"Frantic skies in chaos.
The world never knew who she was.
Born of the stars, protector of the realms.
Damned child of the light, why do you persist to live?
I shall take your heart and your purity, and ensure my own salvation." -Demichy
An exhausted woman walked down the beach, relieved to hear the quiet. Her friend Sally volunteered to watch her newborn son Sora while she went out for a while to just walk around and relax.
Juliana looked up toward the stars and sighed for a moment. A tear threatened to gather in her eye as she saw a shooting star, so desperate was she to make a wish. The wish she'd been making for months, for her husband to come home from the fishing voyage that was supposed to last only a week. Christopher had been gone for two months now, as there was a hurricane in the region he was supposed to be working in. No sign of the ship had been found, not even the star-shaped shell charm Juliana had made for him for protection.
"You promised me, Chris," she whispered and closed her eyes, letting the tear slip free. "You promised that you would come back, that you would be safe, that you'd be home to raise Sora with me. Please, let there be some sign that you'll be back. That you'll come home to me and never leave again."
Then she heard the crying and sighed. She guessed Sally had brought Sora out to see her, and possibly to get him out of her hair. Gods, it seems that boy never stops crying. Not since his father went out to sea.
Juliana wiped the tear away and turned around before opening her eyes, silently hoping that she'd see Christopher standing there with Sora in his arms. Grinning at her in that sweet way that he knew made her heart melt. That he'd tell her in his beautiful voice that he was home and that there'd be no more dangerous trips out to sea.
She opened her eyes and saw no one, but the crying persisted. Confused, she moved her left foot forward and nudged something with the tip of her toe. With a cry she leapt backward and looked down. Juliana was startled to see a baby in a basket, wailing with ferocity.
Oh Gods, this is not what I need. But she very well knew that she wouldn't leave the baby there, all alone and cold by the ocean.
She picked the child up out of the basket and confirmed that it was a baby girl. The baby looked no older than Sora, who was two months old by now, and she looked in good health, if a bit red because of all her crying. Juliana smiled at the child and cooed, eliciting a laugh that made her feel warm, like the very sun was smiling at her.
Holding the baby in one arm, Juliana rummaged around in the basket with her other appendage, hoping to find a note, explaining why someone left the baby in a basket on the beach. Instead, she found something entirely different.
Tears poured down Juliana's face as she held Christopher's protection charm that she made for him on the side of the basket, wrapped in a silken cloth with pictures of stars and a shooting star in the middle.
Juliana looked at the baby girl nuzzling into her with wonder. This child . . . She didn't know what, but there was something special, very special, about this baby girl. "Gods be praised," she whispered, and she could have sworn that the baby opened her eyes for a second and winked at her.
Sally left Sora alone for a moment, as he was occupying himself with his toes, and opened the door for her best friend. She stared at the bundle Juliana held with one hand, and the basket and charm she held with the other. "What the hell is wrong with you, Juli?"
Juliana just smiled and walked into the living room where Sora was. As soon as he saw her, he started to wail, wanting to his mother to hold him and feed him, but then his mother did something that fascinated him. She set another baby, somehow different from him, next to him.
Sora stopped crying and just stared at his new infant friend, and she stared back, smiling.
Sally stood next to her friend, confused. "Juli, are you crazy? Where'd you find her?"
"I made a wish, Sally," Juliana said softly, still wanting to cry, but she found that she couldn't because she was too happy.
"You wished what? To be sent another kid?" Sally was panicking, trying to figure out how best to help her friend when there were now two mouths for her to feed, and no Chris there to help out.
"Sally," Juliana said, gaining her friend's attention, "I wished for Chris. She brought this to me." And she opened her hands to show her the charm she had made for her husband, in perfect condition. There were two inscriptions on the back, one that Juliana had made, telling her love for Christopher, and praying for his safety.
The other said, "I'm coming home, Baby-Girl. No matter how long it takes, I will come home to you, no matter where I am, and how far away you are. Be safe for me. I love you. –Chris"
Sally didn't know what to do as her friend took a moment to cry heavily on her shoulder, as she was both laughing and crying. She just patted her on the shoulder and stared at the infant girl who was reaching her hand out to Sora it seemed out of friendship, and she studied the baby for a moment.
She was light-skinned, almost bright, and her hair, what much there was of it, was a combination of light and dark brown, and her eyes were stunning. They were a beautiful sky blue that seemed to tell of the stars, as there were flecks of gold in them that sparkled like jewels. Aside from the seemed 'brightness' of the child, and her eyes, she could almost be Sora's twin.
Almost.
Juliana finally stopped crying and went to make some tea, and Sally sat with the kids, silent as a rock. When her friend came back from the kitchen, holding two cups of steaming hot tea on one tray and the even hotter kettle on another, humming her favorite song, Sally spoke.
"What're you gonna do with her, Juli?"
"I'm going to raise her," Juliana said simply, setting the cups of tea before Sally and the kettle next to them. "I'm going to raise her as if she were my daughter."
Sally smiled and shook her head. "What if someone comes looking for her, Juli? Her parents or grandparents, maybe? Or what if whoever's her guardian thinks she was kidnapped and has the police come looking?" She hated to put those possibilities out there, as she somehow too wanted to see Juliana raise the girl and she wanted to see her blossom into a bright young woman.
Juliana was silent for a while as she watched Sora and the girl interact together, first touching their hands together, then giggling hysterically as if something had shocked them both, and it made her heart warm. These are my children, she thought to herself. These are mine and Christopher's children, and I will never let them or him go again.
And then she shook herself out of her reverie and smiled brightly. "I think the Gods sent her to me, Sally. I think they sent her so that I could raise her and teach her right from wrong. To tell me that Chris would be home soon." She took a sip of tea and felt the warmth seep through her after briefly scalding her tongue. "I think she was born from the stars, the very shooting star I made a wish on. Gods, I just know she'll be something very special, Sally."
Sally just nodded and smiled. "I think she already is."
That night, Sally and Juliana brain stormed on what would be an appropriate name for the baby girl. Jewel and Star were thrown out, as they seemed to bold for a first name. Other names that meant bright were discarded until it suddenly came to Juliana and Sally. Something just seemed to whisper in both their minds, and they said aloud, "Nova Tempest."
Juliana smiled as she held her son Sora and her daughter Nova in her arms. "Sora and Nova. I love you both so much."
Two weeks passed.
Juliana just got finished feeding Sora and Nova and had put them down for a nap when she heard a great many people shouting outside excitedly.
Something stirred inside her then and she ran outside and down the beach toward the crowd, her heart beating loudly in her chest.
A large raft pulled up, then another. It was the crew of the fishing ship, all safe if a bit sunburnt and gaunt, and all accounted for.
Including her Christopher. He was no different than when he left, except that his clothes were torn and his hair was greasy and longer, and he had grown a matching beard. He still smiled that same sweet smile that made her heart melt and spoke those words that made her soul sing.
"I'm home, Baby-Girl. I'm so glad you're safe." And he opened his arms and Juliana just crashed into him, kissing his face and arms and hands and neck all over, and the other husbands got a similar welcome from their wives. Christopher petted her hair and kissed her head and whispered that he was home, and everything was alright. He wasn't going to leave again.
And they walked home together, holding onto each other to be as close to one another as possible. Juliana walked Chris upstairs to their room then went to the bathroom to draw him a warm bath, and slowly they walked together again to the bathroom where she helped him undress and slide into the tub.
She helped to wash his hair and trim his beard, and looked into those beautiful eyes that spoke of love and faithfulness. "Gods, how I love you Chris."
"And how I love you, Baby-Girl." He kissed her hand and held it to his cheek for a moment before looking briefly pained. "Oh Juli, I feel awful. The night we finished the rafts I had carved a promise to you on the charm you made for me, right next to the promise you made me, but it was gone the next morning when I woke up. I don't know how I lost the charm, I fell asleep with it in my hand, but I feel so awful, Juli, I do, and I'm sorry."
Juliana held her husband's head in her hands and looked him in the eyes. "Now hush, my darling. You don't need to be sad." She smiled warmly at him. "The charm and your promise found its way back to me, safe and sound, as you did." Juliana helped her husband out of the tub and dried him off, and then helped him into his bathrobe. "Come on, I have to show you the kids."
Christopher stared at his wife, confused as they walked together to what used to be only Sora's room. "Kids?"
Juliana smiled and sat him down so she could get the children out of the crib, and she held them out to Christopher who took them both and held them in his arms gently. He looked from Sora, his son who he knew he'd seen before, with his soft skin and brown hair like his, and blue eyes like his, then to the baby girl who he suddenly felt a fondness for, and protectiveness for.
She was light-skinned with brown hair, both light and dark, and she had brilliant blue eyes with spots of gold shimmering throughout. Christopher thought to himself that she could've been Sora's twin, they looked almost exactly alike. Almost.
Christopher knew immediately that these were both his children, even though he knew only one of them was born of his wife, and he loved them both with all his heart and soul. He grinned at his wife and asked, "What's her name?"
Juliana stood next to her husband and nuzzled his head lovingly. And as she ran her fingers through his hair she said, "Nova. Nova Tempest."
Christopher kissed first Sora's head, then Nova's, then listened as Juliana recounted how she came to find Nova, finding the charm in the basket, and knowing that she was special. And Christopher knew both Sora and Nova had great destinies, even though he knew he was far from knowing what it could be. He was a simple fisherman who was going to be there to raise his family and look after them, and be there to love them always.
He laid his children in their crib and smiled lovingly as they cuddled together.
Juliana and Christopher went about their daily lives in their house, cleaning and dusting off the furniture and knick-knacks, making lunch, bringing the children down to feed them and play with them, laying them down for a nap, playing word games and cards together, doing everything they would normally do.
And when night came around, Juliana brought out dinner and fed her husband and the children, then changed their diapers, laid them down to sleep, and her and Christopher walked up to their room where they held one another in love and contentment, and made gentle love to each other until sleep overcame them.
In the morning, it would be the same routine until Christopher was called back to work, with a different kind of fishing job, one that would keep him closer to home. He and Juliana would love the kids and raise them accordingly and prepare them for whatever life planned.
Juliana and Christopher could ask for nothing more and nothing less. Just to see Sora and Nova grow up and be happy.