Nova spent a lot of time wondering.
She wondered about where she came from, who her real parents were. She knew the animals weren't her real parents, even though they were her family. Every time she brought up the topic with her foster mother Maxie or Lakota or anyone else, they just changed the subject.
This upset Nova...a lot. She didn't want to be kept in the dark. She didn't want to be treated like a stupid little girl, she wanted to be respected. And she was. She was.
She had been told of people. Selfish and generous in their own ways. Taking one thing for the other thing. They were greedy. Always had been. She had been told every story.
When people came around, she tended to get more tense. She was one of them.
They came for the animals. Generally foxes and bears. Nova could slip their traps out of their pockets and their packs. As swiftly as anything.
She laid them down. Right where they should be. People were bad like that. Their traps were with them. There was no way.
She walked around two men hanging upside down for a good thirty seconds before even opening her mouth to speak. They were talking. Calling to her. Begging her. They wouldn't know.
They had families. They were not rich. They had been sent by someone else. She had no guilt. They struggled. Nova had to restrain from laughing. She wasn't much different than these people right in front of her- but at the same time, there were no two beings less alike anywhere.
She didn't speak. Neither did the men. For a millisecond, everything in the known universe was completely, utterly silent. She drew in a breath, and it cut through the silence like it was splitting stone. Her voice was thunder.
Lakota watched. The girl cut them loose. He knew why. He always knew. They were probably a hundred feet away from each other. Nova and Lakota closed their eyes simultaneously. Nova could blink and feel the power of a thousand stars being born. Lakota felt them dying. His body shuddered.
By the time the men had brushed the dust off their clothes and were getting to their feet, Nova was gone, with no trace. Gone as she came.
The men ran.
YOU ARE READING
Singing the Songs of Stars
FantasiThere's a girl, in the woods. She's alone, but that's alright. She isn't lonely, because she's never not been alone. And she really isn't alone, for the howling of wolves and the echoes of waterfalls cut through the silent night. But the existenc...
