Tale 16- The Bird's favourite Star

 Finding herself by a school, the Traveler felt warm under the cloak- there was not a cloud in the sky. Loosening it slightly, she was glad for the breeze picking up, before noticing a young boy watching her from the fence. “Hello there!” he called, the Traveler obliging and walking toward him. “Who are you?” he asked, but the Traveler didn’t reply, so instead he opened his schoolbook. “Today we learned about this tree! I’m going to look for it later!” he proclaimed, the Traveler bending down to look at the boy’s illustration- a tree full of stars. Curious, she tilted her head, and he began to talk, telling her the tale he’d heard of ‘The Bird’s favourite Star’

‘In a faraway land, there sat a tree, roots imbued with magic and feeding off the light of the moon and stars. Its leaves glowed a bright blue hue, and it held various seed pods, in many different colours, each of which held a thousand baby stars. As they bloomed and grew stronger, the stars were eventually flung up to the heavens on the night when the moon shone the brightest, and there they stayed, forming patterns and constellations, decorating the sky with their splendour. Well, most of them did. One of the stars, known as Gemenine, found itself inside a pod close to a little bird, a lovebird without a pair, but who still sang nonetheless. Drawn to his music, the star awaited the day it would be free of the pod, and could finally see him, so it stayed patient. Finally, the fateful day came, the star getting a glimpse of the bird’s beautiful form- grey headed and blue-winged, the light of each leaf making him look even more dazzling. The star, even more in love now than before, rolled toward the bird, who was just as amazed at how bright it glowed. The two became friends quickly, then more, but were aware of the conditions of their existence. One bright night, when the moon’s rays could touch the entirety of the earth and sea, it was time for the star to fly into the sky. Bidding farewell to it, the bird watched in sadness as the star was drawn upwards. For months, the star watched over the bird, missing him each and every day, before deciding it wanted to descend back down to the earth to see him. In a brilliant beam of light, the star shot across the sky, the bird catching one final glimpse of his lover before it burned away into nothing.’

The Traveler looked down at the drawing once more, realizing the boy had drawn the bird, and nodded. “Did you like the story?” he asked, and the Traveler nodded, the boy then having an idea. Turning away, he ripped out the drawing. “Here, you can have it!” he insisted, handing it to the Traveler. The girl was surprised, but gave a nod and tucked it into her book, before wandering off to write the story down. Illustrating the final burst of light, she looked up and watched as the boy played with his friends in the yard, reminding her of her own childhood. Sighing, she folded the drawing on the page and walked away, the boy not even noticing her disappearance.