Chapter 8
Estrela, Constelação
"Que está seu constelação?"
The serene night was blessed upon the inhabitants of the marvelous city of Rio de Janeiro, breaking only by a muffled noise of a song and laugh from the people below. Two macaws were enjoying the tranquil night in the famous landmark of Vista Chinesa, admiring the beauty of the night sky.
It was quite rare to find such clear scenery of stars dotted the vast inky skies here in Rio. Usually if it wasn't clouds, the light below was enough to bloat the tiny sparkling stars, and therefore, their presence forgotten.
But not all of the breathings forgot their existences in the sky, some were still admire the adorning diamond blanket, using a telescope to understand them even further, or just enjoying their mere sight in the sky.
Their eternal companion, the moon was also shone brightly with its silvery radiance. Silently enveloping the unaware city with her translucent light, even no one was bothered enough to see her, to enjoy her soft touch.
The loneliness of the night had to offer was quite ironic, people was too caught up with the golden orb until they forgot that his sister existed, the one that illuminated the night sky without reason, the one that always existed to give the night a little light, a little hope. A promise that the sun would rose again tomorrow, to let the world enjoy another day.
The dotted stars brought some thought to the young couple as they snuggled together closely, strengthening their recently damaged bond, forging the said chain into a more stronger – and hopefully – unbreakable that would endure even with the harshest strain the reality would offer.
Bia's mind was filled with adoration at the clear sight of the starry sky, her mind conjured a series of knowledge she possessed about those stars, and knowing her loved one's "obsession" with the self-illuminating diamond, she know that he would enjoy some stories about them.
Her eyes scanned the dotted stars, performing a mental calculation and imaginary line across the stars – estrela, in the local language – forming a more complicated web of connection each star passes by.
Those webs were delicate, delicate to be forgotten as the understatement to admire their beauty was quite high. But with some passion of the learning, Bia's understatement developed that a certain constellation were easier to spot, as their light intensity sparked a jealousy among others that bloated by theirs.
Constellation had existed for almost the entire human race existed; their light was still the same even after countless time of this planet aging, yet those still shone brightly in the night sky, allowing the humans and some other creatures to admire their presence for almost the eternity.
Their presence was more than just simply aesthetic design, but for something more, a bigger picture; they lead to a supreme purposes. For almost centuries, those stars had lead humans on their founding, to determine the weather, prosperity, fortune, you name it. And those believes survived in the modern days, as their existence could be tested.
Birds used them for migration, allowing them to safely return home, and cherish their short time with their family, guiding them to face the darkness of the night, a metaphor of hope.
Bia was finally assured with the facts in her head, she gently move her head to level her gaze with her loved one, her one and only. Their eyes locked, mesmerizing each other with their respectable colors.
In her heart, he would always remain there, her constellation. That somehow, his presence would endure the test of time, and finally reunited with him when the times come by, to spend their short life with the fullest, enjoying Love and its blessings with him.
Frost mind was filled with awe and jubilation, he never imagined that the angel would ever fell in love with a humbly peasants like him; something he wouldn't expect, but his love was true, as he could feel the beating of those love, signifying that it was indeed alive.
"Frost." Bia said, her eyes still glued with her love's icy blue eyes.
The male macaw formed a smile, "Yes, my love?"
Bia's heart was bursting, every time his soft voice reached her ears, the sensation in her tiny heart was beyond words to explain, it always brought smile to her beak, a reassurance that he would be there, he would be with her, the comfort that radiated from his existences beside her.
She lifted her wing, pointing the sky. "Do you know about constellation?"
His face bore a quizzical yet curious looks; even after all this time, he wasn't yet fully understand everything she said; spending his life in the jungle for the almost his entire life was something she should expect that not all of the knowledge in this world would easily digested with his brain.
"I can't say that I have." Frost said. "What is that?"
Bia fell silent for a few moment, her wing was the only one thing moving. "You see those stars?"
Frost nodded, he fixed his gaze where his girlfriend wing was pointed.
"Now connect those one with the one here." Bia moved her wings straightly, connecting the stars with an imaginary lines. "And there, and there."
Frost was struggling to keep track at her movement in the sky, nonetheless he finally understood; in his eyes, the imaginary lines were manifested slowly, understating the fraction of the much complex and delicate lines, formed with guidance of his loved one.
Bia then looked at her boyfriend's face, to ensure that he wasn't lost and confused. A smile was formed when she realized that he understand the lines.
"That one called Orion."
"Orion?"
"Yes, the hunter; the one and only lover of Artemis."
Among their beauty and purposes, constellation sometimes contained a story with them. Memories of a certain tragedy, incident, happiness, or despair in the past; the lessons that pasted onto the self-illuminated diamond that lasted for almost eternity, to ensure those lessons learned for another day.
"Artemis and Orion?" He asked.
"The sad story about certain thing in love." Bia told him, "A lesson for us to understand the sacrifice of love."
Artemis and Orion…
Artemis was a goddesses of the moon, a virgin for the eternity, a vow that she wouldn't broke; she was also a hunter, the one that her aim would never missed her prey, it was also when she encountered with him, Orion.
Orion, a hunter, just like Artemis coincidentally met in their quest to hunt; ever since, they hunt together, bonding a forbidden love.
Artemis' vow was the only thing that separated the unification of Orion and her, her love willing to break her vow? But before she could do much, Apollo took part.
He is the sun, the man of the man, the one that shines the world. He didn't like his sister broke the vow for some mortal, especially Orion that one day could outshine him. In the attempt to stop the cataclysmic events – for him, he turned Orion into a stag.
He challenged Artemis to shot the stag from across the horizon, which she accepts; unbeknownst to her it was Orion, her loved one. In the aftermath, when she realized that she just killed her loved one, she dwelled into a great grief, the lost of her only love…
She later shot Orion into the sky, in promise. "Let me saw thy every night and cherish my love for thee."
And so on the constellation was made, and every fifteen days, the moon and the stars will met each other; let Artemis remember that Orion would always be her only love as she cheered every moment they shared… for the eternity.
"When you missed me, just look at the night sky."
"Quite saddening isn't it?" Bia said, her soul staggered with the unfortunate stories.
Frost enveloping his girlfriend with his wings, attempted to console her. "At least they can see each other."
The moon and the constellation shone brightly, smiling to each other as they reunited, and their love inspired any mortal below, to stay true with your loved one; when death do they part, their love had never been apart.
Bia eyes were sparkled with tears; the tragic story was dwelling into her soul, as she afraid that she would hurt her loved one, just like she done to Frost today.
But her boyfriend had different views, while he did think that it was indeed tragic; the message of the story was clear to him. He hugged her girlfriend more tightly, radiating his warmth to cast her sadness away.
Bia's heartstrings plucked with his act, enjoying his embrace seeping into her heart. The tears finally gone, replaced with a smile. "Thank you."
Her boyfriend only flashes her a warm smile, a gesture that he understood the sincerity within her words.
Bia then continued her search for the constellation, she set his eyes on her favorite.
She drew the pattern with her wing, creating the imaginary pattern from the stars in the sky; she stopped to inspect his boyfriend's reaction, noticing his confused looks.
"Okay you see that star over there." Bia pointed at the direction southern hemisphere. "That one called Vega."
"From that, get across to there, and there and there." She declared, creating a parallelogram shape, "Now the 'tails'." She continued her drawings, creating a triangle-like shape.
Frost's eyes soon saw what Bia meant, he nodded his head and urging her to continue. "That one called Lyra, my favorite."
"How so?"
"Because the story behind it is so beautiful."
"Hm… really?" Frost inquired.
"Yeah…"
Lyra, the lyre.
Lyra was the instrument played by Orpheus, the son of Apollo, the one that bring Orpheus and his wife, Eurydice together.
Eurydice was killed one day when a snake bite her and poisoned her, Orpheus was devastated, decided to pay the underworld a visit, hoping he could take his wife back.
In the attendance of Persephone and Plot, whom charmed with his music, allowed him to take his wife back to the world of the living; only to find out that she couldn't survive, as being a spirit.
Orpheus was driven mad, he lost his wife – twice, and refused any other women companion. This brought anger to the women; they threw rocks at him in express of their anger. Nonetheless, he played his lyre to calm them down, but their anger deafening their ears, leaving Orpheus within their mercy.
Muse later buried his body and casted the lyre into the sky, the constellation of true love, the instrument that proved the strength of it, the one that wouldn't deteriorate by time.
In the aftermath, Orpheus and Eurydice spent their life together in the underworld, reunited.
"What do you think?"
"That was beautiful, quite tragic actually."
"Yeah, but those are proves, right?" Bia asked.
"Hm…?"
"That true love does exist, until death do us part, until death brings us together."
Frost nodded his head in understatement. "Yeah." He nuzzled his girlfriend.
The night got older each passing time, the noise from the city below had ceased, replaced with tranquility that shrouds the air almost in deafening intensity.
The said circumstances – however – wasn't inflicted any damage to their togetherness, their mind and vibrant eyes still eager to uncover the stories behind countless constellation in the sky.
An epiphany struck in Frost mind – being a macaw that always adored the night – provided a bigger picture on what they seems, on what they look.
He always love the night sky, reminded him of his mother when he asked the whereabouts of his father; someone that he never met in his entire life, but always gave him a sense of yearning.
The mere fraction of his whereabouts in the sky already spared him some of those sensation – although wasn't strong enough – still providing him with a least consolation, every time he felt alone, left out.
But with his time with Bia together, the sensation was buried deep down in the void as her presence gave him some consolation, prepared him to face the world. Another realization, knowing that his Father was smiling to him, that he wasn't lost in the pit of grief and hatred, but thaw in the radiated flame of Love.
Bia's eyes scanned the sky for another constellation, her eyes spotted the astrological constellations, she even remembered the mnemonic she used to remember them.
The ram, the bull, the heavenly twins,
And next the crab, the lion shines,
The virgin and the scales,
The scorpion, archer, and the goat,
The man who holds the watering-pot,
And fish with glittering scales.
She attempted to spot every single one of them, but the only one visible was the Lion, Leo.
She nudged Frost, "Check this one." She lifted her wing again, pointing at the said constellation.
Frost momentarily confused, and Bia was perceptive enough to notice Frost-tinted-bewilderment face, he grabbed Frost wing. "Follow my wing."
He follows Bia's wing in perfect synchronization, let her guided him just like how her love had guided him before.
"That one called Regulus, the brightest star in Leo's constellation."
"Leo?"
"Um… yeah. Why?"
"That's my Father's name." Frost stated simply, his beak possessed a grin.
"Oh really?" Bia asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay, now follow me to create the constellation." She grabbed his wing, drawing the imaginary lines. "That is Leo."
His soul was filled with jubilation. The truth is, he never knew where his father was located in the vast sky; he only believed that his father was somewhere up there, never missed a day to watch his progeny grew strong. His quest finally paid off as his whereabouts finally declared clearly in the night sky.
The constellation shone brightly, as he was smiling that his son finally spotted him, giving him some of his greetings he could never had, twinkling with enthusiasm to declare his triumphant smile.
Frost noticed the twinkle, whispering softly. "Good night, Dad." The twinkling intensifies, as if laughing in joy.
Bia's eyelids started to drop as drowsiness finally placed its spell on her, softly drifting her into sleep; Her head pressed onto Frost body. He smiled at his girlfriend's sleeping form, carefully moved to avoid woke her up, he lifted his head once more into the his father's constellation. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll take care of her."
The sky finally concealed beneath the clouds, the silvery radiance of the moon filtered by the black clouds, dimming the mood slightly. Frost carefully lifted his loved one's body and carried her home.
The sight of the treetop residence they currently occupied materialized and no slight sound were heard. The whole family had driven into slumber, to gain energy and face another day, a promise called tomorrow.
Frost carefully placed Bia in her moss-padded bed, kissing her on the cheek. "Sweet dreams my love, I'll join you soon."
She stirred a bit, opening her eyes. "Uh where are we?"
"In your room," Frost smiled. "Now get some sleep, we got a huge day tomorrow."
"Um… Frost," Bia suddenly spoke, halting Frost half-way.
"Yes?" He turned back to her.
"I'm cold…" Bia said softly, shivering. "Can you sleep with me here tonight?" She pleaded sweetly.
Frost couldn't ignore his girlfriend request, walked closer to her. "Sure."
He placed himself beside Bia, enveloping his wing to her body as she snuggled closely to him, radiating the warmth she yearned for.
"Better?"
"Much better," Bia replied, her voice trailed as she drowned in her slumber.
"I love you, Frost. Good night."
His beak curved a smile akin to crescent moon. "Sweet dreams." He said, slowly drifting into his dreamscape, preparing his body, mind and soul for tomorrow.
"To face another day with her and cherish every moments together."
The stars represent the single soul in the universe, lonely to face the unlimited universe, connected to each other with the lines, creating a constellation. Another representation is about hope, thousands are casted into the sky, reminded every breather below about the wish of someone, a story to be told. Let them be spared from the bitter truth, and learn to be better without experiencing those grieves.
The constellation resembled the connection we have with each other, a connection that existed in the name of Love.
As brothers
As sisters
As parents
As chicks
As lovers
As mates
As friends
All round up with a clear strings that connected us together, the one that certainly unbreakable and hopefully lasted until the end of time.
To remember this valuable lessons, sometimes it is as easy as realizing it by yourself, to put those lessons directly into your life.
Place yourself as the starting star, draw every people you care as another stars, connect them with the line that binds you together.
What is your constellation?
A/N: Hello! it's finally done! I could finally breath a sigh of relief that this chapter finally done. My writings was turned from worse to horrid thanks to the third person perspective; the exact reason why most of my stories are written in first person.
polls is closed, the result is yes. my next stories will shared the universe of Love's eternal light, you guys really like Frost do you? :D
As always, thanks for your support, I can't express how much I owe you guys.
P.S : If you found this P.S, that means the chapter had been refined, I Hope you enjoy the tweak (For those who had read the original one) or enjoy this story (For those who haven't)