the.astronomer
by liahime, a short ryuki tale.
arcturus . o3
Rika was not known for her vanity, but if truth bse told, she did prefer not to look uglier. She would never primp, heavens no. She just did not want to have her hair look like the scrapings of a mad chef's explosion, thank you very much.
For once, she was staring herself down in the mirror, moving her head side to side, as if to figure out who the other girl was, the one with the pitch black hair. She scowled at the box in her hand, the color that was as far from Rumiko and Ryo as she could get- Asphalt Black.
And now, halfway into the crazy, half baked scheme of her own invention, scissors in hand, she could not bring herself to finish the job.
Honestly, Rika. You'd think you wanted to be found here. You're not beautiful, so whatever you do won't change it. Her sterner side reprimanded her sternly. Just go and chop it all off. I know you've always wanted to, haven't you? Think about how convenient it will be...
But the scissors did not move, so deep was her weaker, frivolous side in mourning for the flame of red hair that had been her giveaway, her betrayer. Asphalt Black was perfect for blending in, for making sure that eyes did not linger long- but it had its own effects on the girl in the mirror as well.
It was working though, on gullible Tomoeda.
Every day she expected someone to call her name. A girl with Jeri's hair color, roller-skating by. A kid with goggles kicking a soccer ball down the street. She even stood by her mother's blown up face plastered on the bus stop's shelter- and in her road-colored hair, not a passerby had commented on the similarities.
She was anonymous.
Wasn't this her dream?
Her new apartment was calm, peaceful. All of her things were out and settled in to place. She had enough money to last for a summer- as much as she had hated it; cereal toys had created a comfortable nest egg. She had the quiet, the peace. No homework, no friends, no one.
Time echoed with each step. She had nothing but time now.
But in all her years, maybe Rika had gotten used to the chaos, the people, a bit of spring thaw creeping out of her shelled armor. Silence grew heavy. The clock's ticking was so loud, so painful, she had turned it off, relying on the silent whirr of electronics instead. Nothing but silence, the uncompassionate computer beeping its own farewell as it shut itself down for hibernation.
So now time was silent, but for Rika's pacing. She washed her hair over and over, slumped and stared up at the ceiling on the apartment's cheap sofa. Life was now a play, the world the stage. She was the actress, the one who was masking herself as someone else. And a silent play without cues was the most difficult to act, wordlessly plotting a way through living.
And Rika had never really like mimes.
The phone rang, its loudness surprising her as it quivered on its hook.
She let it ring, once, twice, half of her savoring the sound it made.
It could be her mother, who had probably hired a team of private investigators and secretaries without anything to do to find her and drag her back. It could be Seiko, checking up on her calmly and keeping the detectives away. It could be Kazu, Henry, Jeri, Takato, all calling to ask so many questions, Where. How. When. And why, why, why?
It could be Ryo, calling in the way he did, with nothing to say at all but cheerful nothings, not asking her to come back- for he would go to her. He would probably be on his way now, happily running up the stairs to her apartment and pulling her back into life.
The phone rang a third time, the electric cords impatient.
She picked it up, heart strung up in hoping for someone not to call and to call at the same time.
"Hello, we've received your application for the astronomy class. It begins in one hour- please arrive ten minutes early." The secretary's gum popped as she paused. "What was your name again, honey? Your application was anonymous, but we need one for this."
She wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh, or just to shoulder it and move on.
As usual, hard-hearted sanity prevailed, crushing everything else as it blocked out the rest of her mind.. "Ayashi," she said, pitching her voice lower than before.
"And your surname?" Another gum pop, lobby music playing softly in the background.
She paused, mentally biting her tongue to stop her first reaction. "It's Akiyama," she said. "Ayashi Akiyama."
She slapped herself mentally, remembering just who that name belonged to. "I mean- I mean that it's actually Akimatsu, not Akiyama."
"Thank-you-have-a-nice-day, Miss Akiyama. Please remember to complete your pre-course reading. We look forward to seeing you and your brother today." The other line clicked off, leaving the blank dial tone drone.
She had gone this far to escape him, but his name followed her. You could have said anything else, idiot, she told herself. Akimatsu, Akatsuki, or just plain anything else. But no, you have to use his name.
Looking down, it seemed as if she had someone's hair lying across her shoulder. Reaching to brush it off without thinking, she realized who the Asphalt Black hair was attached to. The dye was wearing off already, fading to a pink-gray- sunrise viewed through fog. Lovely when it was really the sun, really a cloud- but in hair, she resembled an old bathrobe, grimy and smudged, not at all inconspicuous.
Rika swore.
Two strikes, not a run in her favor.
Things were not going well.
-
The thing about solitude was that it gave you time to think, and the thing about thinking was that it never really clarified things. In a confused mind, filled with swirling thoughts and a storm of half-formed plans, there is a strange sanity in chaos. But when things are tucked away, neat and easy to see, true problems stand out- the elephant in the room revealed as the mess was cleared away.
The used textbook lay on the floor, pages open to a blindingly white dot on a stretch of black.
The fourth brightest star in the sky, approximately 36 light-years from Earth. The book listed it's viewing points, it's distance, it's temperature- cold hard facts that were sane, that were logical numbers and letters in a well-charted plane.
Isn't this what she wanted? Sanity?
Arcturus is known as the "bear driver," always following Ursa Major around the pole, a few steps behind the endless journey of the skies.
A doodle had been etched into the side of the book, a love struck student chasing a girl with curly hair, hearts ballooning from his head. He had scribbled in red, nearly illegible in the dim light. If she was a star, she would be the Ursa Major, because she's scary and will probably eat my guts for lunch and microwave the leftovers for dinner.
But I would be Arcturus, and happily follow a few steps behind her every time.
Disgusting. If she didn't need to finish the pre-course study, she would have thrown the book in the garbage and thrown it into the apartment furnace, letting the lover fall into his fiery death with banana peels and old junk mail.
Arcturus is also known as Haris-el-sema, "the keeper of heaven," as well as the "Star of Joy." Perhaps, the narrator happily observed, it can be symbolized as the star of persistent love, this brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. In ancient southern mythology, it was said that those who wished on the keeper of this star would be blessed with fidelity and eternal love.
Rika slammed the book and rolled over, staring at the ceiling.
Forty five more days to go.
-
READERS:
Grdiang3l – I hope I keep it up too.. I'm trying to get back on track again, and I haven't been here for ages.. Hopefully this story will turn out well!
life sucks, get used to it- I noticed my snobby blonde girl thing while I was rereading some of my old work, and I decided that there will be no snobby blonde girl here! At all! (haha, I'm so proud of myself…) Thank you so much for the compliment (and the first review in a year! I'm flattered!)
LoneWolf and Hiei- Yes, all the chapters are named for a star. I don't really know much about them, but I'm learning with the help of the mighty Wikipedia. Sorry for that horribly long wait. Thank you for reading though!
asn water- It's too late! I'm sad too. But it had to happen… I will miss her red hair, especially now that it's black. Thank you for reviewing!
karika88- Sorry for that long wait! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Kari Minamoto-I was incredibly depressed and annoyed with my father. But I'm starting to get over it now… Thank you so much for the advice and for the review!
takari freek- Phew. I read the cereal bowl thing earlier that day, and I wanted to use it too. I like cereal toys, so I had to put it in…
misanu- Rika's hair is BLACK like mine! But you probably knew that by now. Thank you very much!
Thank you for patience, and for the reviews that poked her in the side and made her start working. I know, I know, liahime is a horrible girl. I am terribly, terribly sorry. I started HIGHSCHOOL, and got sidetracked, and my brain died on me, as well as whatever ability I have to write. I'm trying to get it back. (Plot is coming in the next chapter, I swear.) While I tried, my brain short-circuited and did odd things- a lot like my computer- and I ended up with this short and puny chapter.
That's okay, because Arcturus is a small star.
Never mind, my dear Wikipedia told me it wasn't. It's a really big fat giant one. But the next chapter will be much better, I promise! (Ok, I hope.) Thank you for reading, everyone! I'll try much harder to update quickly from now on, and hopefully the chapters won't be bad! Any comments, compliments, criticisms, (and especially..) star facts on the top of your head will be absolutely and dearly loved. I need to work hard to get better and faster!
Thank you for reading!
-liahime