Love Stars

Late in the evening, she saw a shooting star fly across the sky. Ever so softly, she closed her eyes and made a wish. She could have wished for anything; to end world hunger, for her little brother to get over his cough, even for the simplicity of happiness. But instead, she wished for him because he was the only thing she could think about. At that moment and time, none of her other problems existed. It was only him.

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One morning, the doorbell rang. Briefly, she wondered who on earth it could be. She opened the door  to reveal him standing on her doorstep. Instantly, she was self-conscious. She was wearing the same pyjamas she had been for two days, and her hair was frizzed from the humid summer air. She had a pimple on her forehead, and she had not yet brushed her teeth. And yet, his lips opened and they told her she was beautiful.

She blushed bright red, mentally denying every word that came out of his mouth. Little did she know how difficult this was for him. He had forced himself to drive to her house, hands shaking the entire time. He rang her bell, and almost ran away, twice. He had been about to do so right before she opened the door. The sight of her eyes had froze him in his place. He was unable to do anything except say the only words that kept bouncing off his brain. Had been bouncing off his brain for months. “You’re beautiful.”

Instantly, he regretted it. He hadn’t thought it through. He hadn’t meant to say that. He saw the colouration of her cheeks (that lovely shade of red) and turned, preparing to return to his car. Her voice stopped him. She had been stunned by his  words, and even more stunned when he began to leave her. He couldn’t. “Don’t go. Please.” she said, her voice no more than a whisper.

That was all he needed to hear. She could have asked him anything, and he would have no options but to oblige. He just prayed she would never ask him for the impossible, because he would have to die before he ever let her down. Slowly, he walked back up her porch steps, attempting to predict the unpredictable.  

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Months later, they sat on her porch step, (that beautiful porch step), where they had once both taken such a risk for the other. As he held her, they stared up into the stars.

“How did I end up with you?” she asked, breaking their comfortable silence while looking up into the face she now knew better than her own.

He looked her squarely in the eyes, those wonderful eyes he loved so much, and said “A year ago, I wished on a star. I wished for you.”