Chapter 7 Six Years Later

Rosalina woke to a twinkling sound surrounding her on all sides. She bolted out of bed, wondering what in the world that sound could be. Perhaps it was a luma? She couldn't recall lumas ever making sounds like this. Not even when they were about to transform.

Twinkle twinkle twinkle.

The sound grew louder. Rosalina couldn't get it out of her head, and she couldn't push the worry back. What if it indicated something bad? What if….

Solar! Oh no, was something wrong with him?

Rosalina flew out of the bedroom and looked around the rest of the Observatory. Lumas flitted about, playing a game of Comet Comet Galaxy. They laughed and giggled. Their laughter did very little if nothing to calm down the watcher of the cosmos. Especially since she could see that Solar was nowhere near the lumas.

"Whee hee!" A luma exclaimed. They flew around in a circle, trying to catch their sibling in an epic chase. It stopped and huffed when it found that it was not fast enough. "No fair! You're cheating!"

"We're not cheating! You're just fat!"

The luma, known as Trix, flailed its arms around. "I AM NOT FAT!"

"That's right; you're loud. We forgot."

The lumas laughed as Trix started to cry. Rosalina sighed and floated over to them.

"That's quite enough out of all of you. It is not nice to make your sibling cry."

The lumas blinked in shock before lowering their heads. "Sorry Mama," they said in unison.

Rosalina sighed. "It's okay. We have more important things to worry about." She looked around the group. "Have any of you seen Solar?"

"Solar?" Trix asked. She shook her head. "I think he's still asleep on the Terrace." Ever since Solar had turned three, they had set up a bedroom for him in the Terrace, which was arguably the most peaceful and definitely the least dangerous dome in the Observatory.

Regardless, Rosalina couldn't push her nerves down. They were so high that they were spiking up to the edge of the universe. "Have you checked on him recently?"

Trix blinked. "Well, no…"

"Go check on him."

Trix groaned. "But Mama, he's six. He can handle himself."

Rosalina squinted her eyes. "I don't care how old he is. If he isn't there in the Terrace, then I want to know."

The luma nodded sullenly and made their way over. Rosalina followed, her heart pounding. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong.

Sure enough, when they got to the Terrace dome, they were greeted with silence. A horrible silence, the type of silence that only occurred when no one else was present. Rosalina and Trix made their way over to Solar's bed and gasped when they saw that he wasn't there.

"What?" Trix exclaimed. "He...he was here! He was right here!"

Rosalina swallowed a lump, staring at the empty bed. She slowly turned toward Trix. "Search the Observatory. Get the other Lumas to help you. I'll join you."

"Yes, Mama," said Trix. With that, she flew out of the dome.

Rosalina took a deep breath and exited the Terrace dome as well. Maybe she was overreacting. After all, Solar wouldn't just get up and leave. He couldn't. There was nowhere, outside of the Observatory, where he could run off to. They were in the depths of space, for crying out loud. He was probably at another dome. Probably the kitchen; he most likely wanted a midnight snack. Yeah, yeah! That had to be it.

With this thought in mind, Rosalina flew to the kitchen dome. She poked her head into the warm and softly lit room. "Solar?"

Much to her surprise and horror, Solar wasn't there. Rosalina looked from side to side, just to make sure that he wasn't playing a prank on her and hiding near the door. He wasn't there. She entered and checked the kitchen from every angle. It didn't matter where or how she looked; he still was nowhere to be seen.

If she wasn't panicking before, she was definitely doing it now. "SOLAR!" she shrieked. She bolted out of the kitchen dome and flew up to the Gateway so that she could get a good look of the Observatory. Lumas zigzagged through the air, checking the underside of the Observatory, the topside, everywhere. There was not a single luma who was not involved in the search.

"Polari!" Rosalina called out when she spotted her beloved confidant. She flew over to the black luma just as he emerged from the engine room, her breathing rate skyrocketing. "Any luck with finding Solar?"

Polari shook his head. "None. And we've checked the entire Observatory."

"Even the planet of Trials?" Rosalina asked.

"Yes. Even that."

Rosalina hyperventilated. She couldn't lose Solar. She had already lost one lover one. She couldn't lose another.

"Well, then that means that he isn't in the Observatory!" Rosalina exclaimed. She looked at the domes. The places that had once brought comfort to her now caused her to sweat. "He must be in one of the Galaxies!"

Polari's brow furrowed in concern. "Oh dear. What do we do?"

"We need to find him; he could be hurt!" Rosalina flew toward the Terrace. "I'll go check the Galaxies in the Terrace. He's most likely to be there."

"Good idea. I'll have the lumas help me check the other Galaxies in the other domes."

With that, he zipped away. Rosalina's heart beat felt not only fast, but painful. It actually hurt for her heart to pump now; it hurt tremendously. She thought of Solar's face. His beautiful white skin, his sparkling red eyes. She also couldn't help but think about all the experiences that they had had over the past six years; how they had visited every Galaxy from Good Egg to Melty Molten. She couldn't lose him. He was hers. She had found him fair and square.

"Don't worry, Solar," she said as she stopped by the Terrace's entrance. "I'm coming, baby."

Twinkle twinkle twinkle.

Rosalina paused. It was that sound again; the same sound that had awakened and alerted her. It was distant this time, but it was definitely present. She looked around, trying to spot the possible source. She found it whe. she saw a strange anomaly, a small cometoid of sorts, streaming through space.

Rosalina squinted her eyes at the Comet. It looked odd; not only because of its size, but also, because of its color. That was because it had not one color, but multiple. It almost looked like a rainbow.

Rosalina's heart leapt into her throat. She had to investigate that comet. Maybe it was a new type of Comet that had affected Solar's disappearance.

So, she zipped up into the sky. With all the speed ahead available to her, she chased after the Comet. It was beautiful, with its glow and colors. She squinted at it. There was something about it that drew her in. Maybe it was the twinkling noise,maybe it was its physical beauty. Either way, she had to follow after it.

Just as she got close enough to it. Something unexpected happened. The comet...stopped? Wait. Comets didn't stop! What was going on here? Rosalina approached the Comet which was now a few inches away from her face. Its glow made her body relax; all the tension in her mind melted away. Despite her greater instinct telling her not to, she reached put and touched the comet….

And the light cleared, revealing her son. Rosalina gawked at him. "Solar?"

Solar grinned a big, sparkling grin. "Hey Mama! Did you see me fly?"