Sometimes, Sarina would look out the window at the planet below, spinning too slowly for the normal human eye to detect. Shrouded by wispy white clouds, the greens and browns of the continents and blues of the oceans made the world shine like some jewel or magic stone in the night sky.
On the other side, in stark contrast, lay the curve of the moon. Its surface, obscured by shadow, appeared sinister and foreboding, the object of nightmare stories told by mothers to naughty children. Though all the monsters had been exterminated in the Great Purges decades ago, the lunar world still held the aura of darkness that permeated its history.
And then there was the white disk of Selene, floating in the vacuum between the two bodies, caught in their eternal gravitational struggle. The city in space, still thought by many to be a myth or a fool's imagining, was a true community, a place which thousands called home.
Sarina called no place home. Selene was merely the place where she had been for the longest time in her life. She had only fragments of memory from her childhood, and when the memories would become clear, she willed them away with all her strength. She had only one memento from her first, hidden life; she always bore a band on her left wrist, attached to which was a single white feather.
Blinking, she glanced over her shoulder at the source of the voice. The speaker was a young man, perhaps a year or two older than she, clad in a black padded jacket — an unusual sight in the climate-controlled city. A long, braided lock of otherwise close-cut brown hair fell down the left side of his face, adding to his sort of roguish look. But the feature that gave her pause was his eyes, penetrating grey eyes that seemed to look inside her, without concern for such things as clothes or flesh. He is looking at her with his brows slightly furrowed in a sort of concern.
...What do you want? she asked, frowning back at him.
He shrugged. I was just a little curious about you.
Every time you come in here, you stand in front of this window, staring out into space. His voice, she noted, was nearly as dry as her own. Not too many people come to bars if they don't want company.
Bars? Frowning, she looked at the room around her, and her eyebrows jumped up as she saw the place for the first time. I'm in a bar, she mused.
Now, it was his eyebrows' turn to jump. You never noticed before?
I only come for the view.
He scrutinized her for a moment, eyes once again seeming to bore straight through her. Why do you spend so much time looking out at space? he asks, narrowing his eyes in a way that make her even more uncomfortable.
Because I wonder what it would be like to be out there. She sighed, allowing herself to forget his presence for a moment, and softly intoned, To dart about the heavens, to mingle with the stars. To be a part of that perfect world, not watch it from afar.'
One-winged Angel, he identified.
She blinked. You know it?
Know it, sure. But I never really cared for it. It's so unnecessarily depressing.
Yes. She could have made a life for herself in the human world, but she has to keep brooding after what she can never have again. It's pointless self-abuse.
She made a face. It's a song.
It's a story. Songs usually have a meaning within them. Take Eyes on Me, a classic from —
She cut him off, shaking her head. Eyes on Me? You can't really expect that song to be taken seriously.
His eyebrows jumped once again.
It's a total fairie tale. The idea that she could even notice the guy, much less have a thing for him, is totally unrealistic. It might be a fun thing to fantasize about, but it could never really happen.
Those eyes peered at her again. You seem to have it all figured out.
So do you.
You free for dinner?
She blinked.
He shrugged, still not averting his eyes. Something about you is telling me that I should ask you to dinner.
Well, I work over dinner, she said, a little haltingly.
He nodded. Are you working right now?
- - = = = = - -
They were walking down one of the station's balcony paths, surrounded on three sides by the emptiness of space. Even the floor was composed of glasteel, the walkway marked only by a pair of white guiding lines. Sarina had picked the path, of course, and her companion seemed content to let her have her way.
Do you come here often? he asked.
It's one of my favorite places, she replied.
So when you're not stargazing in bars, you're stargazing from balconies.
I do have a job.
Everyone has a job. Do you have a life?
She stopped, spinning to glare at her companion. And what is that supposed to mean?
The eyebrows again. Why so defensive?
I've known you for less than an hour, and you're taking apart my whole life?
Actually, I thought I'd try to take it on whole.
She started walking again. Why do you even care?
That's one of the things I'm trying to find out.
She hmmphed. Is this mysterious stranger act supposed to be cool?
Why are you trying so hard to avoid my question?
She glared at him again. I don't share details about myself with people I just met. I don't even know your name.
He nodded. That's understandable. I'm Darren.
She walked away.
You know, you don't have to say a word to answer me.
Good. I'm going now.
What's the hurry? He was following her. You don't have anywhere else to be.
How do you know?
I know. You spend your whole life looking out at the stars, wishing you were somewhere else. Or maybe just wondering what it would be like. You're the one-winged angel.
Once again, she was stopped in her tracks. What do you want?
I told you, I'm not sure. I just know that there's something about you that makes me want to know more.
She folded her arms. You seem to have all the answers already.
He took a step closer. I know who you are. But I also need to know why, or I'll never really understand you.
Why do you even want to?
Once again, his eyes peered into her. This time, the effect was such that her heart nearly skipped a beat. Because I've never met anyone like you. You're a mystery to me, and that's not a feeling I enjoy.
Her breath was coming as if she had just ran a circuit, and her heart seemed to be pounding against her chest. She couldn't recall ever experiencing a feeling like this before. Then guess how I feel.
You're afraid.
I'm afraid of you? she asked. The question had been meant to be haughty, but came out almost plaintively.
He shook his head. No. You're afraid of yourself.
She averted her eyes, trying to bring her breathing under control. Then, she sensed his hand touching her cheek, and froze. Her eyes jumped up to meet his again, and she sensed the first hint of emotion in his face. For a few seconds, they remained locked in each other's gaze. Then, in a simple action that seemed to her a flash of motion, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Her breath caught, and every muscle in Sarina's body locked itself in place. For the seeming eternity in which she felt the pressure of his lips on her own, not a single other sense could register on her mind, and not a single thought could pass through it. It was as if she were caught in some sort of knot in time, unable to move beyond that one instant.
Then, the moment was over, just as suddenly as it had began. He was standing, just as he had been before, with that same, indiscernible emotion shown on his face. As if nothing had happened.
He spoke first. And something about that makes me afraid of you, too.