Under the Stars

Stars

Danny sat silently, smoking a cigarette as the dead, forgotten night surrounded him. The burning sensation of his soul faded away as he blurred the lines between past and present. He knew that cigarettes caused harm, but someone beaten by life didn't care for such ordeals.

The cigarette steadily burned away, its ashes swept away by the wind, spreading across the cityscape. The pain burned away, leaving behind remnants of peace.

"We may die, they say, but what a terrible curse it has been living through my death," Danny muttered to himself, letting out a long sigh. His eyes, tired and worn, gazed upward towards the canopy of stars. As a child, sitting under the stars made him feel at home. Seeing them burn to perfection gave Danny a sense of destructive satisfaction.

As he reminisced about Maya and their lost love, his memories acted as a time vortex, engulfing him every night. The ghost of her memories neither let him live peacefully nor allowed him to move on.

He was a different person after what happened last year, struggling to accustom himself to a new reality. The only reprieve for him was the rooftop, where he spent many evenings with Maya watching the sun dissolve over the horizon, holding her tightly in his arms.

Danny sat on the edge of the rooftop, his mind consumed by a terrifying curiosity. "Does dying really hurt?" he thought sluggishly, standing up. He was inches away from a decisive fall and too inebriated to care.

The affliction of his heart condensed into tears as he wept, wondering how fate could take the only person he had ever loved away from him. Suddenly, dying didn't feel like the terrifying concept people made it out to be. Danny was ready to take the plunge if it meant an end to his woeful existence.

"Today I will fall asleep one last time, hoping to wake up next to you, Maya. I want to live without your memories or with you forever, nothing halfway..." he whispered to the gust of wind that was here to take him away.

Suddenly, he heard tiny footsteps approach him from behind, breaking him out of his trance. A pipsqueak voice spoke from behind, "Papa, what are you doing?"

Turning around, he saw a little girl standing in front of him clutching a teddy bear, with her eyes almost shut from sleep. "She looks just like her mother," Danny thought, holding back his tears. Even now, he fell in love once again. Clearing his throat, he replied, "What do I do? Your mother went away to enjoy life all alone leaving the two of us."

The girl came forward and hugged him as hard as she could. He couldn't help but smile seeing concern in her eyes. Bending down, he hugged her back even tighter. "Argh! You are crushing me," she said in her baby tone.

"Oops, sorry," Danny apologized, making a face. She giggled at his reaction and slowly said, "Don't be sad Papa, we will bring back Momma one day, and then we will all live together."

The gap-toothed smile she flashed at him showed how much she believed in those words. "And, do I not take care of you well?" she asked, turning her tone granny-like, with outright authority in it.

He laughed heartily and replied in a heavy mimicked voice, "It so happens that you do, Grandma. I won't be sad anymore."

"Let's go and sleep now. Bedtime story is still pending, Papa," she whined, pulling at his hand.

"I'm coming, Granny," he said, patting her back.

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A/N :-

"Hey baby, looking for a good time ?" a husky voice calls out.

You point to yourself, confused.

"All you gotta do baby, is hit that lovely star at the bottom," the voice was all your fantasies into one husky come on," You know you wanna."

Before you knew what was happening, your mouse found itself hovering over the pale, outlined figure of a star. With a click, it filled with an enticing, dark yellow. Satisfied, you move on to the next chapter.