Borrowed Time

Chapter 18

Without any thought, Marcella pours the contents of the bottle out over Tommy's head as his eyes shoot wide open from the cold liquid dripping down his face. Now moderately more sober, his expression goes from shocked to confused and then cold and plain.

"No wonder Chris wanted us all to come," Marcella whispers to herself as she flops on the bench next to Tommy, gazing at the clear night sky, "staring is rude"

"So is pouring water on someone"

"So is letting strangers assault someone"

Tommy closes his mouth as he looks down not even bothered by the water soaking into his shirt making him even colder because nothing could be as immoral and heinous as the words and actions irrespective of his partially drunken state.

"Sorry, really I am sorry" Tommy remorsefully says as tears fall down his cheek, but Marcella neglects to see them through his already wet state.

"I really didn't know you hated me this much," Marcella sadly chuckles, "here"

She waves a packet of star shaped chocolate in front of Tommy's face as he reluctantly accepts with a pit of guilt still accumulating in his stomach. Raising his head up he sees Marcella staring back up into the sky as he too turns his gaze to what her wondering eyes find so fond.

"I've always wanted to be in the stars," Marcella lightly says as a cloud of mist comes past her lips, "what do you think about this one?"

"Insignificant compared to other brighter stars, it looks lonely" he explains carefully with a careless tone.

"I agree it is not as bright," Marcella says light heartedly, "the stars seem so peaceful and marvel in the dark despite burning for years alone and yet this one isn't as bright, almost poetic and pathetic"

Tommy's ears perk up in curiosity as he hums to confirm his interest in Marcella's small explanation with a strange calmness to her presence.

"Even with few words and a closed off attitude you are not that difficult to discover. They are so distant from one another and to us yet the stories we have given them bring us closer to the unreachable and untouchable. Do you know the story of Andromeda?" Tommy shakes his head catching the corner of Marcy's eyes, "Andromeda is the only other spiral galaxy you can see with the naked eye from Earth. It was named after a princess in Greek mythology who was sacrificed by her parents to appease the gods because her mother boasted how she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. She was chained to a rock and left to be devoured by a sea monster sent by Poseidon until Perseus slayed the monster and saved her."

"Who would even come up with a strange story like that?" Tommy inputs.

"Andromeda and Perseus married and when they died they were put into the sky as stars together, so although strange it still has a happy ending"

"Happy endings are all fairy tale and myth"

"I had a very fortunate yet simple life where happy endings were falsely promised yet people do like to glamourise my lifestyle"

"I guess we are no different from one another" Tommy chuckles sadly as he offers Marcella a handful of chocolate.

"Insignificant?"

"Huh?"

"You mentioned that the star was insignificant"

"Oh that, well as you said they just burn until they disappear and are forgotten"