It's the next day and I'm on my way up the hill, again. Tonight, there is a slight warm breeze that rustles the leaves of the trees in the park next to the hill. I think back to the night before and feel myself hoping that he'll be there again.
I get to the top and see the figure in the same spot as yesterday - laying down and face-up, looking at the stars. My heart stupidly jumps at the sight of him. I make my way up to him and lay down, getting deja-vu from yesterday.
I wait expectantly. Will he say something? Should I say something? I contemplate what I could say when finally I hear his smooth voice.
"You never told me your name," he says.
"You never asked for it."
He laughs. "True. Well, what is your name, mystery girl?" he says mockingly.
"It's-"
"Wait! Don't," he cuts me off, "I'll guess it."
I scoff.
"You'll never be able to," I remark.
"Don't underestimate me," he says confidently.
"Go for it, but you won't get it," I say, smirking.
"Say 'stop' when I get it... or no, say 'you're amazing' when I get it."
I laugh at his confidence. His false confidence. There's no way he'll get it. My name is not common, at all. I might literally be the only person on the planet with my name.
He starts guessing, naming all the basic girl names you could possibly think of:
"Emma? Amy? Zoe? Anna? Olivia? Jessica? Emily? Ava? Stephanie?... Stefanie with an 'f'?"
I giggle.
"Carolina? Geraldine?"
"Geraldine?!" I snort.
"I don't know, why not?" he laughs, then pauses. "Is it?"
"No!" I cry.
He laughs even more.
"Do you give up yet?" I say after a bit.
"Stella?"
"What? No!"
"Then yeah, I give up," he says, defeated.
"Finally! I don't think you could've thought of any more basic names," I giggle.
"So, what is it?" he asks again.
"You ready?" I tease.
"Mmhm."
"My birth name is... Iliana." I finally say.
Silence.
I don't know what I expected but I expected at least some kind of reaction from him, but he isn't saying anything.
"Is it that bad?" I ask, my heart dropping.
He doesn't respond, and I feel my heart sink even further.
I start to defend my name when he cuts me off.
"Did you know that 'Iliana' means 'ray of sun' in Spanish?" he finally asks quietly.
"Actually?' I ask quite surprised, "how ironic."
"It also means 'bright' in Greek."
"How do you know all of this?" I ask. "It's not like it's a very common name."
He doesn't respond and I start to wonder if I said something wrong. Did I offend him?
"It was my mom's name."
YOU ARE READING
Our Escape in the Stars
Science FictionA girl. A boy. A hill. And the stars above them. Iliana has her spot on the hill. A spot where she feels okay. One night, that spot is taken by a mysterious figure. A guy. She lays down next to him and their story begins. Nightly meetups, stargazin...
