Stumbling Stars
...I once was lost...
I knew it was night because it smelled like moonlight.
The hum of the Condor flooded my ears, floated through my brain, and trickled out of my eyes like water.
I wiped them away.
Now is not the time to cry.
I stand, the bed creaking as my weight leaves it. Radarr's here with me, his fur ruffling against my skin. I don't know how badly he's cut up, but Finn said there was a good amount of broken glass. My buddy's got a plaster cast on his arm and an absurd amount of bandages all over his body.
We buried her...
We buried her...
Those words are so hard to say...
We buried her on a small terra, close to Atmosia, where she'd be left in peace. I'll never forget the feel of that dirt between my fingers, how the mud felt underneath my fingernails, and the smell of remorse.
I stick my head out the open window and wish I could see the sunset.
OOO
Finn won't leave his room.
Says he's...not hungry.
Junko is a shell of what he was.
Stork has broken down entirely. If we thought he was bad before, well...we didn't know the half of it.
And all I can do is pick my way around the ship, trying to figure out which room has the higher pitched buzz: the hanger bay, or the kitchen...
My nose catches a familiar smell.
Crystal dust.
I'm outside Piper's quarters.
I press the button that operates the doors. The click hisses through the air. I walk in, foot catching on the threshold. It smells like her: ink, pen, paper, and beauty.
I never knew beauty had a smell before.
I find her bed and I lie down. It's thick with her scent. I pull her pillow up to my face, inhaling it with vigor, until the tears start streaming, and I sob like an infant into the fabric, leaning into the mattress.
That's how the others find me the next morning.
OOO
It's night again, but I only know that because I felt out the fingers on my clock.
The moon is new tonight.
I can feel the dark stain of nothingness that blotches out a patch of sky.
Radarr's sitting on my shoulder once more, and the weight is comforting.
I stand on the balcony and imagine she's popping out, asking how I am, discussing our latest plan...
I ask Radarr a question.
"What do the stars look like, bud?"
He chirps very lightly.
They're crying, pal. Breaking. Stumbling.
I'm oh so lost.
Me and the stars.
The stars are missing their moon...
And I'm missing my heart.
