The Wonder That's Keeping the Stars Apart


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The train depot was small, dark, and empty. A whitewashed sign above the main entranceway read TERMINUS, the letters bold and blocky, and the windows looked to be boarded and already closed up for the night even as the sun was still melting into the horizon.

It looked abandoned, had the façade of a place long-forgotten, and as Carol stepped out onto the creaky wooden platform, she felt the persistent whispers of the uncertainty she'd felt since penning and mailing that first letter return with sudden, rude force. In that moment, the desire to turn around and step back onto the train was nearly overwhelming, but Carol lifted a hand to the locket at her throat, mustered up her flagging courage, and pushed against the unwanted emotion. Stiffening her spine and lifting her chin in defiance, she nevertheless clutched her bag tightly with white knuckled hands when she heard scuffling footsteps approach. A sigh of relief escaped her when she recognized the young porter, Randall, her trunk in his arms.

"That should be all, Mrs. Peletier," Randall straightened with a soft grunt. "You sure I can't help you with anything else?"

Carol gifted him with a handful of coins and a nervous smile. "You've been so much help already." Casting a glance back over her shoulder at the depot and the lengthening shadows, she spoke with more confidence than she felt. "I'll be fine. I'm sure the person I'm meeting will be here soon."

Randall nodded and attempted to reassure her with his soft, sleepy drawl. "They're just not very trusting people, Mrs. Peletier. It's not so bad a place. I think you'll really like it here."

"I hope so."

Randall smiled and tipped his hat at her. "You will."

Carol watched until the young man limped out of sight to help the few other departing passengers and let her smile fall tiredly away. "I really hope so." Plaintive mewing answered her quiet murmur, and she sighed. "I know. I know. Me too." She turned, her bag cradled to her chest, and her voice a soft, soothing hum as she made her way toward the wooden benches sheltered beneath the depot's eaves. She didn't make it far before a deep voice startled her.

"Mrs. Peletier? Carol Peletier?

Three dark figures stood in the spot Randall had so recently vacated. One, a tall, lanky youth, immediately lowered his large eyes upon meeting Carol's questioning gaze. Another, the broad shouldered owner of the voice, offered her a tentative, gap toothed smile before sparing a deferential glance at the cloaked figure standing between him and the boy.

"I'm Carol Peletier." Carol searched their unfamiliar faces for any clues to their identities but found no such reassurances; her letters had held only names and the vaguest of descriptions, no photographs or rough illustrations of faces. Swallowing thickly, she forced her voice to be steady and strong. "You are?"

Feminine ebony hands lifted to remove the cloak from the smallest figure's head and wise dark eyes stared back at Carol for several seconds that stretched and segued into minutes as the two women considered one another. Finally, a melodic voice cut through the stillness as the woman addressed first one man, then the other. "Noah. T. Take Mrs. Peletier's trunk."

"But I still don't know who you are," Carol softly protested as the two men hefted the trunk full of her worldly possessions like it weighed little to nothing. The woman grumbled something about Dixons beneath her breath and paused just long enough for Carol to catch up to her as she stalked the length of the platform to a wagon waiting nearby. "At least tell me your name."

The woman stalled completely in her tracks and sighed. "Michonne."

"You're Michonne?" Carol winced immediately. Obviously, she'd failed miserably at keeping the disbelief from her voice if the tiny, knowing smirk on Michonne's full lips were any indication. "I just didn't expect…"

"A woman of color?"

Heat crept past the high neckline of Carol's gown, staining her cheeks scarlet. "No," she defended herself softly. "I just didn't expect a woman at all."

Michonne nodded then, just a hint of teeth showing between her full lips. "I didn't expect you."

Carol's mouth fell open, but apparently, she was too fatigued from her long travels to formulate a response. She could only follow after Michonne as she led the way.

"C'mon. We best make tracks. Mr. Gareth and Mr. Martin don't take too kindly to folks like us haunting these parts."


Thanks so much for the follows, favorites, and feedback!

Stargazr41: Thank you. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you continue to enjoy it and my little universe and the characters in it.

Guest: Kisses for you. Your English is fine. Much better, I'd wager, than my Spanish could ever be. :) G because all I have to go on as to what to call you right now is Guest. I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Thanks for your sweet words.

Fangirl8494: Thank you so much for your kind words. Not the meeting your were hoping for yet, but I hope you enjoyed it just the same.

Sarafina2012: Thank you. I'm such a sucker for those movies. I bet ya couldn't tell, huh? :)

Melniewn: You'll find out more about Sophia as the story goes on. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.