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constellations: auriga

the seventeenth night.
11:42 p.m.

i pick up the phone and dial the number
i've long since memorized,
because
i need him.

orion.

she doesn't call him
rio
this time, and that worries him
immediately.

aer? what's wrong?

just hearing his voice makes me want to cry.

i know i said i can't come
tonight,
but will you talk to me
still? tell me about
another
constellation over the phone?

aer, tell me what's wrong.

it's okay, rio, don't worry about it.

i'm echoing his own words back to him
before i even realize
what i'm doing.
faintly, i think back to when
he refused to trust me,
just a few nights ago.

how much had changed since then...

well, alright. i'll tell you about one
that we probably wouldn't be able to see anyways.

why?

it's the brightest in winter, and is
only really visible way up north. here, at this time,
it's probably below the horizon.

what's it called?

auriga.

what does it mean?

it's the latin word for "charioteer". ptolemy first
discovered it, i think.
it's associated with a lot of myths.

i roll the word over in my mouth. auriga.

it sounds so much nicer when you say it,
he whispered.

i'm grateful for that distance
over the phone,
because it means he can't see me blush.

you say it.

auriga.

auriga.

it's a nice name, isn't it?

i wish it was mine.

don't. arrow is beautiful.