32. Galaxy

A/N: You guys, I feel so bad, because this month's one shot was supposed to be a prompt submitted to me by a user...but February turned out to be one of the busiest months I've had in a very long time. I couldn't squeeze writing a one shot in there and I'm really sorry...but do not fret, that prompt will be out next month because life will finally slow down, and I'll make it the best it can possibly be, I *promise*.

For now, here's a cute little drabble I wrote for my Creative Writing class last semester! Enjoy!

For her, it starts with the black, vast, all-encompassing sheet of black. Underneath the sheet, there are cities. She says cities because she's been to two of them, so therefore there must be more. Layered underneath is her town, the one she both loves and despises. Within that are houses and within that is his house and within that is his lawn and within that is them. A boy and a girl laying on their backs, their hands hopelessly intertwined, their warmth a soothing contrast from the whispers of the evening summer breeze.

At a glance, one would not know exactly what they've seen, what they've survived or how hard they've fought to be with one another. But none of that matters right now, because she's curious. She knows there's more to the houses and the towns and the cities and the great black sheet that covers it all. Without a word, the girl had tugged the boy outside and pointed upward with a small smile and he understood because he always did. And now she's curled up against his side as the voice she's come to know and adore immensely builds a world for her.

He starts small and creates layer upon layer upon layer and she can't stop smiling. Because, suddenly there are people with names in the house and the houses are in a town she knows and in a state she doesn't and all of a sudden, there are fifty (fifty!) of them and she's excitedly stating that she wants to visit them all and he's chuckling in agreement, affectionately nudging her with his shoulder.

But he wasn't done, because now those states are making up a country and that country is melding with two other countries to create a continent and she's wide-eyed, breathless because he's still not done and suddenly there are more continents with even more countries, continents separated by water of all things and he makes a promise that she'll see the ocean someday.

Before she can blink, suddenly the continents and the ocean are on a thing called a planet and now there are more planets, planets that stretch into the deep black sheet-the deep black sky and the planets are hanging in space and space is dotted with stars and this is just their solar system and suddenly there are more systems and the systems make up galaxies and the galaxies make up universes and and and it's all so big and she can't breathe and she feels so small and he squeezes her hand tenderly because he gets it.

She doesn't want to come crashing back to earth, but when she does, his house, his lawn, him, it's all still there. Her smile is wobbly and he asks if she's okay. She is, but she knows why he's concerned that she wouldn't be, because her world had only been the town for thirteen years. But she is and she's overwhelmed and she's happy, because she knows what she's been blessed to be a part of now and she wants to see it all. But as the boy and the girl fall silent, it occurs to her that her world isn't made up of countries and planets and galaxies.

Because her entire world is laying on the grass beside her, with hair as black as the night sky above.