From A-Z, and Everything in Between

Brilliance

 Even though stars are light years away from each other, their light travels any distance so they can see each other. In that vast, empty space that they live in, the distant light emitted from a star they can't even see keeps them company. That's why light feels so warm. It's transmitting the feelings of lonely stars to whoever will look at it.

Mafumafu closed the book with a soft smile. This was a book his mother had given him when he was little, and he still treasured it to this day. Reading it never failed to cheer him up whenever he felt down or lonely. It reminded him that even if there was no one he could turn to at the moment, or if it seemed like the entire world was against him, he could just look up and be surrounded by the light of millions of other lonely souls seeking comfort. Thinking about it was a little embarrassing, considering there wasn't actually anyone out there, but he figured it didn't matter so long as it cheered him up.

In recent years, though, Mafumafu had found his own personal collection of stars. One by one friends popped into his life like small miracles, each one shining with brilliant smiles and stunning kindness. Mafumafu could feel their warmth practically swallow him up whenever he was around them. And, over time, Mafumafu realized he began to shine brighter because of them. He wanted his friends to understand his thoughts and feelings so that they could all get along better. So, he let his own light shine and allowed his friends to see all the way into the darkest depths of his heart. But there was one person that Mafumafu could never properly share everything with. Someone who shone so blindingly bright that it was hard for Mafumafu to look at him sometimes.

The irony of not being able to be completely honest with his most treasured person would've been funny to Mafumafu if it wasn't so sad. Of course, he shared almost everything with that blindingly bright person. He couldn't help it. Every time Mafumafu was around him, the light that person gave off was so warm and inviting that Mafumafu wanted to immediately voice every thought in his head. But he had to hold back a little bit when he realized there were thoughts of affection in there. Mafumafu didn't want to risk scaring this brilliant star away, so he kept those affectionate thoughts to himself.

 "What are you reading?"

Mafumafu looked up to see Soraru peering over his shoulder at the book in his hands. Mafumafu smiled at him a bit sheepishly.

"It's a book my mom gave me when I was a kid," Mafumafu replied.

Soraru snorted in amusement. "You still read children's books?"

"Hey, children's books can be good sometimes," Mafumafu said.

"If you say so," Soraru said with a shrug. "So, what's it about?"

"It's about stars," Mafumafu said.

Soraru raised a questioning eyebrow. "Stars?"

"Mhm. Space is a really empty place, so the stars have to shine super bright to let each other know that they're there. Otherwise, they'll get lonely," Mafumafu explained.

Soraru hummed thoughtfully but didn't say anything. A sudden feeling of embarrassment overcame Mafumafu, and he held the book close to his chest to hide it from Soraru's scrutinizing eyes.

"I never knew you were so into stars," Soraru said.

"It's not really that I like stars a lot. I just think the story is nice," Mafumafu said.

"Hmm, yeah, that seems like you alright. Liking a story about loneliness. How depressing," Soraru said.

He sounded a little amused, so Mafumafu figured he wasn't supposed to take offense to that.