Under the Stars

chapter one

The light slowly illuminated the room before fading away. The artificial light shone brightly as it came back around, waking Rhydian from his sleep.

Rolling over to check his alarm, Rhydian rubbed the back of his eyes and sat up. He got up to move closer to the window, opening the blinds to look over at the lighthouse. He could faintly see the glow of the candle his mother had lit while she watched the ships in the night. His mother had been watching over the lighthouse each night for as long as he could remember, having lived on the island his whole life.

Rhydian moved on with his morning, and got ready to finish the last week of high school. Rhydian had taken courses over the previous summer which allowed him to not have afternoon classes so he could volunteer at the animal shelter a couple of times a week. Rhydian paused as he caught his reflection in the mirror. His dark greenish-blue eyes looking tired, with dark bags under his eyes. His dark blond hair, tousled and casually styled, framed a face marked by a strong jawline and a hint of stubble.

"O! Where are you?" He called out, as he started walking towards his bedroom door. Looking for his best friend, he was surprised she wasn't already in bed with him. Rhydian left his room and peeked around the corner into the kitchen.

Obsidian sat patiently next to her food bowl, meowing and starting to stretch her small black body when she saw him. "There you are, my pretty girl." Rhydian said quietly as he crouched down to pet her. Rhydian filled up her food and moved on to make himself cereal. Rhydian sat and watched the sun slowly beginning to rise through the kitchen window, already grieving the loss of the view he had from the island. Rhydian had plans to move away in a months time to go to college, wanting to study in the veterinarian field. Rhydian found a school not too far away to get his undergraduate degree before he had to move further away to get the rest of the qualifications he needed. He was hoping to return to the small community one day to provide a veterinary service for the pets and farm animals within the small town.

The back door creaked open and footsteps could be heard getting closer.

"Morning, darling." His mom said, beading down to kiss his head as she walked by. "Oh, you fed Obsidian." She said, smiling down at the cat. "I'll miss her more than I'll miss you, I think."

"Hey!" Rhydian said frowning, before smiling back at his mother. Of course, Obsidian would be going with Rhydian. Having her since he was little, he knew she had a handful of years left and wanted to be close to her in those last years.

I need to get mom her own cat before I leave, Rhydian thinks.

He moves to get up, and says "You might need to get your own friend, I can think of a few at the shelter you would like."

"Yeah, maybe I should into that. Anyways, I need to get some sleep." His mom wanders off towards her bedroom, leaving Rhydian at the sink alone while he washes his dishes. Rhydian went back to his room and unplugged his phone to check his notifications.

will I see u before school?
- quinn

Rhydian smiled at his phone, and sent a reply.

no, ferry is on the summer sched now. I'll see you after.
- rhydian

Rhydian kept moving, not wanting to miss the one morning ferry that would get him to school on time. He grabbed his car keys and locked the front door behind him, after kissing O goodbye. He continued walking towards to ferry, only a few minutes walk away, given it's proximity to the lighthouse. He could he the boarding bell dinging as he got closer. Rhydian smiled and waved at the ferry operator before walking inside to the cabin and finding a seat. Only a handful of other people needed the ferry for school in the morning, Rhydian, another high schooler named Sapphire, a 7 year old boy names Thomas, his dad, and a preschooler named Oliver who usually rode the ferry with his aunt, Hailey. So far everyone was aboard except Oliver and his aunt, who Rhydian could see running toward the ferry that was due to leave in a matter of minutes.