The Great Book of Ramblings

A Myth of the Stars

"It was a long time ago. How long, you ask? A...er... Very long time ago. Any sort of distinctions beyond that are pointless.
And it was far away. Before you ask, an unfathomable distance away. Leagues upon leagues upon leagues upon leagues.  Or maybe it was right here. Just maybe right in the place you sit. Of course, it was such a long time ago that would be of no consequence. The fireplace that warms you wouldn't even have been formed into stone deep in the belly of the earth yet, let alone be this fireplace.
In this time so long ago, and this place so far away (or maybe not) the night sky was a deep, dark blanket of black . But not even black, really. Just an endless expanse of nothing staring down on the creatures that resided here on this earth.
You want to know more about them? They'll be in this story. You want to know where they came from? Too bad. You asked for the origin story of the stars, you're getting the origin story of the stars. It's past your bedtime, anyway. I'm doing you a favor.
Back to the story. You little whiners are getting me off track.
The night sky was an expanse of dark, the only glow emanating from the spot where the sun had just set, or was about to rise.
The earth itself was dark, yes, far darker than the basement. But this darkness was the only thing the creatures had ever known, so it didn't bother them, not in the slightest.
Except for one. This one had been in love, so in love that the very concept of his love going missing physically hurt him. But then, like all good things, this love came to an end. And he didn't have just the concept, but the reality, to pain him. 
What happened to her? She succumbed to the perils of their world. She was there one moment, and gone the next. The details? I'm only repeating what I have been told, time and time again. I don't know what happened to her! I'm telling the myth as I know it, so listen or not. Your choice.
She was gone without a shred of a chance of coming back, or so everyone knew-except him. He thought there was a chance. They always do. But he appealed to the gods, night after night. They refused, night after night.
If they did such favors for everyone, there would be a whole slew of dead people walking around.
But one God saw herself in him. She saw the desperateness, the wanting so deeply something impossible.
Now, you may think that the gods are...well... Godly, but these Gods-or this god,the one that took pity on him, was really very, surprisingly human. She had all the emotions of humans,and a very human goal. To be important. To be recognized. You see, this god was the goddess of the night sky. She was shunted to the side, simply due the fact that the sky was full of nothingness.
But she had an idea. She knew that the other Gods would never allow her to bring his love back, and besides, that didn't help her. Just like she was human in other ways, she was selfish like one too.
She thought that she could put his love in the sky. In the beautiful night sky that she loved and ruled, but didn't get enough credit for.
She could be in charge of this. She could be in charge of seeing the soul of his lost love into the sky.
She visited him. And he looked sad that the hope of seeing his love in person again was gone. But a star is better than a void.
He suggested one more thing. That this would happen for everyone. From  people to insects, anything that can love would get a star. Somewhere out there.
And so that was what happened. He knew which one was his love. And he stared at it every night, in place of appealing to the gods. He was as happy as he could be under the circumstances.
She was as happy as she could be under the circumstances. She got a job. Something more than just a blank slate to stare at.
Eventually, people forgot that the stars were the deceased. But they have always felt something with the stars. A pull.