CATHARSIS

Story #2 - Serenity

Requirement: English Class Assignment

Prompt: Based on the quote, "Do I dare disturb the universe?". 750-800 word limit.

Warnings: I wrote this in 6 hours and was so sleep deprived that I fell asleep while trying to write this so yeah don't expect anything too good haha.

update (7/5/19) - so i somehow ended up with full marks for this story. dear teacher who marked this, i guess your standards are low?

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ENJOY!
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Serenity is a beautiful thing. It can be as strong as a thousand men, yet as fragile as porcelain. A state of mind and body that can't be forced but can be found everywhere. Serenity rustles the trees when you take a lonesome walk through the forest, it spreads the waves along the coast at a remote beach, a comfort object, whether or not alive, could even possess it.

I believe the colour of serenity is the lightest of baby blues, the colour of the sky on Chikyu when I first vanish behind the horizon, the colour of Tsukiko's skin in the starlight. A fitting colour, the beautiful sensation of tranquil covering her on all sides like a comforting embrace from a loved one, filled with peace and promises of a better tomorrow. An occasion ingrained in my memory, a personal treasure, is the glimmer of the distant stars dancing on her milky skin when I met her for the first time, the afterstreaks of comets wrapping around her black locks like thin, silk ribbons.

It's been a few months since experiencing the feelings of peace for myself, since seeing her and already can I feel the toll it's taking on my will. I find my days no longer filled with giving warmth, rather longing to see the beautiful owl outline inscribed onto her skin, the way her hair can blend with the coldness of the abyss beyond us and fill me with the heat that can thaw a frozen world. I hold hope, for she will visit me again soon. It's written in the stars and even if it may've been for a fleeting moment, it has happened before so I know waiting my turn will give me worthwhile rewards.

However, there are moments where my patience runs itself thin and I want nothing more than to use my power to reach out for her and bring us just a little closer to each other. The distance plays cruel games on us, making me feel like she's closer than ever yet I only feel for us to be further away from each other than ever. On the worse days, it feels like I am losing my mind. I cannot talk to her, I cannot hear her, I can barely even see her and it hurts my heart to feel this separation on such a regular basis.

On the days when serenity is gone and madness takes its place, it feels like my world is a void, an empty vacuum where even if I scream my loudest and send my energy travelling in waves across the system that no one can hear nor understand my desperate cries. My mind can't help but race with the thoughts of never seeing Tsukiko ever again and then cycle of downward spiralling begins and I lose myself. The stress shows on my surface, the cooled spots dark and ugly against my normally bright and glowing self.

I know I have the ability to see her, though. A simple wave of my hand could change everything. At the cost of the domains of Suisei, Kinsei and Chikyu, Tsukiko could be mine to love no longer from a distance. No more worrying about numbered orbits or shortened eclipses and much treasured moments of conversation. Stress free about the burdens of the distance until I burn myself out and it's a desirable outcome at a first glance.

But I know bringing myself closer to her will only cause our demise. In more ways than one are we polar opposites. Chaos and calm, warm yellows and cool blues, the burning centre of a whole system and a small compressed cluster of rocks. To consume the three planets would throw Tsukiko's world into heavy havoc and not to mention that she loves her parent planet so much that she gifted them a moving oceanic world. To take that away from here just to be closer to her would defeat the whole reason of growing closer in the first place.

If the universe wants to play a waiting game, I will not cheat for selfish motives. Time passes, desires are submerged under growing needs and demands so why disturb the universe when serenity can keep its rightful place? Even if I feel like I can't wait any longer, I will try my best to hold out for the eclipses. It's what Tsukiko, my lover of millions of miles, would want and what kind of entity would I be if I couldn't even keep a promise?