The Eyes of Men

Two

            When I was younger, my father told me that we are made of stars. Stars in our hearts, stars in our brains, so many stars that when look up to the sky we see all the stars of the people we love. Even if they are gone we can still see their hearts and minds and everything that made them who they were.

I remember, cocking an eyebrow and asking, "Daddy, do the Puppeteers have stars?"

A hollow look crossed his eyes as he bent down to look at me, his face so solemn and stern that chills coursed through my veins. After a long silence, he murmured, "Puppeteers don't have souls, sweetheart. They can't have stars."

I haven't seen a star in a year.

I don't know what that means to me. I'm not sure if it promotes the fact that humanity has been gone for so long that even the stars has forgotten about us, or the fact that Puppeteers are the new humans- top of the food chain, ruling the earth. I debate the theories with myself, wondering why the stars won't show themselves to me.

Never once do I doubt my father.

I've scribbled his stories on so many pages of old notebook paper, trying to sow them together as they begin to fray. He never let me see the fear in his eyes, nor any of the family. For all I know, he never was afraid of anything. He faced death with open arms, smiling, saying "Come and get me." He knew that he was a corpse waiting to happen.

Well, we all are. He just wasn't afraid to embrace it.

A part of me believes I'm destined to find the stars. That they're littered across the country, their bright orbs still shining, but hiding in the shadows much like me. That I can find them and lift them up to the pale sky, the same way my father used to place me on his shoulders and tell me to reach up and grab them from the sky. The stars seemed so close then, like they were only just out of my reach.

Now the stars feel as far away as my father does, lost somewhere where I can't find them. The same goes for my brothers, my mothers, my friends, my old school, my favorite foods, anything that was there before the purging.

Especially me.

The girl who used to be known for her smile long gone from my body and I can only reach towards her with my weak, trembling arms. I yell to warn her that something is going to come and destroy everything she holds dear but she still smiles as if nothing in world matters. Because that point, absolutely nothing matter to her, and she finds solitude in the fantasy of her father's stories.

She's too young to know that the world around her is falling apart and her parents are too scared to tell her. She won't nothing is wrong until it's too late. Until the world turns into what can only be described as hell.

Because once she's alone, no more tears left to cry, she will wake up and turn into what her parents never wanted her to be.

A girl who takes no hesitation in doing whatever it takes for her survival.

A girl who can kill without feeling any remorse, and can only apologize to the invisible stars.

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Hey everyone! So, yes, I realize this chapter is kind of random BUT it will make since why I chose this topic in the next chapter, or so I hope. And, it is pretty short, I apologize.

Also, I know this is late, and I realize posting twice a week probably wont be easy for me, so I'm going to start posting once a week on WEDNESDAYS okay?

Thanks for reading.