Astronaut.
i guess i changed my mind
Noah liked the sky. It was always beautiful to him. There was never a time when he would look up and think anything negative about what he saw. It could be the bluest of days with pearly clouds strewn sparsely through the sunshine-littered air. It could be dismally grey and cold. It could be windy and the clouds could pass with the swiftness of a speeding train. He liked it.
The only thing that bothered him was that he had only ever seen the sky of Massachusetts. He wanted to see the sky in Texas, California, Canada. Hell, he wanted to see it in France. More than anything, he wanted to leave Cape Cod and experience something familiar in different places. He wanted a new life. He wanted to find adventure anywhere he could get it. There was something missing in where he was at the moment, and he was always aggravated to find that he had no idea what it was.
He was on his way to Jupiter’s house. He hadn’t seen her since he had met her little sister, Lora Joan (who was a jewel). Something he had realized in the three days between then and now: he missed her a lot more than he thought he would. As he walked, he fiddled thoughtlessly with the soft piece of sea glass he kept in his pocket.
When he saw the ivy-covered wall, he bit back his smile. It was a downy blanket of ebony green that hid nearly all of the windows. It had been hard for him to figure out which was the bedroom.
He walked onto the porch and knocked gently on the rustic front door. The thought of seeing Jupiter again made his face flush with pleasure. When it opened, he was greeted, not by a beautiful girl with a smile that lit up his heart, but instead a thin man who looked like he might be rotting inside. His coal-black eyes were dull and missing the shine they should have had. His thin lips pulled into a grimace that spoke of heartache. His pale brown hair flopped listlessly around his white, blotchy face.
Noah’s breath caught. He knew, without even thinking, that this man was Jupiter’s husband.
“Hi, I’m Noah,” he said instantly, sticking his hand out. He didn’t realize it, but his eyes were wide and the rosy blush on his fair cheeks had all but disappeared. He was trembling slightly. “How is your afternoon, sir?”
The man’s eyes focused on Noah’s face, then drifted slowly down his body and back up to meet his eyes. The frown on his mouth deepened by a degree. “My afternoon is very poor. How about yours, Noah?”
Noah swallowed thickly and pushed his hand through his hair, pretending this was what he had meant to do in the first place as he stared up at the thin man. “Certainly better than most, but not the best I’ve had. I’m a tad hungry and a bit more than a little anxious. Is Lora Joan home?” His shaking had taken over his knees and was spreading, like a virus, to his hands. He almost swore he could hear his bones rattling.
“She’s asleep,” said the man, suspiciously narrowing his dark eyes. “Why do you want to see her?”
“I, ah, have… this for her!” He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out the shard of aquamarine glass. “You see, she seems like the kind of girl who would want something from the beach, since she’s pale and doesn’t look like she gets out much, so I –,”
“Please,” the man whispered while rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. His eyes were closed, as if he were suffering from a headache. “She’s upstairs in her room. Second door on the left.”
Noah felt his face redden as Jupiter’s husband turned and went back into the house. His instinct was to turn and run, not only for fear of the unnamed man, but for fear of being here without Jupiter. He felt naked and bare, and continued to try to persuade himself to leave while he still could.
When he stepped through the doorway, he felt a surge of happiness. At first he didn’t realize why, looking around the sun-faded walls and dull rugs that covered the ground. He looked up and saw the stairs leading to the second story, saw dancing shadows along the railway. He figured it out when he took a deep breath; it smelled overwhelmingly of Jupiter. Her scent had gone unnoticed by him before, but now that he knew where it came from he knew that he would never forget. Lavender never smelled so sweet.
“Upstairs, second door on the left,” said a voice from the next room. It made Noah jump slightly, but he quickly recovered when he turned to see the man of the house sitting on a deep red chair, facing an ember-filled fireplace. He looked very lonely, staring into that black hole in the wall. Noah felt sadness, looking at him.
Before he could let it hinder him, Noah went up the stairs and counted the doors. There were four, and a door in the ceiling at the end of the hall. He assumed this lead to an attic of some sort.What a large house, he mused, strolling along and admiring the wallpaper paving his way with dandelions and dragonflies. When he reached the second door on the left, he stopped. Silence consumed him and stuffed itself in his ears, making him squirm. A house with a child living in it should never be that quiet. His hand touched the golden handle and turned, then pushed gently until a sliver of grey light fell on his arm. Peering in, he hoped that he would see a little girl sitting on the floor, dress spread like a flower around her, dolls crowding her lap and ribbons spilling from her hair. That was the vibrant girl he expected to observe, the lover of life he had met days before.
Lora Joan was tucked into a lacy white bed with a deep blue canopy. There were stuffed bears and horses surrounding her, nuzzling her with their furry noses and warming her as she lay. Her honey brown hair was limp against her cheeks.
A pang of hurt stabbed Noah’s heart. Why was Lora Joan in bed? Why wasn’t she outside, playing in the grass, climbing trees and seeing shapes in the clouds?
He opened the door wider, fondling the piece of glass like it was a lifeline to his sanity. His eyes stayed on the small girl whose body’s tiny silhouette was displayed by the sheets tucked in all around it. When he stepped in all the way, he saw a dark shape sitting in the other corner. He turned his eyes in that direction and saw a full-body mirror against the wall, and next to it, a stool with a beautiful woman sitting on it.
“Jupiter,” he whispered, suddenly lost in her eyes as he strode towards her. She stood to meet him, and they embraced so tightly that neither of them could breathe.
After the longest moment, Noah let go of her and turned to look at Lora Joan. The eerie silence settled in around them, like dust left after a broom. He felt a small hand tuck into his own and press to the piece of glass, questioning but comforting. “She’s ill again…”
Noah blinked hard and pulled his hand from Jupiter’s. He clutched the piece of sea glass and moved to the side of the bed so that he might look down on the doll-child’s sleeping face. The color had gone from her cheeks, and he couldn’t see the vivid blue of her huge girl eyes. “She looks so small,” he murmured, kneeling next to her and crossing his arms over the side of the bed. A large breath heaved his chest and left through his nose, the classical thoughtful sigh which had plagued him since he could breathe. He couldn’t imagine what could make someone so beautiful inside look so tiny and fragile.
As if to answer, Jupiter sat on the end of the bed and ran a hand through her dark mane. “We think she has a disease,” she whispered, staring into her lap. “The doctor says it’s not getting much better.”
Noah grunted in reply and looked at the piece of glass resting in the palm of his hand. It matched Jupiter’s eyes in color. Smiling slightly, he reached out (noticing the intense heat of her body under his hand, he realized she had a fever) and set it on the flat of Lora Joan’s tiny stomach. He watched for a minute as it rose and fell with her breathing. “But she’ll get better.”
He turned to see Jupiter slowly shaking her head. A frown turned his lips down before he went to stand in front of her. She looked up at him, tears brimming in her stormy sea eyes. She continued to shake her head, lips trembling.
Frustrated, he took her shoulders and shook her gently. “She will.” The fear in Jupiter’s eyes broke his heart. “She will get better. I’ll be here to make her better. I swear.”
A very small smile touched her lips. “You will?”
It only took a moment for him to think about it. “Yes. I will.”
After he walked out of the bedroom to go home, Lora Joan opened her eyes and sat up. Jupiter came back in to see her playing idly with the piece of glass. The girl looked up at her and smiled widely. Sweat drenched her nightgown and made her hair stick to her face in dark curls. Her fever had broken. “Look at what my prince left me, isn’t it beautiful?” She held up the green shard of glass and waved it from side to side, like it was a flag displaying how much she wanted to live.
Jupiter felt her heart swell with happiness. She immediately went to her sister’s side and rained kisses all over her sticky little face, each smack accompanied by a statement of how much she loved her.
The only thing that bothered him was that he had only ever seen the sky of Massachusetts. He wanted to see the sky in Texas, California, Canada. Hell, he wanted to see it in France. More than anything, he wanted to leave Cape Cod and experience something familiar in different places. He wanted a new life. He wanted to find adventure anywhere he could get it. There was something missing in where he was at the moment, and he was always aggravated to find that he had no idea what it was.
He was on his way to Jupiter’s house. He hadn’t seen her since he had met her little sister, Lora Joan (who was a jewel). Something he had realized in the three days between then and now: he missed her a lot more than he thought he would. As he walked, he fiddled thoughtlessly with the soft piece of sea glass he kept in his pocket.
When he saw the ivy-covered wall, he bit back his smile. It was a downy blanket of ebony green that hid nearly all of the windows. It had been hard for him to figure out which was the bedroom.
He walked onto the porch and knocked gently on the rustic front door. The thought of seeing Jupiter again made his face flush with pleasure. When it opened, he was greeted, not by a beautiful girl with a smile that lit up his heart, but instead a thin man who looked like he might be rotting inside. His coal-black eyes were dull and missing the shine they should have had. His thin lips pulled into a grimace that spoke of heartache. His pale brown hair flopped listlessly around his white, blotchy face.
Noah’s breath caught. He knew, without even thinking, that this man was Jupiter’s husband.
“Hi, I’m Noah,” he said instantly, sticking his hand out. He didn’t realize it, but his eyes were wide and the rosy blush on his fair cheeks had all but disappeared. He was trembling slightly. “How is your afternoon, sir?”
The man’s eyes focused on Noah’s face, then drifted slowly down his body and back up to meet his eyes. The frown on his mouth deepened by a degree. “My afternoon is very poor. How about yours, Noah?”
Noah swallowed thickly and pushed his hand through his hair, pretending this was what he had meant to do in the first place as he stared up at the thin man. “Certainly better than most, but not the best I’ve had. I’m a tad hungry and a bit more than a little anxious. Is Lora Joan home?” His shaking had taken over his knees and was spreading, like a virus, to his hands. He almost swore he could hear his bones rattling.
“She’s asleep,” said the man, suspiciously narrowing his dark eyes. “Why do you want to see her?”
“I, ah, have… this for her!” He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out the shard of aquamarine glass. “You see, she seems like the kind of girl who would want something from the beach, since she’s pale and doesn’t look like she gets out much, so I –,”
“Please,” the man whispered while rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. His eyes were closed, as if he were suffering from a headache. “She’s upstairs in her room. Second door on the left.”
Noah felt his face redden as Jupiter’s husband turned and went back into the house. His instinct was to turn and run, not only for fear of the unnamed man, but for fear of being here without Jupiter. He felt naked and bare, and continued to try to persuade himself to leave while he still could.
When he stepped through the doorway, he felt a surge of happiness. At first he didn’t realize why, looking around the sun-faded walls and dull rugs that covered the ground. He looked up and saw the stairs leading to the second story, saw dancing shadows along the railway. He figured it out when he took a deep breath; it smelled overwhelmingly of Jupiter. Her scent had gone unnoticed by him before, but now that he knew where it came from he knew that he would never forget. Lavender never smelled so sweet.
“Upstairs, second door on the left,” said a voice from the next room. It made Noah jump slightly, but he quickly recovered when he turned to see the man of the house sitting on a deep red chair, facing an ember-filled fireplace. He looked very lonely, staring into that black hole in the wall. Noah felt sadness, looking at him.
Before he could let it hinder him, Noah went up the stairs and counted the doors. There were four, and a door in the ceiling at the end of the hall. He assumed this lead to an attic of some sort.What a large house, he mused, strolling along and admiring the wallpaper paving his way with dandelions and dragonflies. When he reached the second door on the left, he stopped. Silence consumed him and stuffed itself in his ears, making him squirm. A house with a child living in it should never be that quiet. His hand touched the golden handle and turned, then pushed gently until a sliver of grey light fell on his arm. Peering in, he hoped that he would see a little girl sitting on the floor, dress spread like a flower around her, dolls crowding her lap and ribbons spilling from her hair. That was the vibrant girl he expected to observe, the lover of life he had met days before.
Lora Joan was tucked into a lacy white bed with a deep blue canopy. There were stuffed bears and horses surrounding her, nuzzling her with their furry noses and warming her as she lay. Her honey brown hair was limp against her cheeks.
A pang of hurt stabbed Noah’s heart. Why was Lora Joan in bed? Why wasn’t she outside, playing in the grass, climbing trees and seeing shapes in the clouds?
He opened the door wider, fondling the piece of glass like it was a lifeline to his sanity. His eyes stayed on the small girl whose body’s tiny silhouette was displayed by the sheets tucked in all around it. When he stepped in all the way, he saw a dark shape sitting in the other corner. He turned his eyes in that direction and saw a full-body mirror against the wall, and next to it, a stool with a beautiful woman sitting on it.
“Jupiter,” he whispered, suddenly lost in her eyes as he strode towards her. She stood to meet him, and they embraced so tightly that neither of them could breathe.
After the longest moment, Noah let go of her and turned to look at Lora Joan. The eerie silence settled in around them, like dust left after a broom. He felt a small hand tuck into his own and press to the piece of glass, questioning but comforting. “She’s ill again…”
Noah blinked hard and pulled his hand from Jupiter’s. He clutched the piece of sea glass and moved to the side of the bed so that he might look down on the doll-child’s sleeping face. The color had gone from her cheeks, and he couldn’t see the vivid blue of her huge girl eyes. “She looks so small,” he murmured, kneeling next to her and crossing his arms over the side of the bed. A large breath heaved his chest and left through his nose, the classical thoughtful sigh which had plagued him since he could breathe. He couldn’t imagine what could make someone so beautiful inside look so tiny and fragile.
As if to answer, Jupiter sat on the end of the bed and ran a hand through her dark mane. “We think she has a disease,” she whispered, staring into her lap. “The doctor says it’s not getting much better.”
Noah grunted in reply and looked at the piece of glass resting in the palm of his hand. It matched Jupiter’s eyes in color. Smiling slightly, he reached out (noticing the intense heat of her body under his hand, he realized she had a fever) and set it on the flat of Lora Joan’s tiny stomach. He watched for a minute as it rose and fell with her breathing. “But she’ll get better.”
He turned to see Jupiter slowly shaking her head. A frown turned his lips down before he went to stand in front of her. She looked up at him, tears brimming in her stormy sea eyes. She continued to shake her head, lips trembling.
Frustrated, he took her shoulders and shook her gently. “She will.” The fear in Jupiter’s eyes broke his heart. “She will get better. I’ll be here to make her better. I swear.”
A very small smile touched her lips. “You will?”
It only took a moment for him to think about it. “Yes. I will.”
After he walked out of the bedroom to go home, Lora Joan opened her eyes and sat up. Jupiter came back in to see her playing idly with the piece of glass. The girl looked up at her and smiled widely. Sweat drenched her nightgown and made her hair stick to her face in dark curls. Her fever had broken. “Look at what my prince left me, isn’t it beautiful?” She held up the green shard of glass and waved it from side to side, like it was a flag displaying how much she wanted to live.
Jupiter felt her heart swell with happiness. She immediately went to her sister’s side and rained kisses all over her sticky little face, each smack accompanied by a statement of how much she loved her.
♠ ♠ ♠
I realize I haven't posted a chapter of this story in a week - more or less. I apologize endlessly. For serious, I'm like, so pissed at myself for not writing this. I just wrote this entire chapter at like, 4 in the morning. It's sappy and sweet and uplifting-ish. I know you guys wanted to hear more about the husband... this is all I could squeeze in for now. Carly didn't want him to have a name, and I'm debating staying true to that.PS... How the heck was everyone's 4th? Tell me all about it!! (I meant to post that night, but go figure, I didn't.)
Here's my question for you peoples... What tattoos do you think Noah should have? I want you all to give me one that you think is good. :3 Maybe I'll use one, who knows.
PSS... I love you guiz. I truly do.
PSSS... Check this out. Then tell me about your dreams.
OH YEAH and I are want all your bannerx. Pl0x. Prty pl0x. I love them, I feel like making them myself would be tacky, and plus I wanna see what you guys think would be good visuals for this story. Those of you who don't have lives and read this the day I post it are the ones I'm talking to. Banners!!! I <3 them!! I <3 yew! You knowz this! <3Lufs
Evolve.
"Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember." -Seneca