Astronaut.

The storm was over. The clouds had subsided to a thin white haze, and the air was crisp. The sound of dripping water here and there reminded whoever listened that gravity still worked.

Jupiter knew that it was during this time that breathing was beautifully easy, and her mind, clear. It was when the thick smell of clean air filled her lungs and clarified everything she had been puzzling over. She remembered when she was younger, and she had gone out only after storms, so that her memory of the world was only one of that perfect smell.

She also knew that the moon had magical qualities.

After she had cleared her meager dinner for one, Jupiter went upstairs into Lora Joan’s empty room. The lacy curtain was billowing about in an elegant ballet with the air that floated in through the window. She went to close it, but paused and smiled at the lingering smell of cold air, even as it melted to warmth. When she went downstairs, she lay down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. The thoughts in her head didn’t quite fit together; it was as if she were thinking twenty things at once, none of which related to another. She lay for at least an hour, until the moonlight spilled like liquid silver at a downward angle into the living room.

After a short time she grew bored. Not the type of bored a child got if he were playing alone, but the type where she would do anything that anyone told her to do, just so that she had something to do.

It had been raining for over a day. The ground was mushy and crystal clean, and the air had a sharp taste that cleaned her thoughts.

At night, on the days following this particular type of weather, Jupiter drove her small car to the Lake. The Lake had become something of a sacred area to her, and to Noah. She would only go there at this specific time, because otherwise it would lose its magic. When she and Noah had still been getting to know each other, he had brought her there and declared that it was their new secret place. And although Jupiter claimed to have never cheated on her husband, there had been more than a few nights at the Lake where the line between right and wrong blurred.

She hadn’t gone there since the night of Lora Joan’s funeral. She had convinced herself that the magic was gone from her, now that she had no one to call her own. You see, the mystical feeling that filled her heart when she had known Noah had since been beaten down to a tiny shimmer in the pit of her stomach. Lora Joan’s death had been the breath that snuffed the flame.

Noah came back and the fire started again, albeit hesitantly. It was during her nights, lying restlessly and alone, that she realized she needed to fan the flame back to life. And to do that, she desperately needed to find the will to smile again, about anything.

She forced a hum to resonate on her tongue as she drove. The air was silent without the sound of the decrepit radio or any other vehicles. She didn’t consciously remember the way, but her hands seemed to recall just fine. Her eyes moved hungrily over the world outside of her moving haven. There was a large path leading into the woods, a few good miles out of the way of any named road. She followed it until her car could no longer go without a struggle (the underbrush had grown quite a bit in so much time), then parked and sat back with a tight sigh.

So. She was there. Well, almost there. She looked out the passenger window and saw something small and colored dangling from a low branch. Unable to repress the smile forming on her chapped lips, she quickly opened her door and got out. Her bare feet didn’t mind the carpet of soft dead pine needles. When she came to the branch, she lifted her hand and gingerly touched the colored object, a hopelessly eager grin struggling to escape her mouth, and tugged it down.

It was a ripped piece of cloth, and although it had obviously been faded by years of sun and rain, she knew it had once been a vibrant red.



”This storm has ended, let us go in peace.”

Noah’s face was completely serene, his lips puckered in imitation of the town Father.

Jupiter giggled at the ridiculous expression on his face. She swatted his arm like he was an insect and turned to flip the light switch. “Shall we go out and smell the fresh air?” she inquired, curtsying deeply to him.

His mocking face dissolved into a mischievous grin as he stalked closer to her. His hands seized her waist and pulled her to him. “I have a better idea,” he murmured in her ear, making a shiver crawl under her skin.

Lora Joan was incapacitated, ill yet again, only this time it was much less severe than her episodes of bedridden disease. Noah had stayed with her for an entire day, playing his guitar and making hand puppets out of her old socks. Jupiter’s husband had gone on a business trip not too far away, and had respectably left Noah in charge of his family. Not that Noah minded; it was just another excuse to stay there.

“What’s your idea?” Jupiter asked coyly, twisting gracefully out of his grip.

He smiled sincerely at her. “We should go to my secret lake tonight, while the air’s still clean, and no one can find us. Would you like to? It’s really very beautiful.”

She got a flash image of moonlit water and oak trees that danced with the wind. A smile of pleasure widened on her face as she nodded to him. “I’d love to. Let’s pretend we’re going on an adventure!”

Noah chuckled and ruffled her hair with one hand as if she were a little girl. “Alright. Let’s go before you change your mind.”

When they arrived, Noah pulled an old red rag from nowhere and tied it around Jupiter’s head. She whined to see, but he hushed her by planting a kiss on her temple. Her body melted in his hands, and with a grin, he pulled her along. “You can’t know where we’re going until we get there,” he said excitedly, keeping her close behind him.

Smiling despite her blindness, Jupiter followed with a light step. She felt leaves whispering past her, touching her face in wonder; who was this new one? The wind rose around them and pulled at her hair, as if asking to play. All the while she held his hand tightly and imagined he were kidnapping her from her life and bringing her to a new, wonderful place. In this place she wouldn’t be afraid to lose the people she loved. She wouldn’t despise herself and wish she could do better to the world. She wouldn’t have to hide her dancing, or pretend she had no interest in happiness. She would dance to Noah’s guitar and the music of the forest, and never have to go back.

She bumped lightly into Noah’s back as he stopped. She felt him turn, letting go of her hand in the process. For a moment she felt lost, dizzy as she tried to find something to hold. She took a shaky step to the side and felt a gentle touch on the palm of her outstretched hand. Smiling, she took hold of it and found that it was Noah’s shoulder. She pulled him closer to the point where she could feel his breath on her face. In her mind, she saw his features: the high curve of his cheekbone that flowed in to shape his jaw… the small dimple in his cheek that appeared only when he smirked… and the dark corkscrews of his hair that drooped down in an effort to hide his golden eyes.

A smile touched on Jupiter’s lips as she moved her fingertips over his skin. She reached his lips and felt him smile, and then her hands were pulled away. He kissed her forehead and let go of her, and after a moment she felt his touch at the back of her head, undoing the knot of her blindfold. When she opened her eyes and lifted her face, she found herself looking directly into his stare. The breath in her body left her in a short gasp. He was more beautiful than he had been in her mind.

With a crooked smile on his pale lips, Noah reached up and tied the red cloth in a tight knot around a low-hanging branch. His eyes never left hers. He checked the knot, found it fine, and then took Jupiter’s hand to lead her further into the trees, until the moon spilled out from above.

With a reminiscent smile on her mouth, Jupiter reached up to stroke the gnarled knot and its faded tails. After a few moments of staring, she turned her attention to the path ahead. She didn’t notice the thin tears collecting in the outer corners of her ocean-y eyes. Her fingers reached out, gently pushing aside the arms of the trees around her, and she stepped forward. The light around her was a few shades lighter, a little bit brighter, which meant she was about to arrive.

“No one can find us.”Shivers raced across her skin as she crept closer. Her eyes stayed fixed ahead of her. She crouched slightly as she went. The trees were pressing down on her and making it so she would never make it unless she desired entry with all her heart. That only made it more mind-blowing.

When she broke through, the tears burst from her eyes and spilled like tiny hot rivers over her sunken-in cheeks. The Lake was spread out before her like a melted pool of mercury. There was a ring of trees encircling the Lake, making it feel safe, and above them hung the moon. It was large and silver, dripping tears of light on the flooded clearing. The ground went a few feet in front of the tree line and slid under the surface of the water like they were two sheets of silk, laid one on top of the other. The only ripple on the Lake was the one created by a small, weak breeze that carried the smell of pine trees from the west.

The greatest smile she had felt in years widened on her face. Her teeth were cold to the wind, as well as her moist cheeks, but she didn’t care. This was a place she could to go and never want to be found.

The water was so beautiful, so clear, that Jupiter didn’t hesitate to undress, not for a moment. The air greedily touched each part of her body as it was exposed, feeling, prodding, and making her shiver from head to toe. She ran all ten fingers through her hair and shook it out like a lioness’ mane. The soft wave fell down her back, tickling along the arch of her spine. Though her nudity made it cold, she felt warm inside.

Her Neptune eyes opened as she eased her foot slowly into the pool of light, afraid to complete her exposure with the freezing contact. Immediately, chills rose on her arms. A small gasp pushed her mouth open just before she plunged into the water.

Darkness enveloped her, invaded every space around her, forcing itself into her head and cleaning her aching thoughts away like a foul taste in her soul. As soon as she grew accustomed to the bitter water, she burst through the surface. Her lungs drank in the sweet air and let it free as a hot sigh. The cold droplets showered down on her head as she breathed in again.

This time, when she exhaled, every muscle in her body let go of its hurt. A deep tingle bloomed in her belly and spread aggressively until it reached her fingertips. She let it devour her as she floated on her back, the cold air on her chest and the colder liquid dancing beneath her. She sighed the first peaceful sigh she had breathed in years, and closed her eyes to let her soul drift away on the rippling night water.