Astronaut.
it left a strange impression in my head
“Your hair looks so beautiful in the moonlight,” he murmured, unable to help staring at her. Her name was Jupiter; how could he forget such a name? He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head since the moment he had laid eyes on her. He remembered every splash of color on her pretty face.
There were some things in everyday life that Noah had realized were beautiful. When he woke up and saw the sun’s fingers swimming through the dust in his bedroom’s air, he saw beauty. When he stepped outside and bent to see the dewdrops on each blade of grass, he smelled beauty. When he played his guitar and tinkered with sounds, he heard beauty. When he went to the graveyard and performed for the lost souls and stragglers from the other side, he felt beauty.
When he had looked up and seen the woman with the stunningly turquoise eyes, heard her voice asking him what he was doing there, been scared right out of his skin because he had believed that he was alone, Noah had experienced true beauty. It was in the form of a woman – what else? It was that gentle feeling that tugged on the strings of his heart and made his mind sing. He just couldn’t stay away.
Noah felt the cold thrill of pleasant surprise when the woman – well, she was more of a girl, wasn’t she; there was no way she could be past twenty-five – opened her eyes and saw him. A fluttering gasp blew past her porcelain lips. “What are you doing here?” she hissed, alarm widening her eyes as she looked beside her at the door, like it might burst open at any moment.
Smiling slightly, he stood and brushed himself off. He had sat in the glittering grass for over an hour before he had mustered the courage to actually throw any pebbles at her window, so his drawers were moist. “Pardon me,” he muttered, biting back his satisfied grin as he turned and trotted down the trio of steps to the lawn. He had gotten what he wanted: to see her once more.
“Wait,” Jupiter whispered. The man stopped his departure and turned his shoulders to look back at her. She was sitting forward, hands pressed to the wood before her. There was a desperate light in her eyes, one that he didn’t recognize. It didn’t match what he had assumed was going through her head.
“Yes?”
The girl started to twist and turn the ends of her red robe. Noah couldn’t help but marvel at how perfectly it molded itself to her body. Even in the dark, he could see how it flowed over her curves. The shadows cutting across her person simply emphasized her beauty. “Don’t go… was your name David?”
An embarrassed blush crawled up her exposed neck as he shook his head. “No, ma’am. My name is Noah.” He smiled sweetly and turned to lean on the post holding up her porch. “I am sorry for invading your privacy, I was only curious.”
This seemed to spark her interest. “Curious?” she asked, sitting straighter and slowing her busy hands on the cloth in her lap. “Of what?”
Noah hid his smile and sat down on the top step, turned to the side so that he might rest his back on the pillar. “Well… of you, of course.” He reached in his pocket, slipped out a small piece of plastic and started twirling it between his knuckles like a coin.
In a burst of previously silent passion, Jupiter stood and grabbed his sleeve. “Come on,” she prompted, tugging him off her porch and leading him – by his elbow – down the pebble path. He followed without a word and glanced back at her house with a faint frown. What was she so afraid of?
She pulled him until they were so far from the house that he could only make out the green mass of ivy on its walls. The wind ruffled its feathers at them as they sat in a patch of clover near an abandoned shack, as if trying to hide their… what was it that they were doing? Obviously nothing good, if they were sneaking away from Jupiter’s house to sit behind the cover of thick and red maple trees. Maybe her parents were the strict type, and she was frightened they might catch her with him and punish her… something absurd like that. But when she turned to him and he looked in her eyes, he saw the independence there. He knew that no one older than her would ever be able to control her. He saw the strength in there; he wondered what pain had caused it to grow.
“How did you find where I live?”
Noah blinked. She was a very blunt little thing, wasn’t she? He turned his head from her and leaned back on his rough hands, shoulders brushing against his ear. He lifted his eyes to the sparse stars and smiled slightly. “There are only a few,” he murmured, counting them in his head. One, two, five, twenty. Never enough for him to wish he could touch.
Jupiter lifted her head, trying to see what he was looking at. “What? What is it?” She frowned deeply and squinted her pretty eyes to the point where he couldn’t see their rich color anymore. This frustrated him, so he shifted his weight and reached out a hand to touch her cheek. Her face instantly relaxed, in fact twitched away from him. “What?” Her voice was much quieter, like she was afraid again of capture by some thing greater than her.
“The stars, Jupiter.”
When she looked up this time, it was with a quiet peace. Her eyes were wide and wondering. Her rosy lips fell apart and a delighted smile tugged at their corners. Noah glanced down and saw that her hands were resting in the clover all around her. His eyes followed the path her hair carved along her shoulder and up her neck. The dark brown took on an almost heavenly glow in the late moonlight.
“Jupiter…?”
“Mm?” The girl turned her head to him and smiled sweetly. “Yes?”
Noah looked in her eyes and felt his insides shrink. He turned away quickly, glad for the darkness which masked his heated face. “Why were you outside your house so early?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she quipped, turning to him and crossing her slender arms over her chest. He looked at her and was met with a pout-like frown. As much as he wanted to smile, he had to bite it back. She was being serious. “It’s my porch to begin with; I have the right to be on it whenever I please. You, on the other hand, were trespassing. What were you doing, throwing rocks at my window? What if my husband had heard you?”
A freezing feeling shot through his entire body.Husband…? Noah turned his head from her and tried to dismiss the numb rock he felt in the pit of his stomach. She was married. Of course she was; she was too beautiful to stay alone for long. But… how old was she? How old was her… husband? How could he not have noticed that at the graveyard? He looked; sure enough, there was a small ring on her finger.“I… wanted… to see you, before I left.”
He didn’t look at her until she gripped his shoulder and turned him to her.“What?” she hissed. “You’re leaving? Why?”
Grimacing and swallowing his intense pain, he nodded and fiddled with the loose ends on his pant leg. “I was, er…” He had to swallow to get rid of the dry feeling in his throat. “I was going to visit my uncle. He lives by Silver Lake, he and I are… going to catch up.”
Jupiter relaxed beside him. “Okay,” she sighed. After a second, she fell on her back and reached both arms over her, like she was trying to snatch the stars from the sky.
He grew instantly defensive. “Okay? What, you’re letting me? You make it sound like this choice affects you.”
She dropped her arms and turned her head to him. When he looked, he bristled at the fire in her eyes. “Who’s the one who threw rocks at my window?” Both of her eyebrows rose. “Hm? Who? You did that, mister, so if you’re going to get all angry with me, I’ll just go home.” With this, she sat up and moved as if she meant to actually leave him there with his spite.
“Jupiter, don’t, please.” Noah caught her elbow and sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. I’m a little uptight.”
Her eyes swept over him, like she was calculating the possibility of his lying. “That’s fine.”
It took a few minutes for them to relax again. When they had, they were both on their backs, staring up at the stars with no words on their tongues. They were content with their shared silence.
Jupiter turned to him and looked for a long time. Noah looked in return after a minute. They stared at each other, and then both looked at the sky with a mutual, unspoken agreement. This was their place now.
“When are you coming back?”
Noah inhaled and let out his breath with a deep sigh. “In a week.” He glanced at her and smiled. “You’ll still be here, won’t you?” Her nod was small and pretty. “I want to meet your husband.”
“Why?”
He blinked and frowned. The logic had made sense, until he tried to think of a way to speak his mind. “I want to become a friend of your family. Is that okay? I want to be in your life for a while.” When he looked at her, he saw that she was smiling greatly. “What is it?”
She simply shrugged and continued to smile. “Nothing. Just the stars… they’re so beautiful, don’t you think?” She lifted a hand and waved her fingers slowly through the air, like she was trying to catch spider strings. “I love it outside.”
Noah felt a smile form on his lips. “I love it, too.” He crossed his hands over his abdomen and looked at the twinkling lights above. He was falling in love with Jupiter Anne Davis, and he felt it deep inside. He needed to be a part of her life. He needed to be loved by her.
Just like anybody needed to be loved.
There were some things in everyday life that Noah had realized were beautiful. When he woke up and saw the sun’s fingers swimming through the dust in his bedroom’s air, he saw beauty. When he stepped outside and bent to see the dewdrops on each blade of grass, he smelled beauty. When he played his guitar and tinkered with sounds, he heard beauty. When he went to the graveyard and performed for the lost souls and stragglers from the other side, he felt beauty.
When he had looked up and seen the woman with the stunningly turquoise eyes, heard her voice asking him what he was doing there, been scared right out of his skin because he had believed that he was alone, Noah had experienced true beauty. It was in the form of a woman – what else? It was that gentle feeling that tugged on the strings of his heart and made his mind sing. He just couldn’t stay away.
Noah felt the cold thrill of pleasant surprise when the woman – well, she was more of a girl, wasn’t she; there was no way she could be past twenty-five – opened her eyes and saw him. A fluttering gasp blew past her porcelain lips. “What are you doing here?” she hissed, alarm widening her eyes as she looked beside her at the door, like it might burst open at any moment.
Smiling slightly, he stood and brushed himself off. He had sat in the glittering grass for over an hour before he had mustered the courage to actually throw any pebbles at her window, so his drawers were moist. “Pardon me,” he muttered, biting back his satisfied grin as he turned and trotted down the trio of steps to the lawn. He had gotten what he wanted: to see her once more.
“Wait,” Jupiter whispered. The man stopped his departure and turned his shoulders to look back at her. She was sitting forward, hands pressed to the wood before her. There was a desperate light in her eyes, one that he didn’t recognize. It didn’t match what he had assumed was going through her head.
“Yes?”
The girl started to twist and turn the ends of her red robe. Noah couldn’t help but marvel at how perfectly it molded itself to her body. Even in the dark, he could see how it flowed over her curves. The shadows cutting across her person simply emphasized her beauty. “Don’t go… was your name David?”
An embarrassed blush crawled up her exposed neck as he shook his head. “No, ma’am. My name is Noah.” He smiled sweetly and turned to lean on the post holding up her porch. “I am sorry for invading your privacy, I was only curious.”
This seemed to spark her interest. “Curious?” she asked, sitting straighter and slowing her busy hands on the cloth in her lap. “Of what?”
Noah hid his smile and sat down on the top step, turned to the side so that he might rest his back on the pillar. “Well… of you, of course.” He reached in his pocket, slipped out a small piece of plastic and started twirling it between his knuckles like a coin.
In a burst of previously silent passion, Jupiter stood and grabbed his sleeve. “Come on,” she prompted, tugging him off her porch and leading him – by his elbow – down the pebble path. He followed without a word and glanced back at her house with a faint frown. What was she so afraid of?
She pulled him until they were so far from the house that he could only make out the green mass of ivy on its walls. The wind ruffled its feathers at them as they sat in a patch of clover near an abandoned shack, as if trying to hide their… what was it that they were doing? Obviously nothing good, if they were sneaking away from Jupiter’s house to sit behind the cover of thick and red maple trees. Maybe her parents were the strict type, and she was frightened they might catch her with him and punish her… something absurd like that. But when she turned to him and he looked in her eyes, he saw the independence there. He knew that no one older than her would ever be able to control her. He saw the strength in there; he wondered what pain had caused it to grow.
“How did you find where I live?”
Noah blinked. She was a very blunt little thing, wasn’t she? He turned his head from her and leaned back on his rough hands, shoulders brushing against his ear. He lifted his eyes to the sparse stars and smiled slightly. “There are only a few,” he murmured, counting them in his head. One, two, five, twenty. Never enough for him to wish he could touch.
Jupiter lifted her head, trying to see what he was looking at. “What? What is it?” She frowned deeply and squinted her pretty eyes to the point where he couldn’t see their rich color anymore. This frustrated him, so he shifted his weight and reached out a hand to touch her cheek. Her face instantly relaxed, in fact twitched away from him. “What?” Her voice was much quieter, like she was afraid again of capture by some thing greater than her.
“The stars, Jupiter.”
When she looked up this time, it was with a quiet peace. Her eyes were wide and wondering. Her rosy lips fell apart and a delighted smile tugged at their corners. Noah glanced down and saw that her hands were resting in the clover all around her. His eyes followed the path her hair carved along her shoulder and up her neck. The dark brown took on an almost heavenly glow in the late moonlight.
“Jupiter…?”
“Mm?” The girl turned her head to him and smiled sweetly. “Yes?”
Noah looked in her eyes and felt his insides shrink. He turned away quickly, glad for the darkness which masked his heated face. “Why were you outside your house so early?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she quipped, turning to him and crossing her slender arms over her chest. He looked at her and was met with a pout-like frown. As much as he wanted to smile, he had to bite it back. She was being serious. “It’s my porch to begin with; I have the right to be on it whenever I please. You, on the other hand, were trespassing. What were you doing, throwing rocks at my window? What if my husband had heard you?”
A freezing feeling shot through his entire body.Husband…? Noah turned his head from her and tried to dismiss the numb rock he felt in the pit of his stomach. She was married. Of course she was; she was too beautiful to stay alone for long. But… how old was she? How old was her… husband? How could he not have noticed that at the graveyard? He looked; sure enough, there was a small ring on her finger.“I… wanted… to see you, before I left.”
He didn’t look at her until she gripped his shoulder and turned him to her.“What?” she hissed. “You’re leaving? Why?”
Grimacing and swallowing his intense pain, he nodded and fiddled with the loose ends on his pant leg. “I was, er…” He had to swallow to get rid of the dry feeling in his throat. “I was going to visit my uncle. He lives by Silver Lake, he and I are… going to catch up.”
Jupiter relaxed beside him. “Okay,” she sighed. After a second, she fell on her back and reached both arms over her, like she was trying to snatch the stars from the sky.
He grew instantly defensive. “Okay? What, you’re letting me? You make it sound like this choice affects you.”
She dropped her arms and turned her head to him. When he looked, he bristled at the fire in her eyes. “Who’s the one who threw rocks at my window?” Both of her eyebrows rose. “Hm? Who? You did that, mister, so if you’re going to get all angry with me, I’ll just go home.” With this, she sat up and moved as if she meant to actually leave him there with his spite.
“Jupiter, don’t, please.” Noah caught her elbow and sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. I’m a little uptight.”
Her eyes swept over him, like she was calculating the possibility of his lying. “That’s fine.”
It took a few minutes for them to relax again. When they had, they were both on their backs, staring up at the stars with no words on their tongues. They were content with their shared silence.
Jupiter turned to him and looked for a long time. Noah looked in return after a minute. They stared at each other, and then both looked at the sky with a mutual, unspoken agreement. This was their place now.
“When are you coming back?”
Noah inhaled and let out his breath with a deep sigh. “In a week.” He glanced at her and smiled. “You’ll still be here, won’t you?” Her nod was small and pretty. “I want to meet your husband.”
“Why?”
He blinked and frowned. The logic had made sense, until he tried to think of a way to speak his mind. “I want to become a friend of your family. Is that okay? I want to be in your life for a while.” When he looked at her, he saw that she was smiling greatly. “What is it?”
She simply shrugged and continued to smile. “Nothing. Just the stars… they’re so beautiful, don’t you think?” She lifted a hand and waved her fingers slowly through the air, like she was trying to catch spider strings. “I love it outside.”
Noah felt a smile form on his lips. “I love it, too.” He crossed his hands over his abdomen and looked at the twinkling lights above. He was falling in love with Jupiter Anne Davis, and he felt it deep inside. He needed to be a part of her life. He needed to be loved by her.
Just like anybody needed to be loved.
♠ ♠ ♠
Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things. -Pierce Harris"Is natural beauty ever better than constructed beauty, like in art or music? Do beauty and happiness go together? What is the relation between beauty and the sublime? ...The sublime is our reaction in the face of something so overpowering that it consumes or obliterates us. There is a saying that truth is beauty and beauty is truth, but is that correct? ...Why does beauty matter?"
What do you think beauty is?