The Sky That Holds The Stars

Talia and Gitan

The Sky That Holds The Stars

Long ago, there was a prince who wanted to prove himself to his family and his country. So he chose the hardest task given to him— to colonize a land. He traveled across the world to fulfill such a task given to him by his father, the king. However, it was not an easy task to do. Before they can have full access to the land, they need to have the permission of the deities protecting the land. In order for this to accomplish their task, they found a strategy to do so— the prince needs to make the princess of the deities fall in love with him and eventually fool her into giving their land away.

One night, as the prince was about to bathe in a waterfall that he found near the place, his eyes landed on a very beautiful lady with eye-catching silver hair. The lady was sitting, her feet in the water as she watched the stars above. Prince Gitan was mesmerized by the beauty of the young lady. The identity of the maiden unknown to him, he approaches her still.

"What is a beautiful maiden doing in a place like this, late this hour," the young prince asked the young maiden.

"I am watching the stars for them to be safe," the silver-haired maiden replied. Confusion was evident on the prince's face after he heard her answer.

"The stars don't need to be watched for them to be safe, they won't go anywhere," the young man explained, completely ignorant of the young lady's identity.

"It is my duty, Mr. Stranger"

"Duty. I loathe that word"

"Why so, Mr. Stranger"

"It's something that I don't want but have to do. I don't have a choice. Also, my name is Gitan," the prince informed the young lady.

"You always have a choice, Mr. Gitan. Whether it's a bad one or a good one," the mysterious maiden said to the young prince

As the maiden watched the stars, the two continued chatting as the night goes by. The young prince somehow found comfort while speaking with the lady beside her. Eventually, the prince fell asleep. When he woke up in the morning, there was no trace of the beautiful lady.

Later that day, Prince Gitan and his men had a meeting this the ruler of the Land, the king of the deities. They spoke to the king of their intentions in coming to the land— the words that came out of their mouths are complete lies— saying that they came to explore the culture, traditions, and beautiful sights of the land. The king welcomed them but was still not convinced that their intentions are good as they say. So the king ordered his people to keep watch of the outsiders. He also ordered one of her daughters, Talia, to accompany the young prince— for security purposes.

The outland prince met the deity princess. Gitan introduced himself to the princess. To his surprise, the princess somehow already knows his name. Unknown to him, that the beautiful maiden that one night was Princess Talia, the goddess, and keeper of the stars above. As weeks passed, both were together most of the time. Mostly because Prince Gitan wanted to be with Princess Talia all the time— him trying to fulfill his duty.

Prince Gitan became so curious as to why he could not find the princess when nighttime comes. So this time, he asked the princess if he could come along. Though forbidden, Talia still allowed Prince Gitan to come with her because, somehow, she became comfortable being around him.

The Prince watched as Talia's hair switched from black to glowing silver, the same time the sunsets and darkness of the night came. He could not utter a word, his face was so shocked. The sight he's seeing proved the rumors he heard right. He was seeing how Talia doing his job as the Goddess and keeper of the stars. Prince Gitan became so amazed at Talia, not just because of her beauty but also because of his determination and love for her duty and her love for the stars.

That's when Prince Gitan New that he was in danger. He was in danger because he's slowly falling in love with the person he was meant to betray.

Months passed and the prince fall deeper into his own trap. It has also been months that he and Princess Talia spent time together, and each day he falls deeper— and so does Talia. However, his deadline came and he knew he needed to do something... he needed to choose.

His duty or his love

On the very same day, Talia came home, happiness surging through her system. Little did she know, bad news was waiting for her— her family found out about Prince Gitan's "task" to befriend her. She did not want to believe the words that came out of their mouth, but she was also convinced that it was true. Her father, the king of the deities, also found out about her violation in letting a mortal see her in Goddess form. As punishment, she was tasked to kill the man she loves, Prince Gitan.

The princess of the gods wanted to confirm that it was true, she wanted to hear it from her. So she told Gitan to meet her at the waterfall, where they first met. The moment he arrived, she asked, "Is it true that you were only tasked to make me fall?".

The young man did not utter a word, however, she saw the knife behind him that he had been holding.

"So it's true," she asked again as tears started falling from her cerulean eyes.

"Yes but—"

"So it's true," she yelled, anger surging through her body. She cried, she yelled, she screamed in frustration.

How could she not?

She was betrayed by the man she thought loves her.

Her yells and screams caused one of the stars to fall because she failed to keep it in place. (shooting star) It hit the place the two lovers were. Talia survived the hit because her powers allowed her so. However, Gitan did not.

Talia came rushing towards Gitan, there she saw his burn and bruised body because of the hit. She cried and cried until he spoke, "Shhhh. Stop crying, you are more beautiful when you smile. I may have been tasked to make you fall in love with me. But I was trapped in my own trap... I fell in love with you. And I never regret it one bit. Don't worry as my body leaves this world, I will hold your precious stars together so you won't be burdened in keeping them in place all the time. You are the brightest and the most mesmerizing star that I landed my eyes upon. Be happy my love. Farewell"

True to his words, Gitan became the thing that holds the stars in place. It is today known as 'Kalangitan'.

However, every time Talia looks at the stars she once took care of, she remembers Gitan. Guilt always followers her around. One night, she wanted to end it, so she ended her own life.

And so she became one with the stars.

Every time the people would look at the stars they would remember their princess, Talia. That's how the word 'tala' came to be.

-,' END ',-

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This is a short story I wrote 'cause of school. I just thought that I'd share it here. I hope you enjoyed reading <3