Holding Stars in the Daylight
by JOELGLAINE
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Description
Rose sighed,"None of this tells us what Starshine really is!" She looked down at her daughter and asked,"Is 'Starshine' is real name? What is she?"
Sunny said,"She doesn't remember her name. It's been so long since she saw her mother or anyone, she's forgotten."
Leviathan chimed and made bell sounds and herded the glowing ball of light together with Sunny,who said,"The big lady says that Starshine is a little baby, just like your daughter--WHAT? HEY! I am NOT a little baby! I'm a young woman of four point seven years of age!"
Measure snapped out of her reverie and exclaimed,"We have a LIVING member of the race of Abel! I need to disarm the Sentinel! Leviathan? Can you lift me up to that green panel on the side?"
Leviathan nodded and grabbed Measure up like a precious doll and ran over to the alien tower and held her out to the panel. Measure said after regaining her breath,"Eek. She is FAST! This will take some time. Try to find out more stuff while I save the world with my Plenipotentiary Ambassadorial powers!"
Rose blinked. Lime came over and said,"We don't have much time left." Rose almost laughed and nodded at Lime.
Rose asked,"What DOES she remember, if not her name?"
Sunshine asked the ball of light. It stopped moving around energetically and drew close to Sunny and tinkled like small bells an ancient dirge. Sunny said,"It was sunny, like today. She and her mother and older sister were in the backyard. Then the bad people came. There were thousands--millions of them. They made the buildings melt."
"One came into the yard. Her mommy yelled at her and her sister to go hide, but it was too late. One of the blue-eyed monsters made her mommy turn to dust. Her older sister..." Sunny clenched her eye closed and started sobbing. Lime put a hand on her shoulder and looked at Rose, who had already knelt before Sunny and stroked her face.
Rose whispered,"This is important. Please,Sunny. Go on. We have to know."
Sunny choked out,"The bad man stabbed her sister on long hooks and melted her right there! Then...then...",Sunny broke off and made to hug the insubstantial ball of light. "It grabbed her by the foot and pulled her out. It broke her back, and while she screamed for her mommy....it...turned HER into dust!" Sunny wept and fell against her mother,shaking like a leaf.
Rose held her. Rose asked with a dry throat,"Did she know what the bad people were called?"
The light ball chimed one tone. Sunny shook her head,no. Sunny gasped out,"You suit turned to dust! You saw a bad man like who killed Starshine! They want to do me and Lime what they did to Starshine! I don't want to die! I don't want you to die,mommy! Don't leave me alone like Starshine was!"
Lime sniffled and wiped her eyes,"I don't get it! The 'Boneyard' world where Starshine came from had millions of other lights just like her, all drifting around on it! Her family must still be there...Oh, god."
Rose said with an emotional sound to her voice,"You have a hyperframe in you, can you detect OTHER hyperframes?"
Lime shook her head. "But Starshine can see or something!"
Sunny choked out,"She can only see other living things. Not walls,colors,robots or moving things. Just plants and people and animals. When she sees someone dying, she tries to keep them alive as long as she can because she doesn't want to be alone any more. I'm the only one who opened up to her."
Lime sobbed out,"They...they are ALL STILL THERE! They can't see each other. They DON'T KNOW!They don't know where each other are." Rose reached over and pulled her adopted daughter to her.
Measure choked out,"TWO BILLION YEARS OF HELL! Killing the Great Enemy completely doesn't even sound EVEN,now! We HAVE to exterminate those bastards. At least the Graviton Impeller won't destroy the planet, while we are off killing them."
Rose said,"Lime- teleport us to the ship. Leviathan, stay here and protect your child, if you can. They're coming."
--Continued!--
Comments (8)
MineFujiko
Superb work! want a star!:)
Madbat
Excellent expressions in the image! You captured the emotion of the story nicely here.
JOELGLAINE
It's an old story that thousand of children on OUR old planet are subjected to every year. Ethnic cleansing and genocide isn't understandable on the magnitude that it usually goes on. The death of one child is. Some things are as old as time. One hopes WE will out grow it one day soon. More to come. The story demands to be told.
myrrhluz
OMG! Do you mind if I don't even try to analyse and just revel in this FANTASTIC episode!!! This is another leaning towards the laptop, eyes glued, "Don't bother me now, I'm READING!!!" kind of episode. Brilliant!!! I love the image!!! It made my heart go all soft and silly. Wonderful family interaction! Even Coodles is in on the love. The expressions, the gestures, and Sunny's arms around Starshine totally moved me! You're forgiven all your vague answers (for now). I loved Sunny's dialog in the third paragraph! You have such a knack for combining tears and laughter. I loved Measure's "Eek." and her Plenipotentiary Ambassadorial powers. That's a phrase you don't hear everyday. The second half of the narrative! Wow!!! Heartrending, thrilling, absorbing and of course, inducive to the creations of questions! I love it Joel!!! You are a master!!!
CrownPrince
Wow, Two billion years alone... I do hope they are still sane. This little Abel child still is so there is hope. Hey! There is Mr Coodles i was wondering where he was! This is such an intense and ominous episode! I must congratulte you on your ability to produce such detailed and excellent images, so regularly. I try and fail so I understand how hard that is.
ldgilman
Very intense story, very well told. I agree, it is always the children that suffer.
SIGMAWORLD
Excellent image!
ontar1
Wow, fantastic scene and characters, fantastic story, outstanding work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!