The Story Of Daniel

/s i x t e e n/

A/N: ok, can we just take a minute to appreciate this beautiful fanart above. Thanks to @blxck_rainbows . I love the art and the quote and everything. Thanks you, thank you, thank you
Chapter 16

Seven Years Before

"So," Daniel said. "What's today's constellation?" Ever since that night on the roof, Daniel had been obsessed with constellations. Once a week, he would convince Amelia to come over and tell him another story about the stars. She liked it because she had an excuse to not go home to her aunt for an extra hour.

"Hmm," she thought for a minute. "How about Perseus? He has a nice story in mythology, one of the only ones with a happy ending."

"Perseus it is," Daniel replied. He was glad to see Amelia so happy. Every time he saw her cry he just wanted to take away all of her pain. He wanted to take her away from the sadness her aunt brought upon her; but she wouldn't let him. He wanted to punch every single one of the bullies that tormented her; but she wouldn't tell him their names. Daniel wished he could take her to her parents that she longed to see, but he didn't even know if they were still alive.

***

Daniel's mother hated it when they went on the roof, not that it stopped them from doing so. They were both sat on top of the house, reading. Amelia tapped on Daniel's shoulder, "Hey," she said. "The stars are out."

Daniel looked up from his book. He had been so engrossed in it that he hadn't realized that the oranges and reds and pinks of the sunset had faded into the misty, dark blue of night, revealing the silvery stars splattered across the sky. "Alright," he said, marking his spot in the book and placing it beside him. "Tell me about the man named Perseus that was so important he was given a spot among the stars."

"Okay," she said. "He was famous for a lot of things, but my favorite is the story of how he killed Medusa."

"Medusa? Isn't that the snake haired lady?" he asked.

"Yes. Medusa was a gorgon, which is basically a person with snake hair and claws. Medusa had the power to turn people to stone just by looking at them, and Perseus was given the task of killing her. To assist him, he received a helmet of invisibility, a pair of winged sandals, and a shield."

They were lying on their backs, staring at the night sky, as Amelia told the story. "He used the helmet and shoes to get close to her and then used the shield to block her gaze as he decapitated her. Perseus was carrying her head, but as the drops of blood hit the ground they turned into snakes. He also turned a titan named atlas into stone. Perseus was quite the trouble maker, if you ask me." She laughed a bit. It was good to hear her laugh. "Somewhere along the way he found a princess named Andromeda chained to a rock by the sea as a sacrifice to a sea monster. He rescued her and they fell in love, got married, blah blah blah. When he died his constellation was put right next to Andromeda which is kind of adorable."

"That's it?" Daniel asked when she was done speaking.

"What do you mean?"

"In most of the stories you told me, the hero died tragically or in battle or something."

"Like I said, this story has a happy ending," she told him.

"Happy endings are boring," Daniel complained.

"They may be boring, but it's worth not being sad," she said. And then under her breath she added, "I'd want a boring, happy ending if it meant I wouldn't be so sad."

Now

Daniel stood on the bridge for hours. He watched as the geese flew away and the dog walked off the dock in search of a place to sleep. He listened as the sounds of early afternoon died down and the melody of the night time started. When he saw the sun start to sink he sighed at the sight and then he checked his phone.