1 We Met Upon the Starry Night Sky

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. In a certain place at a certain time, there was a boy named Noah. Noah was a teenager with charcoal black hair, yet empty eyes darker than the depths of hell. His height? If Noah was in a crowd of people, he would be so average, no one would ever even notice him. In those eyes that held a blank stare towards everything except the stars was a tragic event. In this tragic event was the unfortunate yet inescapable occurrence of death, the very reason he was left alone, with no family and friends was caused by this death. The death of those closest to him, his parents. When young Noah was only nine years old, he was forced to face the mercilessness and cold-hearted side of reality, which unfortunately was on the day his parents died. After that day, Noah despised interacting with people fearing that he would be alone again if he got too close to them. The only light in his pitch-black stygian world was the stars and his flashlight. However, this flashlight was no ordinary flashlight to Noah, but a sacred treasure he held more important than his own soul. The last thing that was left to him after the death of his parents.

To remember the happy thoughts of his parents, Noah liked to run to a pit of grass and gaze at the stars with his flashlight, believing that his parents are still watching him wherever they are. It gives him comfort to have all these thoughts and think about his parents, the people that have loved him the nine years they could. The thoughts that his life would forever stay unchanged like this was suddenly struck on one cloudless night that finally opened his eyes to a new reality.

As Noah walked towards the cliffside near his house, he discovered that there was something unusual about the scenery. On the cliff sat a girl that looked around his age with crimson hair that could have easily been mistaken as velvet threads. Ironically, her eyes were soft and understanding like those of an innocent child. Hearing Noah's loud approach, the girl looked over her shoulder. Her hair could almost reflect the stary night sky as it fluttered upon her shoulders. Her hazel eyes watched Noah as their eyes met one another. Almost as if she could see through him, she thought,

"His eyes are filled with despair, agony, and seclusion, yet see through a vision of distrust and pain."

Wishing to avoid any sort of interaction, Noah turned his back and began to walk away.

"Wait!"

the girl called out in a tone of worry and anxiousness. Without even stopping for a second nor sparing a glance, the young girl's exclaim was brushed off and ignored like a speck of dust that had just landed on your shoe. All of a sudden, Noah felt something grasp his right hand in a sturdy manner. Finally, Noah turned around and looked at her. The girl made a remark in the silence of the night,

"I don't know what your life has been like, but… but the world isn't as bad as it seems,"

she took a short pause to catch her breath and continued,

"Bitterness only makes the rest sweeter, doesn't it? Don't cling to the past when there's still a future!"

Noah's eyes gave the girl a cold chill as he eventually spoke,

"Y-you would never understand my pain, so stop trying to pry into it."

The girl opened her mouth as if she had something to say, but stopped and closed it.

"I might not understand your exact pain, but nothing good comes out of hiding it."

What the girl had said wasn't wrong, after all, if you are to hide your life savings, not telling anyone, when you're gone, those savings are only left to rot and in the end and hold value to nothing. Feeling defeated by her words, Noah by and by began to speak. As the night passed, they talked and the untouchable crystal wall that Noah had been building up all these years finally began to shatter away. The following night, they met again, and again, and again until their conversations under the star's gaze became a common thing for both of them. Sadly nothing lasts forever.

A night where no stars shone brightly and the moonlight was darkened by the flock of clouds, and to Noah's dismay, the girl was also not there. As Noah looked around, he saw a figure standing near the cliff. Crimson red hair that could almost be mistaken as fire stood in the darkness. She did not turn around when hearing the frantic yelling of a familiar voice behind her. Nor did her hair glimmer and her eyes were cold. If anyone were to look at her, they would be left frozen. A chill ran down Noah's spine as he slowly walked towards her. Out of nowhere, the girl willingly walked straight off the cliff that they had once so gleefully chatted on.

"What are you doing!?"

Those sudden words snapped the girl back into reality, but by then she was already falling. Realizing how desperate she wanted to live, the nameless girl was able to hang on a branch on the side of the cliff. Noah rushed towards the cliff and just barely stopped himself from jumping down as well. They were close, yet this range was also like life and death. Hastily reaching out his hand to save her, they both noticed that this gap couldn't be closed so easily.

CRACK

The sounds of the branch snapping could be heard even throughout this chaos. With slight hesitance, Noah whipped out his flashlight and reached it out to her. The girl was filled with uneasiness, however, managed to grab ahold of the flashlight. Snap. The flashlight snapped in half and to their horror, once life is gone, it's gone forever. This is something Noah always knew but refused to believe in. He would bury such thoughts and instead believed in what people called impossible. Sitting on the edge of the cliff, Noah was once again left alone, and speechless. All he could think was

"No. This is a dream. None of this is real."

As Noah, once again, was forced to face the brutal and heartless side of reality. His cry could be heard from miles away through the continuous echo of the valley.

"Why did you leave me? I thought your promised we would share the pain together!"

A cry filled with agony.

"Why would you help me only to leave me in a state worse than before?"

Tears rolled down the side of his cheeks like streams and streams of forever running, never-ending, rivers. As the sun began to rise, he opened his swollen eyes.

"Where am I?"

Noah wondered to himself. No, there was no cliff. He rose up upon his bed and let out a sigh of relief yet sadness. A dream? Perhaps most of him wished did wish that "her" death was a dream, however, just the slightest bit of him wished that those fateful memories were real. Noah got up, it was 8 in the morning. His flashlight was in perfect condition next to him, placed on a wooden table. Noah walked outside, and looked around. Yes...there was never a cliff.