Shattered Skies

It all began in a cave. Not a wet cramped cave, no, this one was warm and grand. The cavern was so large that an entire village lived among the stone tunnels and high vaulted ceilings. The people living there were content, because they had everything they needed. The cave people knew where the exit was, of course, but no one wanted to leave.

You see, many years ago a messenger had fallen dead at the entrance of the cave with a note saying to never go to the outside world. It described danger from friends and foes alike, and concluded the outside world was not worth the risk. The people of the cave heard this message and never left the village

All this happened many years ago, and on a summer afternoon a new messenger arrived at the cave entrance. He brought an official declaration from neighboring towns with many seals and signatures declaring the danger to be over. The messenger invited them into the sunshine. The messenger offered them fresh fruit. Alas, the messenger was surprised to find the cave people were too afraid to leave.

Many youths of the cave, however, had grown tired of cave living. Alas, even the allure of adventure was still overrun by fear. Only three friends; one tall, one medium, and one short, decided to pack their bags. They said to themselves, "The glittering stone ceilings are not enough, I want real depth."

Bags packed, three friends left their cave and entered the rest of the world. They saw grandeur: the infinite horizon, bushes pushing up through dry earth, warm sunshine pinkining their arms. The sky itself was impossible, and for an hour the three threw stones into the air in the hopes of hitting something solid.

At sunset the three watched the sky glow and shift before fading to black. One by one, like a nervous crowd, the stars came out.

"The legends do this no justice," The friends agreed.

"The world is so grand," said the tallest, "I could spend eternity exploring."

"The world is so beautiful," said the medium friend, " I could spend eternity right here."

"The world is so precious," said the shortest, "I could spend eternity showing this place to others."

Out of the corner of their eye a star slid off the sky – not quite – it was being pulled from the sky towards a glowing spot on the horizon. What was this? There were no stories of captured stars. And who chose to live and light fires in this barren desert? Of course, the three friends walked towards the orange dancing light until many human shapes came into focus and singing carried across the desert.

"We must meet these people who steal stars and scream into silence." The friends decided.

They neared the gathering and the air shifted. They left the cold desert behind and now everything hummed with life. It was the thrumming of fire, drums, and dancing that struck anticipation into the friends. As they felt the warmth of the fire they linked arms, saying to one another, "Do not let go, for if we become untethered I'll float away. Or worse, I'll wake up from this bizzare dream."

The three friends eased into the crowd of people– oddly painted and writhing to music– as the star became close enough to grab. It was an orb as tall as an adult and painfully bright white. Those pulling the star wore dark elaborate masks and proved their strength when they used dozens of chains to anchor the burning orb. Amongst the mob of sweaty people, they began sawing off slivers of star. Shards of white rainbow light were passed to the closest dancing body, then the next, and the next. Soon the friends were looking down at three lumps of pure energy just small enough to enclose in their fist.

They asked the nearest desert dancer what the purpose of starlight was.

"Is it to light your way through dark places?" Said the tallest.

"Is it to set in jewelry or crowns?" Said the medium friend.

"Is it to fuel a machine of some kind?" said the shortest.

But the desert dancer laughed, "No! No! We crush it up and we decorate ourselves with it. This way we sparkle all night long."

Another chimed in, "I like to eat it. The stardust makes my stomach tickle."

And another, "And tomorrow we'll pull a new one down. I like it better when they're red."

The three friends held tight to one another, thinking to themselves, 'What a strange land, if it's even real.'

The desert people moved away to pass around star shards.

"What a fun party we've found." said the tallest.

"Bit of a silly use of stars though, is it not?" said the medium friend.

"And they're stealing stars from the sky," said the shortest.

So the three thought and considered and decided on their next actions: they would gather and steal star chunks from the desert people and return them to the sky. Easy. So, for three nights and three days they followed the desert people, slipping hands into pockets and gathering starlight. On such wild nights even three people locking arms can become stealthy.

On the fourth night the tallest said to his friends, "It's time to send these back."

"Yes, the bag is heavy," said the medium friend.

"Let's step away from the fire." said the shortest.

The three friends moved from the crowd and finally, for the first time since they had arrived, released one another's arms. Together they swung their bags of light around and flung them into the sky. One disappeared. Then the second. Then the third.

"Huh. I thought it would be brighter."

"Huh. I thought it would be harder to throw."

"Huh. I thought the desert people wouldn't notice."

But they had. They had ceased their dancing and the music had stopped. Even the fire had dimmed, but what was most startling was the desert people's steady focused gaze.

A desert person spoke, "Bold of you to steal from us."

And another, "Bold of you to think you're smarter than us."

And finally, "Bold of you," she said with a jagged inhuman smile, "to let go of eachother."

Instantly, the three friends were surrounded and grabbed by the desert people. The mob seemed to change as the fire dimmed and died and the friends lost sight of one another. Dozens of yellow eyes looked down on the friends and their hands scratched like sand.

The three friends were pinned down by desert creatures. One of them sang down to them, "Silly cave people, you walked right to our fire and now we'll eat your heart out." Hands plunged down from all sides. The thrumming leaping of their hearts stilled, completely extinguished. Three human hearts were held aloft.

A far away voice croaked, "Toss the bodies to the stars they love so much."

The tallest, medium, and shortest were launched into the sky. One. Two. Three. They tumbled into the abyss.

And that's it. That's everything. You could believe in rumor and legend, some people say the three friends landed amongst the star pieces that splashed into the sky. Some believe they filled the holes in their chest with star shards to stay alive, and the three patrol the heavens for those trying to pull down stars. Some folk say they cut the line, but others say they pull up whoever was trying to steal stars to take their heart. Although, it is possible to see the clusters of star shards with a looking glass; but you might see a monstrous glowing creature.

Those rumors are just gossip and stories. Here on earth though? Out in the desert you might find bands of friendly folks with strange ways and warm fires. It is alluring to be sure. You could visit, of course, but never ever let go of the people you came with.