you carry the stars

[crazyflight]

this brief story is inspired by my favorite creature, the asesina orcae. it's a bit sad (tw: grief).

------

mahmoun had been staring at the sky for hours. fighting back tears, losing the fight, telling himself that the tears were from going so long without blinking. he wiped his eyes hurriedly, hiding the evidence of his weakness. the young man had left the door to his parents' cottage ajar, and his mother had still not gone to close it, sitting firm, keeping vigil over her husband's bedside, stroking his hair as his feeble body wracked with coughs that mahmoun pretended not to hear.

night began to fall, the sky darkening purple, but mahmoun kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, the sun having dipped over the gentle hills to the south of lake lakira. his eyes narrowed — could it be? his breath quickened and he clenched his fists. no! he screamed, only inwardly; when he opened his mouth, he couldn't make a sound, frozen as he was. the thin, innocuous clouds were tinged violent and pale orange, and breaking through them was a massive pectoral fin, then another, followed by the white belly of what could only be

"no!" this time, mahmoun's shriek echoed through the moorland. for the first time that day, he averted his gaze, holding his head in his hands. he had heard the legends, of course. he knew what it meant for the asesina orcae to descend from its home in the heavens. "go away!" he yelped, but with less force, more of a whimper than a shout.

in an instant, mahmoun felt his heart soften, his eyebrows unfurrow, and he unclasped his head and stared at his hands, puzzled. where had all of the anger gone? seconds later, the low-frequency rumbling throughout the valley transformed into a gentle song. as these dulcet melodies washed over mahmoun, he blinked in bewilderment and turned his gaze back upward, letting out a gasp as he found himself face to face with the orcae.

mahmoun heard the door creak, whipping around to see his mother walking toward him slowly, a thin smile gracing her lips, eyes filled with wonder. mahmoun had not realized that the coughing had halted. "he's among the stars now, jackalope," she murmured, using the pet name he hadn't heard in years, squeezing his shoulder. mahmoun sighed. when he turned back to the orcae, his jaw dropped. her sheer enormity was mind-boggling — mahmoun's entire line of sight was taken up by the creature, her eye about as big as his palm and staring deep into his.

"maara," he mumbled, unsure of how he knew her name but confident that it was right. her eyes twinkled like stars. mahmoun stood for a moment, letting his rage be assuaged by her song and her mighty presence, surrendering himself to a peace unlike any that he had felt before. "dad will be okay, right?" he asked. maara closed her eyes and dipped her head, pausing her song briefly in acknowledgment.

"he's among the stars now," his mother repeated. maara opened her eyes, and mahmoun saw them — constellations in her iris and, as he took a step back, galaxies covering her skin.

"you carry the stars..." mahmoun murmured. he turned around to look at the open door for a moment, and then he heard his mother gasp. when he jolted back around, maara was already beginning her ascent, her deep song still echoing gently through the moors. "you carry the stars," mahmoun murmured again, almost to himself, clasping his hands together and holding them to his chest.

the two watched as maara gained elevation, slowly becoming smaller and smaller until, finally, she broke the cloud cover on her way to the stratosphere. her humming melody slowly began to fade, and mahmoun let out an exhale he didn't realize he had been holding. with it came a flood of sobs, and he buried his face in his mother's blouse, mother and son holding each other as dusk turned to night and the stars began to illuminate the sky.

[Altairia]

A touching story that portrayed well the different feelings that come with the loss of a loved one. Maybe one day I will be able to let go of the grief I carry within me as well. Thank you

[crazyflight]

A touching story that portrayed well the different feelings that come with the loss of a loved one. Maybe one day I will be able to let go of the grief I carry within me as well. Thank you

thank you for the kind words i feel the same way, on one hand. on the other, perhaps, my grief is concrete evidence that i loved and still love the people in my life who've passed. it's human, to me... it would be nice to have an asesina orcae song to ease the pain, though.

[Greyphilosopher]

Truly touching. I hope Mahmoun takes comfort in knowing his father had a light to guide him.