the day the stars ate the sky

yum

There used to be a sky above our heads. Once, there was a deep, unending blue. But now... now it's all gone. Now, there is just darkness and the stark bright white of the stars themselves, searing and burning and freezing forever. More light, more stars, more blindness. It consumes the infinite comfort we once took for granted- before we knew what was coming.

Some of us no longer remember what it was like, back when there was color and the world had meaning.
I remember. I used to stare up into the sky for hours on end, losing myself in the depth and in the wonder. I used to dream of living in the sky. I used to dream of tasting it long before even the stars had been able to reach. Looking back, it must have been some sort of race. And I lost. The stars got there first, and I am the last left who can still remember the sky. Everyone is blind now. blind and forever stumbling.

there were clouds once. I remember the  clouds. Now, there is no longer any room for them in the suffocating glare of the stars. It's all stars now. No more sky, no more space, only stars.

It hurts. Everything hurts. Even I am blind now. But I remember what it was like. I remember a time when not everything burned, and there was shade in which I could seek refuge. Now, there is only light. Darkness exists only in contrast and in death. It is us. It consumes us. it cannot be found in the stars. The stars are so bright, relentless. We used to yearn for light, but now it is here. We yearn for the darkness to return. Or else we beg for death.

There is so much death. There is so much blackness. In a way, death is a comfort. It is the darkness and the emptiness we have to look forward to when we leave this world that has been filled past the breaking point with light.

If I could die, I might have chosen to. But I cannot leave. I stay. It is my duty to stay, and to remember. I must remain alive, to spread the hope of darkness in life. I must tell stories of staring up at the sky on the night of an empty moon. I must tell the children about shadows, before they turn to nothing but myth. I must teach. I must remain. I am the only one left. I am the eldest. I am fourteen.