She Who Treads Amongst the Stars

Chapter 2: Star Bits

One day passed. Then two, then three.

Or at least, Rosalina assumed a few days had gone by. She didn't (or more so, wasn't able to) bring a clock of any kind. So there was really no way of knowing for sure how much time had passed – not without access to the rising and setting sun.

The journey so far proved duller and more monotonous than she was expecting, at least once they had left orbit. Sure, seeing the Earth from space brought an indescribable sense of awe over her. She would never forget how the planetary sphere glowed against the inky shadows of the cosmos, nor the humility she felt in the face of such a grand design. But the sight quickly became a fleeting memory, like something of a dream as they traveled into the beyond and saw only darkness. Except for the occasional asteroid (and even an entire asteroid field at one point), there wasn't much of anything else! Surprisingly, they didn't pass by a single planet or any other cosmic phenomena: much less a comet with Luma's waiting mother.

For now, that was okay. She knew it would probably be a while before they found a comet or a planet or anything else of significance. Once, on one of their nights out, Daddy had once pointed at the spaces between the stars, the objects seemingly mere inches from each other. He blew her mind when he said there were much farther apart in reality: hundreds of thousands, if not millions of "light-years" (whatever that meant) away from each other. She just needed to be patient.

But there's only so much a seven-year-old could do to occupy herself. Inevitability, Rosalina kept peeking out of the windows every so often. Technically, she didn't need to since the ship's sensors would beep to let her know of any obstacles in range. But she wanted to see something, anything with her own two eyes! Occasionally, she took over to redirect the autopilot, but that was also an aimless task. She truthfully had no idea which direction they should go. With Luma's guidance, she merely tried to avoid any collisions with asteroids and other space debris. Otherwise, she doodled in her leather-bound journal or played games with Luma to pass the time. Things like patty cake, the alphabet game, and I-Spy.

"Your turn, Rosalina."

"OK... Ummmm... I-Spy something red."

"The hull of the ship?"

"No."

"The seats in the ship."

"No..."

"The control panels?"

"Um, sort of? You're getting warmer."

"For star's sake, Rosalina, everything in here is red!"

"Well, it's not like there's much else I can I-Spy!"

After what seemed like a dreadfully long time, Rosalina began to realize she was woefully unprepared for their journey. She released a dramatic sigh while Luma had his face pressed up against one of the windows.

"If I had known it was going to take this long, I would have packed more jam!" the little girl complained over the roar of her stomach. Luma grunted, but didn't turn around, too focused on his habitual observance for his mother.

"And my throat! It's so terribly dry," she continued. "My tea does little to help, and I'm almost out." Rosalina paused as she reflected upon her stock. Before she left, she packed her apricot tea, made in advance and stored in little travel cups. Only too late did she realize she should have packed more of it— and more of everything else, too. But the thought simply... never crossed her mind at the time. Perhaps it was the excitement of it all that distracted her?

Her mind flashed back to the process of packing her sturdy cloth knapsack. Rosalina packed what she considered as essentials: her father's telescope, her butterfly net, her stuffed bunny, her notebook, some stuffed bread, milk, jam, and apricot flavored tea. Thankfully, the ship had a mini-fridge, so she could keep the perishables in there for at least a little while. But...