"Elemental form?"
"Well, they shine, right? They shine not because someone shines a light on them or because of something we as humans did. They shine because of who they are, their true selves. It's just beautiful."
"That's...deep. But it’s warm inside, you know? With food."
I laughed and shook my head. "Do you know you can buy a star?"
"Why would you want to buy a star?" he asked, looking at me like I was crazy. I shrugged. For some reason the thought of having a star was warm and fuzzy.
"Well, you name a star after someone, not really buy it."
"And why would you want to do that?"
Another star in the sky twinkled.
"The thought that someone is trying to give you something so pure and far away, yet they try to reach for it. It's something that can never be captured yet they try so hard. It takes a lot of love and devotion to name a star after someone."
"It's damn expensive, I bet."
"But it's not about the money," I said, turning around to face him. "It's the thought behind it. It's like even when all of us die, the star will still be there."
I saw him open his mouth and I cut him off. "I know you're going to say, 'what if the stars are already dead and we don't know it?' Well, we're not going to find out till we die. But it's the thought that someone is trying to give you the impossible.
Just imagine looking up at a star and saying, ‘That's mine,’ or having someone give you that. No gift can beat something that will forever remain in history. A star named after you, one that will always shine."
"That's deep, babe, real deep," he said, swatting a fly away. "But imagine all the doughnuts I can buy with that money."
I shook my head and he broke out laughing. "I'm joking. Who put that crazy thought into your head?"
"No one. I just thought about it and apparently one can buy a star. I wanted to, actually, but it never worked out."
"Why?" he asked, looking much more curious.
"My friend didn't agree with me. She thought it was flaunting the fact that you have money," I said, suddenly getting angry. "She completely missed the point. And by the time I worked up the courage to buy her one, she was gone."
"Gone?"
I shrugged. “We had a falling out, a stupid reason. But we hadn’t spoken to each other in months. Pointless buying her a birthday gift.”
I looked up at the moon. It seemed bigger than usual and closer to the horizon, with a shade of orange.
Every night as a kid I had looked at the moon, saying to myself that no matter who I missed, if I just looked at the moon, they would be looking back at me.
Staring at the moon right now, I wondered, is anyone looking back?
Chapter TWENTY
"You should go to sleep."
"Hmm?" I looked away from the moon, realising I had probably spent a good ten minutes staring at it, so much that my eyelids were getting heavy and it was hard to focus.
"It’s past two. Come on. He's not going to come home any time soon, anyway," Adrian said as he got up and offered me a hand. I yawned as I held mine out and he lifted me up effortlessly.
"Do you sleep in the master’s bedroom?" he asked.
"What?"
"I think I'll go in there, and then Darius can come and I can scare the shit out of him. Damn it, Adrian, why are you so smart?" he said, talking to himself and losing me somewhere.
"Huh?" I asked sleepily, locking the door behind me. I felt his arms on my shoulder and saw him lean down.
"It's okay, dear cousin-in-law. Go to bed. I'll take care of it."
"Whatever. Night," I said, yawning and walking toward the stairs. I didn't know how I did but I managed to get to my room, and without bothering to change, I flopped onto the bed. Too exhausted to pull the blanket and too exhausted to turn the lights off, I took a deep breath, then exhaled it along with my consciousness.
I welcomed sleep.
But it soon ended. I wasn't sure how long I had slept before I heard a commotion. I squinted at the clock, but my eyes were too fuzzy to notice the time.
"I'M GOING, MAN."
Automatically, I sat up upon hearing the voice. I walked to the door and opened it. I saw Adrian bend over to pick up a blanket and pillow from the floor.
"What's going on?" I asked, blinking to get my eyes adjust to the light.
"Apparently, your husband doesn't like sharing a bed with his favourite man," said Adrian, sulking like a girl. I let out a laugh and shook my head.
"There's other bedrooms, help yourself," I said. Adrian walked toward the other end of the hallway.
"Yep, going far away from the insane man," Adrian said.
I let out a sigh as I closed the door and walked back to bed. I should have probably switched a light on, but I didn't, andwalked right into the damn bed and yelped.
"Freaking hell," I swore, bending down to rub my knee as I climbed in. The bed heater was on, making it warm and cozy. I slipped under the sheets and grabbed the pillow, hugging it and feeling like something was missing.