Fantasy. In a world of fantasy, we can be anything and anywhere. It was simply a world of endless possibilities. Literature was art. Art is an expression of the way a person views the world and themselves. If a piece of literature didn't tell a story of another place beyond reality, it simply didn't intrigue me. When I was younger, my mother would always read me books before bedtime. I wouldn't be able to sleep without it. I remember my favorite was always the tides we break. It was a story of a young boy who learned to push through the hardships of life and appreciate the sweet little moments of it. Overtime, books began to become my only escape. The only thing that let me dream. Well, until I met her.
It was a day just like any other. I remember the exact date, November 7th, 2020. As I normally do, I walked to the fantasy section of the library, and there she was, holding my childhood favorite book. I had told her to read it and introduced myself. Venus, I loved her name. Sort of fitting that we both were named after planets, must be fate. I don't know what it might have been, but as I kept talking with Venus, I knew we had met out of fate.
"Do you like the book so far?", I asked while she was reading the tides we break near the chair by the window.
Which also happened to be my favorite spot to read.
I knew from that, that Venus had come to the library a lot. The window was the most peaceful place to read, and I got the sense that she knew that too.
"It's definitely interesting so far, and I can totally see Jonas's point of view on things", she said.
"Jonas is definitely strong, but it kind of worries me that you seem to understand him."
"Why's that?"
"Well, as you probably already know by now, he doesn't have the best self image."
"I don't know, I think he's just too caught up in trying to help the people around him you know, like maybe trying to find himself through them"
"Can I ask you something, Venus?"
"Of course, go ahead"
"Do you know who you are?"
"Tough question to answer, especially to someone I just met"
"Not really, the answer is simple, you either do, or you don't, so do you"
"Well, I don't, but, never mind"
"Do tell, I'd love to hear", I said with a smile.
"You know how the sky is always above us, and how it never falls?"
I was confused and surprised at her question, but also interested in where it was going to lead to.
"Yes"
"Well, if I were to be anything, I'd wanna be like the sky, always there for people, never falling."
"Well you're not the sky Venus, you're simply just the brightest star in it."
"Well that's strangely contradictory"
"How so?" , I asked.
"Well, it's just not what I was expecting you to say."
"Were you expecting me to tell you that you were like the sky, unable to fall? I don't think anyone really wants that. As poetic as it is, you're not the sky. You never will be. Falling isn't a bad thing. Everyone falls, but the point is, you have to get back up. Like Jonas, he rode the tides of life, you can learn a thing or two from him."
"Why is being a shining star any better?"
"Stars aren't alone. There's billions and beyond that of them. Stars also fade away at some point, but there's always more and more of them. They always grow. I kind of get the sense that out of all the stars in the sky, you shine the brightest."
"Now you're just being nice."
"Trust me, I don't just say things like that to say it."
It was true. Venus was the brightest star to me. Maybe it was just because I'm too caught up in the fantasy of love at first sight, but god. She was beautiful. Her red hair, her emerald eyes, her sweet voice, and most of all, her. How couldn't she be the brightest star?
I knew from that day, the day I met her, that Venus would be the best thing that would ever happen to me.
