The Shadows of the Universe | ✔️

•01•

•01•

JOL KESANDU NWANI FIRST met Aafia Toma one night in late October, under a vast canopy of stars, her skin still hot from an argument with her parents. She'd snuck out to calm down,  going to the park where she often went to listen to soft music. The trees swayed gently; the wind howled in the background. The autumn air was cool against her skin. A soft acoustic song about a girl's hair played through her earbuds.  

Jol sighed, her anger melting the more she ignored what had happened with her parents. She didn't want to think about anything that they had said. She didn't want to think. Though, she often didn't want to think. Thinking was dangerous for people like her.

Jol turned up the volume of her music. Now it was a louder, more upbeat song by an unknown artist she'd discovered online. 

She bobbed her head to the music as she strolled down the sidewalk in the direction of the park. It was empty these days since more and more retired elderly moved to their neighborhood, and the young adults moved to a place with children for their own to play with. The park was serene and calming for when she needed to get away, so she often went there on her midnight walks.  There was a relatively undamaged swing set, a fenced off dog park, and vast lawns made for sinking into the grass to gaze at the stars. 

She loved watching the stars; she always had. When she was younger, and her parents were happy, they'd go out to the backyard. Her dad would point out the constellations—and she would giggle. She always ended up falling asleep with her mom petting her curls.

Jol missed when she was young and didn't worry about money or bills or if she'd have a home after her 18th birthday. She missed being carefree. Maybe every teenager did, though. 

Jol arrived at the park around ten  p.m., and she knew she'd have to stay a lot longer than normal if she wanted to avoid her parents. Her parents stayed up late and were light sleepers, which made sneaking out quite difficult, but she'd managed it for years. 

The song changed again.  She walked past the old playground that used to be lively. As expected, it was now vacant. The park was looking dark tonight, though it always looked frightening when the daylight faded and the stars came out. She was used to it. The trees loomed over her, the street lamps dim and flickering. Jol grinned. 

The park was a familiar type of welcoming to her. 

She sat down in one of the large clearings, laying her head back to look up at the night sky. The sky was so beautiful, so impossibly endless, so large and vast. Sometimes, when she was looking at the twinkling stars, muddled by light pollution, she wished to be up there, nothing but a speck of light that was pretty when grouped with others.  She sighed, mind riddled with thoughts as her music faded. 

She turned up the volume as the next song started. 

Earbuds blasting a smooth instrumental that helped to further calm her down, Jol laid against the grass and watched the stars. 

She hadn't noticed the approaching footsteps, nor had she heard the curious voice call out to her. So it was to her surprise when her earbuds were ripped out and a rather pretty person smiled at her. 

"Hi, I'm Aafia, what are you doing here?" Aafia asked with an infuriating smile, barely hesitant.

Jol glared; she'd just wanted to listen to music, and the poor kid had caught her at a bad time. 

"Oops, did I interrupt your quiet time? Sorry about that." Aafia didn't look very sorry as they sat down next to Jol, still holding her earbuds captive. Jol let out a frustrated noise that the person beside her either didn't notice or didn't care to acknowledge. Aafia smiled, then, and it was so happy that Jol wanted to scream. How come they were so happy at ten at night sitting with a possibly dangerous stranger in a park?