CHAPTER 27
"Take the road less traveled; it will lead you to extraordinary places." ~ Finding Your Own North Star.
JUNE 5593AG
Ethan and Hazel lay beneath the orange blossom tree, gazing up at the stars. Hazel thought of it as "their" tree now. Every time they met, it was under this very tree. It felt like they were just a step away from carving their initials into it to claim it as theirs forever.
They had been risking everything for the past six months to meet eachother.
And everytime they met, the walls around their hearts kept shattering a bit more, bringing them closer.
The night sky in Kaatim was captivating-a breathtaking sight. They had developed a habit of stargazing whenever they were together.
They were holding hands, their fingers intertwined. A soft smile was playing on Hazel's lips.
"This time of night is so peaceful," she murmured.
Hazel was staring at one particular star continuously because she had noticed time and again that it remained fixed in the sky while others seemed to rotate in the northern hemisphere.
She stretched out her arm and pointed at it.
"Look over there. That star always stays in the same place, like it's glued into the sky."
Ethan followed her gaze.
"Yes, that's the North Star."
"The North Star?"
"Umhm. The North Star, or Polaris. And you're right; it stays fixed in the sky. It's been used for navigation for centuries, especially by sailors and travellers, because its position in the sky shows true north."
Hazel listened as he explained.
"Do you see that constellation?" He pointed towards the group of seven stars that resembled a ladle, with the North Star at one end.
"That's Ursa Minor. It's part of a larger constellation called Ursa Major, or the Great Bear."
He pointed towards the constellation that looked like a bear.
"So if Ursa Major is the Great Bear, then Ursa Minor is...?"
"The Little Bear, yes," Ethan grinned, and Hazel smiled at the childish names.
"The North Star is the most important star in Ursa Minor, and some people say it's the peg holding the universe together. Maybe it is. We'll never know for sure."
Hazel looked at Ethan with curiosity. He always seemed to have knowledge about things she was unfamiliar with.
"How do you know all this?" she asked.
"Mother," he replied simply, as if that explained everything.
"Your mother seems very knowledgeable," Hazel remarked.
Ethan smiled.
"She's a romantic at heart."
"In what way?" Hazel inquired.
"For instance, people use the North Star for navigation to find their way home. If she were here, she might say that it points to where your heart belongs, like a compass guiding you to your loved ones."
He inhaled deeply before he continued, "Or she'd say that love is like a celestial map, with the North Star guiding you to the destination of your heart."
"That's sweet," Hazel responded warmly.
Ethan gazed at her with one of his intense stares, which always made Hazel unable to meet his emerald eyes.
YOU ARE READING
WHISPERED SINS
Romance"I used your blood to bind you to me. There's no escape. You're chained to me until your last breath." She hated him so much that she wanted to poison him, rip the mask off his cruel face, and stare into his eyes as she plunged the dagger repeatedly...
