Forever Unfinished

Chapter 19

Then

The sky was painted in a dusky shade of blue. Millions of stars adorned it even though the city lights were competing against them. I was on my way to the end-of-semester party. Med school was officially almost over. I had only a year left of school. This past one had been brutal. I was at the hospital almost every day all day long and had to be on call every four days. I was exhausted all the time. It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders after finishing that long enduring year. It wasn't that simple though. Although I learned a lot and had the real experience of being a doctor, it had its downside. But right now wasn't the time to think about it, as I was on my way to celebrate and forget a little about the worries I still had.

I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the night sky looked. Stars twinkled in beauty. It made me remember something that Alonso had told us a few years back. We were sitting around a table in Sara's house having beers and conversation. We were all talking as Alonso sat quietly not really listening, scrolling down his phone checking instagram.

"Look what NASA just posted," he said looking up, interrupting the conversation.

He turned his phone to us so we could see. An image of space appeared before us. I had no idea what I was looking at but I remember thinking it looked amazing.

"What is that?" I asked intrigued. Most of my friends had just said wow, so pretty and returned to their past conversation.

"It's The Pillars of Creation. Hasn't Alonso mentioned it before?" Joe said, taking a sip of his beer. "He's obsessed."

I shook my head. "What is it?" Lorenzo's deep voice asked from behind me. I had my back towards him not being able to look at his expression as he said it but I could tell he was interested.

"It's a place where new stars form. The first time it was photographed was years ago. I believe it was around 1995. This is a new picture. It's beautiful isn't it?"

I stared at the image for a few seconds longer. "Does it still exist?" I asked fascinated.

"They don't. But isn't it poetic how we are able to see something that once existed but not anymore? And for us it exists at this very instant. So much so it is being photographed again right now. It's amazing."

I smiled at how much it interested him. It was nice listening to him talk about something he loved, which was space. It did sound dreamy. I've always thought stars were magical, so far for me to really comprehend. And here it was a real life picture of the place some of these stars were born.

As I looked out the window tonight, the memory appeared like a movie in my mind that slowly began to fade away. I remembered every interaction I ever had with Alonso. It made me feel a bit nostalgic now that school was almost over and he wasn't here to finish it alongside us. The car slowed down and parked in front of an open entryway where people walked in with bottles in hand. Loud music boomed from the inside. Everyone that was a student in med school was invited tonight.

I followed the people inside, most of them I recognized from seeing them around but didn't really know them. Now that I was about to go into my last year, most of the people were younger and were more excited. I walked down the stairs that led me to the salon the apartment complex had for parties. It was a wide room with marble floors and beige walls. It was packed with people drinking out of solo cups. Fluorescent lights and music illuminated the room.

A rush of wind flowed, making me notice the open crystal doors that led to a medium sized yard where other people stood. I was wearing my black leather cargo pants and aqua tank top. I put on makeup and was actually excited for tonight.

I looked around a bit before I spotted my friends. I saw Joe, Sara and her new boyfriend Mark, Martha, Carlos, his fiancé Laura, Lorenzo and Cecilia. I wondered if I should have invited the guy I recently met. Before finals started, Joe invited me to an event at a bar where I had met him. His name was Noah. He's this gorgeous man I couldn't stop thinking about. We texted throughout final evaluations but haven't actually been on an official date yet. I've told my friends about him though. Maybe it wasn't the best first date even though I wished I could get drunk and celebrate with him.