Chapter 9 - To Show You the Stars

Yuyu and Lia sit side by side on a patch of grass in front of an unnatural looking cave. It looks like it was man made, full of fine flat walls and a rounded entryway. Inside the cave, there were two rows of long logs, each row was stacked two high. A layer of boards were lined perpendicular to these two rows, forming a platform.

Sun unties the hemp rope that had been slung around his chest. The rope was wound around a roll of fabric. After unwrapping the rope, the roll of fabric unfolds. He sets a blanket down on top of the wooden platform and carefully pats it flat. He grabs the other blanket and layers it on top of the first. Before he could fluff the pillows and set them in place, Yuyu calls out to him.

"Mister! Come quick! Look, look!"

Sun drops the pillows and walks outside to see what was going on. Yuyu was looking at him, jumping up and down while pointing at the sky.

"Did Mister see it?"

Sun tilts his head to look in the direction she was pointing. Seeing nothing, he looks at Yuyu with a confused expression.

"Yuyu saw a shooting star. You missed it, esteemed dummy."

Yuyu looks back at where she was pointing. Seeing that the star was gone, her eyes grew wide.

"B-b- Where'd it go? It was just there!"

"Shooting stars are very busy stars, Yuyu," Lia chimes in to explain. "That's why you don't see them sitting around all night like the other stars."

"Busy stars?" Yuyu tilts her head with confusion. "Why are they busy?"

"I'm not sure, Yuyu. Maybe they're going to visit their friends. Maybe they're going to work, or maybe they just finished working and are rushing home to see their family."

"Oo-ooh! Just like Mister! When Mister has to work, Mister does this-" Yuyu stands up and wiggles her body, shuffling side to side. "One moment, Mister is here-" she shuffles her body behind Lia. "Then poof, he's not!"

Lia laughs as Yuyu performs her rendition of Sun's disappearing act.

"And at night, Mister does this-" Yuyu jumps back in front of Lia. "Tada! Mister is back!"

"Yes Yuyu," Lia smiles. She turns around and looks at Sun. "Just like Mister."

Sun's body flickers and disappears from where he was standing. Almost instantaneously, he reappears behind Yuyu and pats her head.

"Like this?"

Yuyu laughs. She turns around and jumps into his arms.

"Do it again Mister!"

*** 

The night has been completely silent ever since Yuyu fell asleep. Before that, the two girls had been talking about stars for hours. Yuyu would point to a star and Lia would tell her an incredibly detailed story about that star. Once Yuyu fell asleep, Lia cradled the little girl in her arms and headed off to bed. Lia laid beside Yuyu and observed her peaceful face, eventually drifting off into slumber herself.

A gentle breeze meanders between the mountain peaks, replacing the silence with the sound of rustling leaves. Sun sits outside the cave, meditating beneath the hazy night sky. His hair flutters as the gentle breeze passes by. He opens his eyes and watches the leaves as they fly away with the breeze. He recalls Lia's story about the busy stars- rushing to get to their destination.

One in a hurry to be somewhere… The other goes wherever it goes…

As Sun contemplates the stars and leaves, Lia approaches him from behind with gentle steps.

"Hey dummy, what's keeping you?"

Sun, still thinking about the stars and leaves, doesn't reply. He watches as another leaf glides through the air, eventually disappearing into the night.

As much as Lia wanted for him to notice her, she didn't have the heart to call out to him again. She glances up at the cloudy night sky and sighs.

Dummy.

She turns around and makes her way back to bed.

"I like your stories about the stars."

Sun's calming voice reaches out to her like an invisible hand, stopping her from walking away.

"I like that you gave them names. I like that you gave them personalities. They're so far away, yet your stories bring them down to earth. I like that they all have reasons for being where they are and reasons for being the way they are. I like how you talk about them as if they were people. They're not perfect, but you talk about them as if they are still beautiful regardless of their imperfections…"

Lia didn't know what to say. As she listened to him, a strange feeling swelled up within her chest. She mustered up every ounce of strength in her entire being to try and hold it together. His words made her feel so happy, yet so weak at the same time.

"I know I've already said it many times already, but thank you… Thank you for being the best of us."

Lia pinches her arm. A teardrop escapes her eyes, falling past her lashes and onto her cheek. She quickly wipes it away and takes a deep breath. With her emotions barely in check, she calls out to him.

"Sun…"

Sun stands up from his meditative position. He turns around to look at her. At the same time, she turns to look at him.

"I want to see them."

Sun smiles before walking over to her. He reaches his hand past her face and places it on the entryway behind her, sending his aura through his palm and into the cave walls to create a barrier.

"Don't move."

He places his hand on her shoulder, creating another barrier around her before turning around to put ten steps of distance between them. He faces towards the sky. His hand rises above his head, pausing at the apex. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

The blade that cleaved the Heaven…

His eyes open as he exhales. With his wrist straight and his fingers extended, he swings downwards, aiming at the sky in front of him. The surrounding air collapses towards the arc of his swing. A split moment later, it erupts violently. The invisible arc rips through the space ahead as it rushes towards the sky. It tears through space at unimaginable speeds, leaving behind airless pockets in its trail. These air pockets collapsed as fast as they formed, causing thunderous explosions.

Lia watches from inside the barrier. She her eyes widen as the clouds above drift apart, creating a window into the Heavens.

Sun wipes the blood from his nose with before turning around to see Lia staring up at the sky. He smiles.

…to show you the stars.