Stellar

Chapter 1

October 3rd. A cold drizzly October 3rd. It was a truly British autumn day. The tinges of golden brown were slowly eating up the vibrant greens of summer. Light drizzle that had made the day seem miserable had come to an end and Petra Moon trudged her way through Tarley Wood, flicking her arms in an attempt to get rid of some of the excess water left on her raincoat. She skipped over a muddy puddle barely missing it as her dog, Milo, pulled a little too hard on his lead.

"Come on Pet," her twin sister, Ruby, called out. Walking further down the heavily trodden trail whilst looking through the lens of the Polaroid camera she always had to hand. She inspected the trees, trying to find the perfect shot to encapsulate the oncoming autumn.

"I'm coming," shouted Petra, trying to not fall over from the border collie pulling her along. Ruby paused and turned back, watching her sister through the camera lens.

Click. Ruby pressed the shutter button, taking a picture of Petra and Milo walking side by side down the muddy path, framed by the orange and green patchwork trees. Petra rolled her eyes and caught up with her sister as the camera expelled the white-bordered photograph.

"How did it look?" Petra asked, letting Milo off of his lead. The dog going straight to sniffing the nearby undergrowth, picking up the slight scents left by the other dogs.

"Blurry," Ruby huffed, a small pout forming on her face as she stuffed the polaroid into the designated pocket in her bag.

The twins slowed their pace, basking in the calmness that surrounded them. They walked between the looming trees as the sun barely peeped between the leaves now glistening from the recent rainfall. Petra always loved the autumn, the crisp air, the golden colours and the crunchy leaves underfoot... well they weren't so crunchy today.

Petra paused in a beam of sunlight, taking a deep breath, feeling the fresh autumn air fill her lungs. Things felt peaceful for once. There were birds chattering in the trees, the musty smell of moss and mud and the sun had made its first appearance of the day, twinkling through the leaves above. No one else was around. There was no sound of kids playing or dogs barking at each other as they crossed paths. No owners calling their dogs, trying to get them under control. Just Petra, Ruby, Milo and the woods.

Petra held out her hand in a beam of glittering sunlight, watching the shadows dance around as she slowly wiggled her fingers.

Click. Ruby took advantage of a still Petra. A grin forming when the picture came out ok. She proudly thrusted the photograph in Petra's face before carefully tucking it in the designated pocket in her bag. Petra gave her a small smile and reassuring nod before returning her eyes to the sky. She narrowed her gaze, eyes focusing on the strange sight above her, The azure sky was tucked behind an expanse of hazy clouds. Clouds with raspberry ripple swirls.

"Look," Petra said pointing directly overhead.

"What?" Ruby followed her sister's gaze.

"The clouds are pink," Petra said, not being able to pull her focus from the swirly cotton candy clouds. "There's more over there." Petra pointed to deep within the wood, where the spiral of cotton candy clouds centred.

'Weird,' Ruby shrugged at her sister and brushed it off. Ruby kicked a fallen branch along the path, following Milo. But Petra couldn't take her eyes away from the clouds. She didn't understand why they were like this. Sure she had seen the pink sky before but never like this and never in the middle of the afternoon. She looked down at her sister only to find her a hundred feet away about to pass over the small bridge spanning the brook.

Petra ran to catch up, almost stumbling over a large rock in the middle of the muddy trail. She caught herself before she fell to the ground and jogged a little slower.