Shooting Stars

It all started with the first flash of light across the sky.

It disappeared as fast as it appeared, a speedy blur of white and bright blue across the night sky. But it was noticeable enough to Evelyn, even out of the corner of her eye. She quickly moved her head up from her journal, but the night sky simply stared back at her from outside the window, as beautiful and dotted with stars as it usually was.

She opened her windows to look up at the sky, to check if she was missing something from the angle she was sitting at. It took a long time for her to get used to the sky up on the surface, and that the stars weren't dangerous here like they were in The Hollows. But she didn't recall there ever being anything that could replicate that flashing light she saw. No creature could do that, and stars here couldn't possibly do the same-

Suddenly, it came back. Another flash of light across the sky. She was sure now, it couldn't be anything else but the stars. They were falling.

She didn't get it though, Boaris said the stars here were harmless. But what else could've caused that? And if they fell, did they cause the same amount of harm starlactites did, or possibly worse?

She quickly got out of her room and looked around the house. "Boaris? Boaris?!" she called out, searching around frantically for him. Where could he be this late at night?

She looked out of the window, and saw him outside their house, taking the clothes off the outside clothesline. "Boaris! Boaris!!" Evelyn shouted at him, running out of the door to him. Boaris turned around to face her, his face a bit confused. "Is something wrong?" he asked her.

"What are you doing this late at night?" Evelyn frantically asked him. "Didn't you see the lights in the sky??". Boaris looked up at the sky, his face still confused. "Do you mean the stars? I told you, Evelyn. They're harmless". "No, you don't understand. I saw something up there!" Evelyn yelped. "There was a light, and it flew across the sky. It must be a star, it can't be anything else! They're falling, Boaris! You need to get back inside!".

Boaris raised a brow, before he quickly realised what she was talking about. "Do you mean a shooting star?". "Wha- they can do that!?!" she shouted.

"No, no, it's not what it sounds like" he told her, trying to calm her down. "They're not going to harm you. They're just stars that shoot across the sky that we can see from the surface. They won't hit us or hurt us, I promise". Evelyn's breathing slowed then, seeming to calm down enough to process the information in her head. "So they aren't falling?".

"No. I guess you could say they're flying? Nobody really knows what they're doing" he told her. "Anyways, they're pretty rare to find. I've heard it can take years for someone to see a shooting star. You're pretty lucky to find one". "Oh? Really?" Evelyn said, her curiosity seemed to be piqued. "And can we wish on these ones too?".

"Yep, although they pass by pretty quickly, so you'll need to be fast," Boaris told her. "Light showers are rarer though, they're when multiple shooting stars can be seen at once. You'll be better to wish on one of those".

Evelyn nodded. "I see, I see. Well, I better go back inside. I was in the middle of writing. Come back inside once you're finished, alright?". Boaris nodded to her as Evelyn walked back into their house, yawning a bit as she entered.

-----★-----

She didn't even remember when she had gotten tired and headed to bed, but when she awoke, it was by Boaris shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, Evelyn. Are you awake?" he asked her. Evelyn grumbled as she sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Well I am now, what do you need?" she asked him, her drowsiness evident in her voice. "I didn't leave the stove on overnight again, did I?". "No, I just needed to show you something," he told her as she got up from her bed. "Put your cloak on, it's a bit cold outside".

Evelyn nodded and yawned as she clipped her cloak on over her nightgown. From the darkness of the curtains, she could tell it was still nighttime. What could Boaris want to show her at this time?

She let him lead her outside their cottage, and her eyes widened as she gazed up into the sky.

There, among the blanket of darkness, multiple shooting stars flew across the sky, each one leaving behind a trail of light. She had never seen or heard anything like this before on the surface. When a group of stars in the Hollows fell, it usually spelled out terror and death. But these ones were so beautiful, they mesmerized her.

Boaris smiled as he looked at just how starstruck Evelyn looked. "Do you like it?". "Of course I do! But I thought you said it was rare to see multiple at once!" she gasped. Boaris chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yep. Light showers are rarer than shooting stars, we're lucky we're able to see them out here".

Boaris sat down on a nearby rock and Evelyn joined beside him. "They're so beautiful..." Evelyn breathed out as they watched the display of stars across the sky. Boaris looked over to her, smiling softly before returning his gaze back to the sky. "Yeah, beautiful...".