Sea of Stars

Chapter 4

Pidgeon's/my perspective:

I dreamt of a perfect winter. A winter where it's not too cold, but not so hot that the snow melts. The snow powders the tops of distant mountains, and then I find that I am on a mountain. I love this view. This view brings back memories of music.

I was there with Leonid. He looks around and says to me, "Isn't this the most beautiful view you've ever seen?"

I nod. "The sunset makes this view even more beautiful."

He asks me, "Where do you find inspiration?"

I answer truthfully: "I find it in music and places that remind me of music. I see beauty in music and nature, while some people find it in the most complex areas ever, in places where it is a rare occurrence. I try to stay simple so that I'm not driven by the need to find beauty so that I can be driven by passion instead."

"That's an answer I've never gotten before, but I enjoy being around people who think like you. People who are driven by passion and not beauty."

We sit on a deck (Don't know where that came from, apparently we were at some sort of house) and continued to look out for a few moments before I woke up.

"You're awake. Did you like the dream that I designed for you?"

"Mhm. It was nice, serene."

He chuckles, then says, "For my whole existence, I have been pursuing ultimate beauty and truth."

"Beauty is based off of opinion. The definition changes. That's why I try not to let myself be lost in finding it. Because one day, it'll all be gone, replaced by another's idea of beauty. Not to mention, in my world, in one generation, it's attractive to have a flat chest and a skinny structure, the next generation, one must have wide hips and a large chest. In my world, beauty standards are ever-changing, and now, the ideal body has gone from something natural and easy to achieve to unnatural and impossible to achieve without cosmetic surgery. The truth is just that-all that is true, but it's almost as fluid as language, and there are exceptions to certain truths. You never know what you'll find, you'll never really know what you're searching for. Why search for something that may be gone at some point and something that's not solid? Why waste your time trying to find something that might not even be there? Why waste your time trying to find something that you're not even sure what of the thing you're searching for?" I replied, somehow knowing exactly what to say.

"I never thought about it like that."

"If you're searching for ultimate beauty, it might not even be there. This is why designing exists, Leonid. If you can't find it, make it yourself, you know?"

"It's true. But I'm having trouble finding inspiration besides the stars, feathers, and one drawing that ended up completely changing."

"Dreams are incredible. You should try dreaming. There are plenty of inspiring scenes and objects in your dreams. I know you don't get sleepy, so that's what those pressure points on your neck are for."

"Pressure points?"

I pointed to them on my neck.

"Yeah-here, and here. If I apply pressure on these two points, it'll cut off circulation to the brain and you'll faint, and therefore fall asleep."

"What-?"

"I was joking, Leonid. Unless you want me to, I have no intention of doing that."

"Huh. I just... I don't know how someone your age would know about that."

"You're talking to a child who doesn't wear ugly makeup and is in middle school. I'm pretty sure my mind is way beyond my years."

"How do those three correlate?"

"Most of the girls at my middle school wear this really ugly makeup, I've only known like-three people who could actually wear makeup without overdoing it so much that it looks terrible. There's Erin, Bethan, and then Charlie, and until proven otherwise, they're some of the smartest people I know. Then there's this girl named Stella, her eyelashes look like pieces of black construction paper, and she really doesn't seem all that smart to me. For one, she's not in math plus, but she also doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would rather do homework as opposed to focus on her looks."

"If she's so focused on her looks then how did she mess it up so badly?"

"I have no idea. I'm almost impressed."

"Huh. Anyway, I'm on break, so I'll make something for you."

"Okay!"

"Follow me."