Star Guardian

By Alissa Corbut

It was a summer evening in June. The night sky was clear- no clouds, just a limitless,

endless, ink black sky full of stars. It was a full moon that night. The air was warm. The world

was quiet.

Laura stared up into the sky, looking for constellations. There were an abnormal number

of stars, to the point where constellations couldn’t be made out at all. Laura was intrigued by

how busy the night sky had seemed, despite the stillness of the evening.

Laura wanted to capture this moment, but of course, her phone’s camera couldn’t see that

far. On her phone, the sky simple looked like a black pit. She sighed and put her phone away. It

wasn’t too late- nine in the evening was early for Laura. Laura, a night owl, became accustomed

to being awake in the late hours of the night- and it’s all thanks to her love for astrology.

The balcony became her new room. Of course- Laura wouldn’t sleep outside, but she

found herself outside more than she spends in. The chairs hadn’t been super comfortable, but

with a couple pillows and blankets, it became the perfect place.

Laura often pondered what it meant for her to stare into the dark abyss of the night. It had

always felt like the moon, stars, planets, and comets were calling for her. Laura loved it- it

offered a sense of serenity, peace, and tranquility.

Suddenly, a bright glow caught Laura’s eye. What had seemed to be a meteor of some

sort, travelled quickly along the skyline and disappeared with a flash. It was bizarre- it was the

first time Laura had seen such a big meteor.

 It began to get chilly, and Laura was ready to go inside. She was hungry; so, she collected

her pillows and blanket and walked inside. Laura began brewing tea, and snacked on some

leftover pastries from this morning. Everything but the kettle heating up was quiet. A sound of

chimes then filled the silence.

Laura jumped, absolutely clueless as to where this sound came from. Maybe it was the

neighbor’s windchimes, she thought, but the sound was too loud for that. Living alone, Laura

was afraid. She crept around the kitchen, and peered out the blinds of the window to the balcony.

Something bright was illuminating the platform. Laura immediately though of aliens. Her

heartbeat echoed in her ears, and she moved the blinds a little more to catch a glimpse.

It was a girl. She sat, dangling her feet off the railing, like a child. Laura’s eyes widened,

full of fear and gulped. The girl outside was bright- emitting white light that almost seemed

blinding. She looked around, and then made eye contact with Laura through the window.

Laura facepalmed, afraid that she had now been seen by the random stranger. She stayed

there for a bit, unsure whether to move around or peek once again. Laura presumed it was just

her mind playing tricks, so she peeked through the blinds once more.

Her eyes met with the girl’s eyes, bright crystal blue, and Laura jumped back, startled.

She breathed heavily, and reached for her phone to call for help. There was then a soft knock

against the window, and something seemed friendly about the knock. Laura leaned closer to the

window, once again stuck on what to do.

Remembering how soft, young, and pretty the girl’s eyes were, Laura decided to walk

onto the balcony. Mustering all the courage and strength she had, she walked up to the door, and

slowly turned the knob.

 “Hello.” The girl spoke. “I must have scared you, didn’t I?”

Her voice was soft. There was a faint echo; a reverb following the girl’s speech. She

didn’t look at anything else but Laura. Laura gulped, and nodded.

“Who are you?” Laura choked out, fear trembling in her voice.

“Do not be afraid, Laura.” The girl moved closer. Laura flinched at the sound of her

name.

“How do you know my name?”

“I know everything about you.”

“How?”

“I have been watching you,” the girl smiled.

Laura could not believe this. The wind blew, and reminded Laura of how sweaty she had

become. “Please explain,” Laura begged. “Who are you?”

“My name is Vena. I am a Star Guardian.” The wind blew through Vena’s short, dark

wavy hair. Small sparkles seemed to fall out of her hair, and flew around Laura.

“This… this isn’t real,” Laura smacked her face, as if trying to wake up from a lucid

dream.

“Do not hurt yourself,” Vena walked up and took Laura’s hands away from her face.

“This is very real.” Vena then looked up to the sky. “I have been tasked to take you to the stars.”

“What- Am I dying?” Laura became frantic at those words.

 “No, no. But, you belong up there. I only discovered you recently. You are one of us.

Come and see the skies. Let us dance amongst the planets,” Vena clasped her hands.

“This sounds very creepy, I’m sorry,” Laura turned away and cringed. “I’m going to go

now. G-goodnight.” Laura began to walk out, until Vena’s voice broke through.

“Wait, Laura. Have you ever tried flying?” Vena asked.

“What? I don’t know how you’re all glow-y and sparkly, how you even got up here but

you’re really starting to scare me. Did you do something-“

“You need to trust me.” Vena interrupted. Her voice was still soft and polite. “Watch.”

Vena stepped up onto the railing and balanced with her arms. She closed her eyes and took a

deep breath.

“No wait, don’t-“ Laura leapt out, reaching for Vena as she jumped off the railing.

Suddenly, a rush of wind pushed Laura back as Vena ascended. Her laugh echoed in the silence,

a laugh that sounded like song.

“Come on, just try!” Vena floated around, sparkling more than ever. Laura always

wondered what it was like to fly- so without rational thought she stepped up onto the railing. She

took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Without waiting too long, Laura took a step off.

It felt new. To have no ground to rest your feet on, to float in the air. Laura opened her

eyes, but she didn’t feel like Laura. She felt like…

“Thank you.” Vena, standing on the balcony, no longer glowing, turned away from

Laura.
 Laura looked at her hands. They were bright. They were glowing. Laura looked up back

at the balcony.

“Wait, come back!” Laura shouted. She noticed her voice swayed, as it echoed

throughout the silence. “Come back, please!” Laura felt herself cry. She tried to fly towards the

balcony, but couldn’t get closer. It felt like an invisible barrier.

Vena turned around, and glared at Laura- who was now a Star Guardian.

“It may look beautiful up there from afar- I will admit.” Vena stared up at the sky,

disgustingly. “But you don’t know how long I’ve been dying to live on Earth.” Vena said.

“But why me?” This was all Laura could bring herself to ask, suffering from shock

baffling her speech.

“I saw how much you loved it. I thought it be better to switch lives. You might like it.

The stars are your friends. Goodbye.” Vena turned away, and slammed the door on the way

inside.

“This doesn’t make any sense…” Laura turned towards the sky, and sighed. She flew

towards it. Maybe this was the life for her. Despite how cold Vena became, Laura had to thank

her.

Laura ascended towards the sky, and vanished into the stars, into the depths of her

obsession.