peculiar

look after the stars

She spends her nights outside, lying on the grass, staring up at the stars. I've never seen anyone  who is more at home looking up at the sky than in their actual house. She's there every night, regardless of the weather, gazing up at the endless expanse of the universe, without a care in the world.

I started watching her a while ago, from over the fence. Every night, just after the sun went down, she was there, simply radiating serenity. Something about her was just so captivating, so magnetic, so utterly wonderful, that I couldn't stay away. She was a perfect escape from my whirlwind life at home. She was like the calm in the storm that was my life, and I liked that.

I didn't know her name. She didn't know I existed.

And it might have stayed that way, had I not been so nosy.

The sun was just setting upon the horizon. I make my way over to the oak tree in the back yard, clambering up it's sturdy trunk, onto the lowest branch, overhanging the fence separating our yards. Slowly, I lower myself down onto the fence.

She's already there, black hair fanned out around her, gazing up at the stars in her usual fashion. She doesn't need to smile to indicate her content. Her large, bright eyes say it all.

She finds peace in the stars. I find peace in her.

She's so beautiful. So glorious. I find myself leaning forward, and then I lose my grip on the fence, and with a gasp, I topple over, into her yard, landing with a painful thud.

She jumps and sits up immediately.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my backyard?"

"Um...I...uh..." I mumble, scratching the back of my neck. "I...uh...fell. Off the fence"

"Why were you on the fence?" Her large brown eyes reflect the light of the moon. She's beautiful.

"Watching...you"

"Oh." she pauses for a long time.

After a while she says

"Do you want to stargaze with me?"

I nod, and shuffle over next to her. She offers me a small smile, before lying down once more. So I lie down next to her. She points up to the stars.

"See there? The brightest star in the sky? That's Sirius. It's part of the Canis Major constellation."

She points out Jupiter and Venus.

"The other planets aren't aligned properly, so we can't see them."

I find myself at a loss for words.

I'm so close to her. If I reached out...I could touch her soft hair....take her hand in mine...

"Um. Hello?"

I am staring. She is staring too.

I tear my eyes away, cheeks burning, and concentrate really hard on the ground.

"I don't know your name" She says after another long silence.

"Jay" I say, never once looking up from the ground.

"Why are you blushing Jay?"

"I...err....what?"

"Are you embarrassed? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you!"

"No...no it's..uh...it's cool...I'm...cool. Uh, yeah." biting my lip, I look to the sky, hoping to avoid making eye contact with her.

"Jay, please look at me."

Damn.

Our eyes meet. I feel a small shiver go down my spine. She's incredible.

"Jay." She takes my hand. I jump at the touch of her soft skin in mine. "Look after the stars for me, won't you?"

Her words strike me as odd, but I choose not to say anything.

I nod.

"I promise."

She smiles, the most beautiful smile I've ever seen, and leans into me, resting her head upon my shoulder. My heart beats faster, and I get an odd fluttery feeling in my stomach. I don't even try to suppress my grin.

"Amani." she whispers. "My name is Amani"

Amani.

It was very late when I climbed back over the fence, and into bed. I lay awake for hours, smiling stupidly, hardly daring to believe whether or not it was real.

The sun is just setting over the horizon. A boy dashes out the back door of his house, hardly able to contain his excitement. He climbs up a tree, onto the lowest branch, which overhangs the neighbour's house, and clambers onto the fence below, and waits.

And waits.

She's not there.

He waits for hours, disappointment written all over his face.

And then he comes back the next night. And the next.

"Look after the stars for me, won't you?"

She's gone.