The sunrise is electrifying in the sky this bitter Tuesday morning, but not electrifying enough to make me feel alive again. I'm pretty sure I'm dying right now. It's strange, the feeling I mean, like I know I can't live without what I'm about to leave behind but I'm forced to walk away anyways.
"You're not leaving. You're not leaving." I repeat to myself, as if that would make it true.
But I am leaving. I'm leaving the hilly stretches, quiet woods, and bustling farm of my childhood. I will never see it again. This thought makes my mind quiet, I can't think, it's too painful.
I stroll through the grassy fields and the sun touches my bare shoulders, kissing me goodbye. I finally reach the stall where my sole reason for living resides, my little Sun-Star.
I remember the day I received Sunny. I was in second grade and in science class. As we read about the planets and solar systems, I dozed off, not caring about whatever was up above me at that age. The only thing I remembered from that lesson was that the "Sun is also a star."
To be honest, this bewildered my youthful mind beyond belief. How could something so large, so powerful, be a form of a small and insignificant glowing ember in the sky? It was as if the empress of the sky was secretly a poor peasant, unknown among the millions of others just like her. So I came home that night to find a beautiful mare in the once-empty stall in our barn.
Despite my dad and older brother's urging me to name her "Brandy," or "Gallant," I insisted on Sun-Star. My horse was just like the sun, powerful, strong, and golden inside and out. But she was like the stars too, beautiful, wild, and so small compared to the size of the universe.
Now, I boarded Sun-Star. And before I could think, I was part of the earth around me. The wind whipped against my body, but I stayed sturdy on my saddle. I heard the rhythmic clip-clop of Sunny's galloping that I've grown accustomed to over the years.
For just a moment, I think of running away with Sunny forever. Just me and Sun-Star against the world, never to be seen by mankind again.
After a while, I retreat to the stall and lock Sunny in. She neighs at me jubilantly, and I feel horrible knowing I will never see her again, so I don't let her know that I am leaving. So as I walk out of the barn, my Sunny believes I will be there when the sun rises tomorrow morning.
***
So there's the first chapter. I really hope you guys enjoyed it!! Little disclaimer: I am aware The Sun is Also a Star is a book title in the YA world, but I had no intentions of copying nor is this book related to that in any way.
