either way, I don't mind. I love her anyway, strange hair or not."
"Well I for one think that it's beautiful."
He sang slowly, quietly, ever careful not to wake the girl's parents. Her hair glowed brightly, his worn fingers growing smooth once more. Pulling a small knife from his pocket, he cut a small bit of it.
All that got him was an ugly piece of regular black hair.
"What?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
Her parents stirred. Without thinking, he pulled the little girl from her crib, then ran to the window. The girl, he thought he had heard her parents call her Tiana, suddenly began to cry.
"What is going on?" asked the man.
As soon as he was there, the Shadow Man was out.
He had searched the bayou for somewhere safe to keep the star, and nearly given up. Though the area was secluded, it was rather dangerous. Were it not for the help of his friends on the other side, he might have been dead.
Then, he saw it. They had tried to build in the swamp area before, foolishly believing that it could be made into dry land. All it got was a few wrecked buildings and hundreds of thousands of dollars lost. One building, a large stone tower, looked strange, but could easily be fixed up if needed.
"Don't cry," he said, looking down to the child. "Daddy is taking you home."