2Candle: Stars on Earth
I was alone on the school roof, a concrete surface surrounded by a chain fence, with only a telescope by my side.
I sighed, breathing out mist into the wintry air and shivering a bit under my thin jacket.
"It's cold," I muttered as I peered through the telescope.
Through the magnification I could see the stars - the diamonds strewn throughout the cosmic curtain, sparkling and illuminating the dark sky.
"Beautiful," I was mesmerized by their glow - as I always was. They lit up the world that was so dreary; they were my source of joy and -
"Are you cold?" I was interrupted.
I turned around to see someone who had ascended the stairs to the roof. She was a typical girl in my class, who had good grades and was rather social. Wrapped in a puffy jacket and with flushed cheeks, it was obvious that she was cold.
Disturbed by her presence, I simply turned back to my telescope.
"Is this a club activity?" she asked, kneeling next to me on the cold roof.
"Astronomy," I answered hoarsely, hoping she would leave. My sanctuary had been disturbed.
"Are there any other members?" she asked, fiddling around with something in her hands.
"I'm the only member." I replied before asking, "What's that?"
The girl smiled before showing me what was in her hands: two small candles, with round wax bases and short wicks, and a box of matches.
"I thought you might be cold, so I looked for something warm," she breathed softly.
Utterly confused with this girl's intentions, I asked, "Why?"
She smiled brightly at me, her eyes shining with compassion. "I don't want you to get a cold," she said. "Being sick isn't fun."
And so as she knelt on the floor and opened the matchbox, I simply watched the strange soul who had been kind enough to give me warmth, no matter how small.
"Why do you stargaze?" she asked, lighting a match with her slender hands.
"Stars are my light," I explained, gazing towards the sky. "They're the only things that illuminate this dark world. I look at stars because they're what can guide me through the shadows that encompass the world. So I stargaze."
Upon lighting the candles, she waved the burning splint in the air to put out its flame.
"Do you hate this world?" she asked, handing me a small, burning candle.
Accepting the source of heat, I nodded. "I hate it," I muttered. "A world where sadness constantly rules over us. I hate it."
Silence settled as I stood and she knelt, holding the candles and enjoying the heat they provided.
"You're like a star," she whispered.
"What?"
She paused, swallowing hard. "Even though you're always quiet in class, you never really talk to anybody, and you always eat lunch alone, I think you're like a star because you're really kind."
I glanced away. "Me? Kind? You must have the wrong person."
"You helped that old lady the other day," she countered. "You carried her groceries."
"She'd probably have injured herself," I mumbled.
"You always clean the classroom for the teacher," she continued. "And you gave me something to live for."
Her last words surprised me.
"What do you mean," I asked slowly. "Something to live for?"
She looked uneasy for a moment before speaking.
"I know how you feel. You think that there's nothing good in the world, and that there's just sadness. But even so, you're still nice." She looked at the candle in her hand.
"Even if we do live in a terrible world, where nothing but sadness exists, someone like you is here," she said happily, staring deep into the orange flame as if she cherished it. "So if such a kind person like you exists, then this world must have something worth living for!"
The girl held the candle skyward and smiled. "That's why I live. Because you're in this world, I believe we all have something to live for."
I stared at the girl in wonder, and as she held that small candle to the sky, I smiled and whispered:
"Maybe there is a light on Earth that I can love."
-Fin