Bound by Shooting Stars
Title: Bound by Shooting Stars
Pairing: Nino/original character
Rating: G
Genre: slice of life
Summary: One peaceful night. Nino watching someone watch the night sky above.
"Yet she appeared as if a spell has befallen her as she strolled the grounds head held up, attention directed at nothing else but the night sky above."
Notes: somewhat inspired by real-life events
-=-
Head facing up, she was walking.
A part of me wanted to hold a part of her, to guide her, to keep her from hitting something along her way as her forward vision was apparently impaired. Yet she appeared as if a spell has befallen her as she strolled the grounds head held up, attention directed at nothing else but the night sky above.
By the white coat she was wearing and the stethoscope protruding from its pocket, I knew she was a doctor in this hospital. By the youthfulness of her features, I surmise that she was probably a resident doctor, a trainee, at times a slave. The workload of the likes of her was not unheard of, and for her to have some precious time to herself was almost like a gift. The least I could do, I felt, was to preserve that gift as I continued watching her, ready to call out in case she was about to hit something.
For a moment she stopped, still keeping her head up, and that was when I lifted my head up as well, curious as to what had been keeping her attention the entire time as my attention was on her.
A canopy of stars was watching over us. The town was conspiring as the street lamps were mostly unlit, giving us a less obstructed view of the sky. That was what was distinctly pleasant about the countryside, the paucity of bright lights as compared to urban areas, and the calming quiet that accompanies you especially at times like these.
The next thing I knew, she was walking towards a wooden bench where she lied down, the upper part of her body against the surface, head still facing up.
I was at a loss for steps. Any further would somehow intrude into her space, I felt, and I would seem like a stalker even though I already felt like one at the moment. I spotted a bench about a couple of meters away, the backrest of which was facing her to keep me hidden.
As I was about to lie down as she had done, I heard a gasp, and I saw a hand pointing up.
Could it be?
It was November after all. I was not able to look up the exact date but I knew it was around this time.
Leonids.
Shooting stars.
I couldn’t forget that night many years ago when my brother and I camped out at the roof deck of our apartment building with random stories and soft music to keep us company as we made wishes upon the stars that fell. I only saw one at that time, perhaps because I was looking at the wrong place at the wrong time, but I vividly remembered the way my heart almost skipped a beat when it appeared, how I felt that I was a tiny part of this vast and splendid universe.
As I was awakened from my reverie, I heard soft music in the air. I felt uncomfortable at first, unsettled that perhaps someone could hear my thoughts. Or was I speaking out loud? Did someone hear what I was saying? Did she hear it?
As I listened closely, it wasn’t an artificial sound coming from an electronic device. It was the soft humming of a woman. In an instant, I knew who it was. Not wanting to startle her, I kept myself from sitting up and taking a look.
The humming kept on for minutes, her voice the only sound in this quiet and peaceful night. Still, I couldn’t spot any shooting star. I knew what my wish was. And somehow, I have accepted the possibility that it wouldn’t come true.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She abruptly stood up and answered it. Her voice was frantic as she left and dashed back to the main building.
At least she was able to witness a shooting star. What did she wish for? I wondered. It made me smile that in the short precious time that she was able to rest, she was still able to witness a wonder of the universe. And I felt proud to be a part of it, even though I didn’t do anything in particular.
After a few seconds, I saw a swift movement above me. It couldn’t possibly be an airplane since they move slowly from afar. When I looked closely, I discovered it was a butterfly. Odd, I thought. Butterflies mostly flutter in curves and not in straight lines. It came closer and landed on the backrest of the bench I was lying on.
Just as I was about to touch the butterfly, I heard my phone ringing - an unknown number.
“Ninomiya-san?” this woman’s voice was as frantic as hers. By the sound of it, I have already anticipated that the worst news was about to come. The butterfly was still, and as white as snow. It was as if it was speaking to me. And I felt calmer than usual.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry… He’s gone. You’re - you’re brother,” she said, politely and regretfully though she did nothing wrong.
“Thank you. I’ll go there.”
In another time, I would have screamed. I would have blamed heaven and earth for my loss. But this night had reminded me how my brother bravely fought his disease - one chemotherapy session after another. The night-time awakenings, the relentless vomiting, the febrile episodes - I was a witness to how my brother bravely battled them all.
He deserved to rest.
For him to have chosen this beautiful quiet night, I was moved.
As I was walking towards the hospital building, I saw the doctor from earlier looking at me.
Her initial apprehensive and apologetic expression changed as I said, “He’s in a better place now.”
Acute respiratory failure. Intracranial hemorrhage. Acute myeloid leukemia.
She patiently explained everything to me. For a while I imagined her voice speaking to me as we lay down on the benches with the stars above us, just to give her some more time to catch a falling star.
“There should be shooting stars tonight. I saw one earlier,” she said, head facing up once again.
“Yeah?” I said, doing the same.
“Wishes are not usually granted huh?” she said. And I knew right then that she wished for the same thing that I would have wished.
For my brother to get better.