Whenever life around her seemed like too much (too many expectations, too many disappointments, too many mistakes), Maya found that the best solution was to look up. The sky, with how big it was, always made her problems feel small. It always had a different personality to discover. And when the too muches became too many, she would just stare at it for a while, uncovering its character for the day with her gaze.
Sometimes it would have its three-in-the-afternoon personality: clear blue, with bright clouds liked whipped cream. Sometimes it would have its morning-rain personality: all grey and white and wet. Maya’s favorite, however, was its clear-night personality. That’s when she could see the stars peeking through the dark, like bright jewels sewn in onto black velvet. They seemed so close, Maya thought she could reach out and pick them right out of the sky.
Of course, that was impossible.
But perhaps it was that very impossibility that drove her to visit the planetarium in the first place. To feel a little nearer. A little more intimate. A little less like the impossible was untouchable.
“Woah…” The word escaped in breathless awe as Maya walked inside. It didn’t take long for the ceiling to catch her attention. She craned her neck back, short wisps of hair falling behind her like a curtain, eyes drinking in the constellations and planets like they were endless pools, catching all that shine and sparkle and reflecting it right back. Is that really what was up there the whole time, invisible?!
Footstep were approaching. Someone was standing next to her, she knew, but Maya couldn’t glance away for a moment.
“Look at all that!” she said instead. “There’s like, a thousand wishes up there!”
Frey had to get to work quick. She was running late, and god knows what they would do if she were late. (In truth, Wizard would probably do nothing, but she didn’t want to risk anything.) Maybe she shouldn’t have stayed up last night making sure that the Wizard would eat. It was worth it though!
Stepping inside the planetarium, she smiled. It’s something that’s always made her feel like home. She never really knew why, but maybe it was all the stars and the ornate decorations. And certainly this person whom she had never seen before had thought so too. Maybe she was a customer? Frey tried to get past her to clock into work, but it seems that whoever this was realized she was there.
“You think so too?” Frey asked, a smile on her face. “The stars are always this pretty outside too. You just have to find the right spots!”