"You are the worst boy, Theodore Laurence."
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For centuries, humankind has used the stars. Whether it be for navigating across unfamiliar oceans, for preserving myths and legends of great heroes who were bestowed a spot in the heavens by the gods...
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THE WORLD PASSED by Charlotte Kohler's train window in a blur of white. She shifted in her uncomfortable seat as unfamiliar towns and fields and forests and ponds flashed by, disappearing as quickly as they came in a mix of indistinct shapes and shadows.
She wished she was back home, but the familiar sea side town of Kittery, Maine had long since faded from her view, and had been replaced with the foreign and unfamiliar ice covered landscape in front of her. Snow drifts were piled high along the tracks, swept by the wind into small mountains of snow and ice by the passing trains, and dormant forests sat silent with their bare and twisted branches devoid of the leaves or fruits of spring and summer.
Her heart ached for her family's small farm that overlooked the sea, where she would explore the forest and splash in the pond that would freeze over in winter and house a family of ducks in spring. Every morning, her mother would tend to her garden while Charlotte would sneak away and watch the fishermen come and go from the town docks, before spending the rest of her day in the barn, tending to the horses and lambs. At night, she would stretch out on a blanket and observe the stars, pretending she couldn't hear her mother calling for her to come inside. To Charlotte, the farm was a paradise, which is why she rarely left it.
But now she was on a train alone, heading to visit family she hadn't seen in years, far away from everything familiar and comfortable. When her mother had fallen ill, she had insisted Charlotte go away, despite her most ardent objections.
"It's already been decided, dear. I wrote to my sister a week ago and she and your cousins are more than happy to receive you." Her mother had smiled before giving her the train ticket.
"But, I should stay with you." Charlotte had clasped her mother's trembling hands in hers, kneeling at her bedside. "Who will take care of you?"
"You shouldn't have to spend all your days caring for your old mother. And Mrs. Payne from down the road has offered to look in on me from time to time. I'll get better just by knowing you are happy and being taken care of." Her mother looked at her with her worn out eyes, chest shuddering as she took a deep breath. Charlotte hurriedly placed a glass of water to her lips and ran her thumb over her mother's trembling hand.
The conversation had ended there.
Charlotte would be going away, and there was nothing she could say about it.
The train began to slow as they approached the station, knocking Charlotte out of her memories. She grabbed her only suitcase, pulling it onto her lap while the train began to buzz with anticipation, as passengers grew antsy to stretch the legs. She checked on her telescope case that sat in the seat next to her, brushing her hands over the fine leather to make sure it was still free of any scuffs. Her telescope was all she had left from her father, who had passed when she was just a little girl. It was his most prized possession, being the only thing he brought with him when he immigrated from Switzerland as a young man, and he had left it in her care after his death. She knew she couldn't leave it behind in Kittery, so she had packed it too.
