Chapter 9: Stargazing

"Beautiful…" Timpani was nothing sort of awestruck as they walked through the marshlands. The swamps of Gloam Valley had at first sounded somewhat repellent. Now, as the sun's rays shined against the ever-growing vines, they gave off a faint green glimmer in the air, displaying beauty in even the most unlikely of places.

Blumiere and Timpani walked slowly along a narrow rocky path through the marsh, careful not to step into the puddles that occasionally littered the path. Timpani was beaming widely as the sun shone on her face with an odd, green glow. "I wouldn't mind living in a place like this," she said. "It's so surreal, like a dream almost."

By the hue of her face, Blumiere would have suspected sickness had she not looked so excited. Even in the green veil, though, she looked beautiful. Her elation swelled until it overflowed into him, so that everything she took in affected him as well; the tall vines, the glowing air, the smell of moss and water. For a brief moment, he had a glimpse of the world in her eyes.

Splash!

Blumiere's thoughts were instantly disrupted as a freezing sensation ran up his right leg. He jolted back, glancing down at his now soaked foot. The water ran all the way up past his ankle, stopping near the middle of his shin. "Perhaps someplace a little less wet?" he muttered, attempting a laugh as he tried to shake his foot dry. Timpani knelt down to help him. "Hold on," he said, holding up a hand to stop her. He placed both his hands on his leg and pressed. Soon, steam began to rise up from his foot. It rose in a foggy cloud until all of the water had seeped out of his clothes, and he was just as dry as before.

"Wow," Timpani said. "You didn't even have to say anything."

"Looks like I'm getting better," said Blumiere confidently. "Still, I'm not particularly fond of puddles." He looked down disdainfully at the small pool, which still rippled mockingly at him.

"You have to admit, though, it's a wonderful place!" Timpani exclaimed, gazing up through the tops of the trees. "This is my favorite spot so far."

Blumiere smiled. "I couldn't agree more. I think we may be close to finding what we're looking for." Timpani smiled in return, sharing in the excitement. As the wind began to pick up, Timpani began to shiver. Blumiere's smile faded in almost an instant. "You're getting cold."

"I'm fine," Timpani tried to assure him, but he was not convinced.

"We should leave. It will be dark soon."

"You don't have to worry so much. I'm very much capable of taking care of myself, thank you," she added playfully.

Blumiere laughed in spite of his worries. Still, the quickly setting sun unnerved him. It seemed the days in this world were significantly shorter than he and Timpani were used to.

Timpani noticed his growing concern. "We don't have to leave so soon, do we? I feel like we just got here."

Blumiere considered the thought. "We could find a place nearby to rest, but we should start on a fire. It's about time to settle down before it gets too cold."

Timpani nodded in agreement. "Okay."

Blumiere was dismayed to see the disappointment in her eyes. "We always have tomorrow. It's like you said, we'll have our day."

Timpani couldn't hide her doubts, but she smiled. "As long as we're together?" she asked.

"Always." It was something they would say to each other almost every day. Blumiere couldn't exactly remember when it had started, but it was the motive that had driven them to push through the harder times. Now was no different. He knew they would have their day soon. It was his promise to her, and he would do whatever it took to keep it.

The couple wandered away from the swampy marsh, looking for a dry place to stay for the night. Darkness had already begun to fall by the time they found an appropriate place in the midst of the trees. Fortunately, it would be an easy place to find wood. It took Blumiere perhaps a half hour to gather a sufficient amount to prepare a campfire.

Once he felt that he'd collected enough, he began to pile the bigger sticks in a circle, placing them largest to smallest. He formed each layer closer together until it formed a pyramid. In the weeks past, such a task took more than a few frustrating attempts, but it became easier each passing day until, at last, he had perfected the chore.

It seemed that he had experienced everything else in much the same way. He looked back, rather embarrassedly, at the first week of their adventure together. Most days had ended in frustration, whether from a series of failures or the fear of never finding what they set out to look for. To the best of his ability, Blumiere tried to control himself. After all, he was the one who had invited her to travel. After the first week, remaining calm became much easier as he and Timpani became accustomed to living out in the open. Now, it seemed, all their searching was about to pay off.

"Blumiere!" Timpani's voice rang swiftly through the forest. Blumiere turned his head, searching for the source of the call. Soon, Timpani appeared from behind one of the trees, dashing excitedly towards him.

"What's wrong?" Blumiere asked in concern.

Timpani grabbed his arm. "You have to see this!" she exclaimed. Her eyes were dancing. "Come with me!" With that, she began to walk away from the pile of wood, leading Blumiere along.

"What is it?" Blumiere asked, his curiosity almost unbearable.

"You'll see. Just wait a moment." They continued wandering through the forest. As they walked, it occurred to Blumiere that it would be rather difficult to locate the campfire. He dreaded having to do the work again, but he decided to forego the thought for now.

As they reached the edge of the forest, Timpani turned to him. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Just trust me." Blumiere laughed, but willfully obeyed her. She grabbed his hand and gently led him out of the woods. Once the shadow of the forest left them, Blumiere could sense a great light shining down on his eyelids, disturbing the darkness momentarily. He wondered what sort of thing could have caused such powerful light. Perhaps a full moon?

The grass became thinner and tamer the further they walked. Finally, Timpani stopped walking and held her hand to Blumiere's chest to stop him. "Okay," she whispered excitedly. "Look up." Blumiere opened his eyes and turned his head up to the sky. What he saw made him gasp.

Before he met Timpani, he had not had much experience with the stars. He'd read maps and studied the constellations, but he had never seen them for himself. The first time he had experienced stargazing, he was awestruck by the beauty of the night sky. It was as if everything he had read in books and archives had come to life right before his eyes.

This new planet, however, was an entirely new experience. There was no moon in sight, but sprawled out before them was an endless black canvas, splattered with white painted stars. Many were clumped together, forming new patterns and galaxies. A milky white streak covered a good portion of the sky, fused with a mixture of colored stars and planets. Not an inch of the blackness of space could be seen through the mass of light.

Blumiere was stricken speechless. The dazzling light nearly blinded him where he stood. It was impossible to comprehend how much his eyes were taking in. A small tug distracted him—only slightly—and pulled him gently down. Without thinking, he followed the tug, kneeling down until he was in a sitting position.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Timpani asked, sounding just as excited as Blumiere felt.

"It's beautiful," was all he could say in reply. As one, he and Timpani lay together, gazing up at the celestial display.

"There's a tradition in my village," Timpani said, still gazing skyward. "We believe that wishes on stars come true."

"Is that so?" said Blumiere, chuckling. He looked out at the sky again. The stars on this night would be enough for more wishes than they could ever think of. "In that case, we'd better get wishing, don't you think? It would take all night to wish on all of these stars."

Timpani laughed cheerily. As her voice faded away, she turned her head to him, her expression serene. "I don't need to wish anymore," she whispered.

"Mmm?"

She smiled. "I already got my wish. Now…" She leaned in closer to him. "I have everything I need right here." They embraced each other tightly, ever more grateful for each other's company. Blumiere shared her thoughts, only wishing that it would never end.

A breeze wafted across the field, shaking the trees behind them. As it blew over them, Blumiere sensed Timpani's shiver. It was slight, but it was enough to make him worry again. Suddenly, the memory of the fire invaded his thoughts. "Timpani, aren't you cold?"

"Not at all," she answered quickly. "I'm very warm." Blumiere wasn't convinced, but Timpani only leaned in closer, looking deep into his eyes. "Can we stay like this? Just a little longer?" His worrying did not cease, but he could see the happiness in her eyes again, a happiness that she wasn't willing to trade for something as trivial as heat. He felt he had no right to ruin the moment, so he let her have her wish. The two of them lay in the field together, sharing in each other's comfort and warmth until, eventually, they both drifted to sleep.


Hey guys! Miss me? So, I took a bit of a two-month respite to get accustomed to college life again. I'm back in the groove, and I've even finished most of the future chapters! I don't know why, but this one was the hardest to write so far. I'm not sure how it turned out, so I'll let you guys judge. Enjoy!