Under The Stars (JoSi)

Prologue

It was a sunny day when he found her, or when they found each other. The air was crisp and fresh, waving goodbye to the last splashes of dusk as the sun found the strength to settle amongst the few clouds outside Josh's eyeline. 

The golden light filtered through his kitchen window, slowly rubbing the day warm as the handles of his sliver watch hit eight o'clock. As he pulled on his brown leather boots and fixed his hat, he was overcome with the strange sensation of change. 

Odd, he thought, but he didn't bother to dwell on it because he was only going to the same spot he had always gone on a Saturday morning. The gum tree.

He couldn't remember when he first started going there, he was never one for dates and times. But he knows that the beauty of the gum tree has been there for centuries regardless of his presence. 

His thoughts ceased as he felt the weight of his foot press on something other than the gum leaves and branches littering the bush floor. It was a magpie chick, soft and light in colour, speckles of black adorning its fragile beak. It was small and delicate in the rough palm of his hand, and he stroked its chest tentatively as he breathed a sigh of relief. It was alive. 

He scanned the treetops looking for its mother, but despite the chorus of birdsongs filling the skies all he could see was a flock of cockatoos and galas. A lone cackle somewhere to his left alerted him to a kookaburra, but still no sign of its mother. 

He took a closer look at the creature and realised he had only stepped on its wing. Thank goodness. The chick shook its head softly, almost pleading him not to leave it there alone and he couldn't help but pity the helpless thing. He looked at his watch as he trudged away from the scene, bird in hand. 8:17; he was late.

By the time he reached the river the sun was fully up and about and he could feel trickles of sweat lace his forehead as the coolness of the morning disappeared. He focused on placing one foot in front of the other as he used a fallen branch to cross the river, trying his best not to squeeze the chick too tightly as he attempted to cradle it against his chest with only one hand. 

Hopping from stone to stone he managed to make it to a drier part as he avoided the mud patches, but he could sense it wouldn't be too long before the stones would be out of use. The river's drying up, he thought with a frown. It's not supposed to dry up until another month, but global warming is pushing the prospect of drought upon this beautiful and luscious area more and more every year. He shakes his head. He can't lose this place, he just can't.

He's just finished worrying when it comes into view. The gum tree. It's not tall and boastful, in fact it's so impossibly small that he could only imagine the torment it would get by the whispers of the wind. But he likes it. 

It's almost like a hand, reaching out from the earth as a last goodbye before sinking under the soil. Its sadness, its desperation Josh could understand, which is why he pulled on his boots and made the effort every Saturday. 

He gazed at the chick in his hand who was emitting soft little chirps before beginning his ascent into the tree. There in the palm of its hand he felt safe, just as he imagined the chick would feel in his. The three of them lay there peacefully, bathing in the sunlight and listening to the sounds of the bush and simply being.

A twig snapped somewhere in the distance. He raised his head in alarm, this was his place and no one was supposed to be able to find him here. He squeezed his eyes shut, praying for whoever it was to just go away before he heard someone's sweet voice call out.

"Josh?"

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authors note:

my friend is gonna kill me but those two are too impossibly cute and oblivious so i simply have no choice but to make it come true on the page

also i will be putting updates on how they are going because if u get invested it would be mean not to

they have been friends and have liked each other since year 4 and we are currently in year 10 so you can see my 6 years of frustration coz they r both introverts lmao

they were valentines but nothings happened "officially" yet

love y'all and enjoy!