I Told the Stars about You

Chapter 8 - Cassiopeia

A/N

Getting this chapter out on Christmas! The dedication to this book! Sometimes I wonder if I actually make myself depressed with all the pain these characters go through. But the end- damn- I love the words. I love the quotes I've snuck in here. And most of all, I'm so proud it's a world I've created. A world I'm sharing with people. I don't care if it's just 21 of you. If anything, that makes it even more special. 

Anyways, enough gushing. Enjoy, and maybe get a packet of tissues nearby, you may need them :)

Rose is having ice cream. It's December, we've got our coats on to protect us from the sharp breeze, I'm attempting not to shiver as I look through the food & drink options, and Rose is ordering Vanilla scoops of ice cream as if it was mid July.

The grin on her face is nothing short of ecstatic as the man hands her a cone with 3 scoops of vanilla, seeming to freeze more outside the freezer than inside it.

"What can I get you, gent?" The old man turns his tired gaze to me, tapping his fingers impatiently on the counter.

Rose points at the chocolate ice cream like it's the obvious choice. I laugh.

"Why would I pick chocolate ice cream over a warm coffee?" Sarcastically, I shake my head, not expecting an answer.

"We're doing something. We need ice cream. If you get coffee, you won't have the ice cream you need"

It's been an hour long walk through streets I never knew existed, up steep slopes and sharp turns, before we arrived at the centre of town, the black lamppost's lights lining the winding streets shining a warm glow over the mountainous city. The wind is cut off slightly by the tall, beautiful old flats rising on the cobblestone street's side, and as I walked through them I expected Rose to explain something, anything, regarding where we were going, but she didn't, and now I'm paying for ice cream, oblivious of where she could possibly be taking me.

The green eyes meet mine, lighting up with mischief as she drags me back down a darker street, the stars from the clear light sky seeming to reflect off her eyes. Suddenly, she stops short in the middle of the empty road and looks up at the dark sky. She stays there for a minute, ice cream in her hand, hair falling off her shoulder in soft waves when she pulls the pencils free from the makeshift bun sitting atop her head. Before I know it, she's pointing up at a constellation and I'm next to her, attempting to see which one her index finger points at.

"There!" The sky is so vast, I see hundreds of stars in the direction she points at "That one there, and the bright one on it's left" Her finger moves to the left, her gold rings shining brightly "And then there's that row with-"

"I have no clue what you're pointing at" I laugh as she raises her hands in frustration.

"That one there! That one-" She turns to look at me, squeezing her lips into a pout, frustration and laughter shaping her face "You really can't see it?"

"Oh, yeah" I don't see a thing.

"It's Cassiopeia. Andromeda is right next to it" I spot it now. The stars aligning in a sort of Zig Zag, looking like only 4 stars aligned. I recognize it so fast I almost collapse. It's 53 stars. I know it's 53. It was her favourite number. And suddenly, I'm overcome by a sharp pang of grief. I remember another time, another place. I remember my mother's voice.

"We picked her name because she shines just as brightly as them, doesn't she? Even 53 stars don't begin to compare to the light your sister brings to the world." She gave me a tight hug, pulling a hat onto my head and continued skating along the ice rink. I remember staring at it long after she left, and thinking how stupid I had been not to see my sister as a star before. I remember thinking it was obvious. I remember thinking it was so cool to have a sister named after the stars.