Chapter 22 Colors and Stars

Solar continued on the path toward the source of the voice. For perhaps the first time since he entered the void, he felt the joy of discovery, the excitement of going after something new and fresh. His heart fluttered the more he flew. His mind wandered to what could possibly be the source of the voice, and what this source could offer for him. Flashes of long forgotten and enjoyable sensations and images came to mind. They weren't fully formed memories; just blurry images and distant voices that were forever stuck in an echoey and unexplorable abyss. Solar had no idea what these images or sounds were, but for some reason, his mind became excited to find them, to re-experience them and get a clearer picture as to what they might be.

"How much longer?" Solar asked a loud, the sound a sharp note in the empty void.

"You still have a ways to go," the voice said. "I exist inside the universe after all. And you still have yet to reenter it."

Solar smirked. "Yeah, I don't visit the universe very often. I kind of just float around with no real direction in the void."

"So I've gathered." the voice replied

Solar continued on toward the voice. It wasn't until later that he realized what exactly the voice had told him; they exist within the universe. That meant Solar was leaving the void, stepping out into the one place that had been taboo to him for so long. On some level, this scared him. Why it scared him, he had no idea. It had been such a long time since he had been in the universe. Heck, he barely even remembered what it was like there. But he did know, intrinsically and instinctively, that he needed to avoid it. He had been avoiding the inside of the universe all this time, for a reason that he buried so deep within his subconscious that he had forgotten it.

But…you know, it was possible that there was no reason. Or at least, not a concrete reason. After all, he had forgotten about it. And you know what they say "if you forgot about it, it must not be that important." So, part of him was really excited to reenter the universe. He wanted to see what his old, forgotten home had turned into, how it had changed over the course of however many time intervals had passed.

Soon, Solar spotted something. It took him a minute to realize that he was actually seeing it, and it took him even longer to realize what it was. It was a white dot amidst the endless black. It was…beautiful. There was something intrinsically pretty about it, something that was warm and drew the young man toward it. He smiled upon seeing it, letting its beauty fill his mind as a name, long forgotten and un-uttered, filled his mind.

Star. He was looking at a star.

The further Solar went, the more stars he saw. They shimmered and twinkled, almost as if they were cheering to see Solar within their realm. He actually giggled upon seeing them. It was certainly a nice change of pace to see something as opposed to absolutely nothing. He found them to be a welcome sight. Not a single ill thought occurred in his mind as he stared at the stars, at the light.

Light. Another concept that had slipped out of his mind in the void.

But that wasn't the only thing Solar noticed. The further he went, he saw something that looked…strange to him. He could almost reach out and touch it. It looked so weird, as it was something that he hadn't seen in the void either. His mind tried to wrap around the concept, remember what it was. What was this thing that gave the universe more appeal, that almost seemed to add an extra dimension to it?

Color. Solar was looking at color. A smile grew on his lips as he looked at the color in space. This particular color…he couldn't remember the name, but it was certainly gorgeous. There was also an almost…nostalgic feeling to it. Looking at this unknown but somewhat familiar color, Solar was drawn into a whirlwind of positive emotions. Warmth spread from his heart all across body, to the very tips of his finger and toes. He was completely caught off guard by it, so much so that he put his hand to his chest and just…breathed. Breathed in the scent of the universe, allowed the visuals of color and light to fill his eyes in ways that just a few hours ago had been totally impossible in the void.

"You're overwhelmed," the disembodied voice said.

Solar nodded. "Yeah, just a little bit." He smiled down at the color, streaking across the sky. "This place…it's amazing. Everything about it makes me…" he blinked. Stopping mid sentence, he lifted his hand and gawked at the sight. "Oh my stars."

"What is it?"

Tears, one of the few concepts Solar had not forgotten in the void, welled in his eyes. But these were not sad tears. A positive emotion was inside them, and it spread to Solar's face as he looked at…

"My hand." He turned it this way and that, taking it in. "It's so dark in the void that I haven't seen my…" he laughed. "I haven't seen any part of my body in so long." He kept his eyes on the milky white glow his hands seemed to be giving off. His eyes traveled up his arm, over the blueness of his jacket, the sparkly shine that all of him seemed to possess. The tears slid down his cheek, floating off into the depths of space as a permanent reminder of Solar's joy.

"That's very nice," the voice said. A soothing quality overcame it, one that once again brought Solar back with a powerful sense of nostalgia. "Now, don't get too hung up over this. We still have a mission."

"Yes, of course." Solar put his hand down and continued following the voice. More stars appeared, so bright that they caused Solar to shield his darkness accustomed eyes, The colors popped now more than ever. As they lit up space, turning it into a canvas of some type, the names of the colors flashed across Solar's mind. Yellow. Blue. Pink. Red. Each time the forgotten names came up in his mind, Solar felt a new burst of happiness. The only color he couldn't place was the first one he had seen. Strange; part of him felt like he had the strongest connection to it. That minty green, that gorgeous hue that only stars in a nebula could produce. What was its name? What significance did it have for Solar?

"You're almost there," the voice said. "Just a little bit longer."

Solar nodded and sped up. He still didn't know who was speaking to him, but he did appreciate them for drawing him out of the void and allowing him to see sights that he had forgotten. The stars, the nebulas, the far off galaxies…it excited him. Made him feel like he was at home, that there was so much he had lost out on when he entered the void.

Now that he thought about it, why had he entered the void? There was a reason. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. A real shame, because if he could pinpoint it, maybe he would get an answer as to why he had required himself to miss out on seeing the beauty of the seeable universe.

"Stop." The voice said, and Solar did just that. "Look down."

Solar did as he was told, and he perked up once he did. About twenty feet below him, there was what seemed to be a large lump of rock. Possibly a chunk of a planet, as it did have green grass growing on it in patches. And yet, it was so small. If it had been part of a planet originally, that planet probably didn't miss it too terribly.

"Neat." Solar floated down toward the rock, and that was when he noticed something else. A table and two chairs (Solar had to rack his brain to remember what they were called) sat on this hunk of planet. Odd; Solar didn't really think such a small, barren chunk was big enough to support the intelligent life needed to construct these pieces of furniture.

"Sit."

Solar did as he was told. It was strange; he hadn't sat down on anything at all when outside the universe. And yet, doing it now didn't feel strange in the least. It felt natural. It felt like something that he could do on instinct.

"Okay." Solar pulled himself closer to the table and looked up. "Okay, I'm seated. Are you gonna show me who you are now?"

As if that was on cue, sparkling dust floated in five different streams from five different parts of the sky. Solar gawked; white, blue, gold, purple, red…those were the colors that made up his body. And the dust…it had the sparkliness that his form boasted. Admittedly, Solar was drawn into all this. He leaned his elbow on the table as he watched the dust gather, materializing into a form. Solar was extremely pleased to see that this form was humanoid. He had almost forgotten about the human form after all these years. Almost.

When they dust finished gathering, a being that could only be described as "extra terrestrial" stood before him. Its skin was mostly compose of the red dust. The silvery white dust made up its hair, and a piercing blue glow dominated its eyes. Purple and gold clothing draped over his back, giving him a regal appearance.

"Woah," Solar said.

The being smiled and sat down. "Now that you have seen me…" he pulled himself closer to the table, smiling at Solar as he did. "I think we need to get to know each other."