She woke, her feet entangled in his. He was still sleeping, a dark curl falling over his face, tickling his cheekbones. He looked so peaceful, every crease in his face smoothed out, his cheeks rosy and his soft lips slightly parted as he drew in slow, sleeping breaths. She kissed them, her lips like a feather on his, and brushed the curl out of his face. A small smile hid in the corner of his sleeping mouth, and in his dreams he pulled her closer.
"Harry," she whispered, her thumb stroking his cheekbone. "Harry, my dear, you have to wake up." Her words floated into his dreaming mind, and he scrunched up his face as he buried it in her chest. His breath tickled her skin, and she giggled.
"I don't want to wake up," he said, his voice drowned in sleep.
"You have to my love, it's past noon, and you can't live your life in a dream." She said, her voice a song in his ears.
"Yes I can," he murmured, "I can spend my life in a dream, if I spend it with you." He raised his head and looked at her. Sleep still clung to her features, and the night had tied her hair in messy knots. Gold no longer gleamed in her nose; she had discarded it, left it behind in a foreign country, as if she was a queen who no longer needed a golden crown to assure her status.
Once again, he was struck by her ethereal beauty. No one had ever looked like her. No one had ever been graced with the magnificent features nature had blessed her with. No one had ever had such high cheekbones, or such pink lips. No one had ever had such blue eyes or such black lashes. No one had ever had a chin, or a brow quite like hers. She was unique, otherworldly, a huldra, a siren, a mermaid, a human. She was Adelaide, and she was beautiful. Inside and out.
"That sounds lovely," She said, and laughed. "But where exactly will this dream lead us? That is what we have to find out."
He put a hand on her face, and played with her hair. He remembered a time when he could not even touch her hand, when he could barely look at her without blushing. Now he felt the outline of her body so perfectly pressed against his, and when he looked into the pools in her eyes, he knew exactly where the stars were hiding.
"That's easy," he said. "Second to the right, and then straight on till morning."
They went on the road again, leaving behind miles of dark asphalt as they drove towards their stars. The storm had left destruction in its wake, and dying trees lay scattered across the land, killed by the force of nature's violent love. But now the sun wept Freya's golden tears onto the horizon, and the wind kissed their cheeks as it danced through the windows. A song flowed from the radio, dripping words of love into their ears, or maybe they were words of sorrow. It didn't matter to them, because they were too busy writing their own song.
It was a song of flowers and of butterflies, of gold and of sun, of rain and dark skies, but most importantly; it was a song about them. And it was beautiful.
They drove in silence for a while, until Harry suddenly let out a loud laugh. Adelaide looked at him with wonder in her eyes, curious as to what he was laughing at. He laughed again and again, he couldn't stop, his whole body shook as he giggled, and tears of amusement soon rolled down his cheeks.
"Why are you laughing?" She asked, the taste of his contagious laughter at the tip of her tongue.
"Because," he said, gasping for air. "I was starting to worry we might have left something in the hotel room, but then I realised we have nothing to forget. We do not own anything in this world but this car, a backpack of adventure, and the clothes we are wearing." The dimples in his cheeks smiled as he beamed at her, and then she started laughing too.
"You're not entirely right my dear," she said and picked up something from the backseat. "We have this too." In her hands, she held a bouquet of flowers, bound tightly together by a white silk ribbon. The Lilies of the valleys hung with their heads, their petals scattered with scars, but the pink carnations and bellflowers smiled at them, their blooms still soft.
"How could I ever forget," he said, and as they laughed, the flowers that for so long had hid within their chests, lifted their crowns towards the sun, and the golden butterflies took to their wings and flew about their fluttering hearts once again.
Specs of rust appeared on the wings of the day, and the sun dipped beneath the horizon as they continued to chase their stars. A map was spread out in Adelaide's lap, her fingers carefully tracing the red, blue and yellow lines. The map was old, tattered by the hands of time and travel. Ink marked the paper, and shaky words scattered across the towns and countries, spelling out her dreams.
They didn't know how long they drove for, but eventually the little light on the dashboard started glowing red, and they had to stop at a gas station. Everything was dark, and a cold light seeped from the glassy windows of the shop. She sighed, and rubbed traces of sleep from her eyes. Her whole body had been struck with fatigue, and sleep called her name. He was tired too, but the sound of her breathing kept him awake.
He stopped the car, and they both jumped out, the hard ground steady beneath their feet.
"Is it okay if I leave you for a second?" She asked. "I have to phone someone." Her voice shook as she spoke, but his smile warmed her, and by the time his lips touched her forehead, and he whispered a small: "I'll wait for you," a quiet smile had appeared on her lips.
The metal was cold beneath her fingers as she pressed the numbers she had known by heart since she was old enough to count. The phone felt heavy in her hands, and the quivering dial tone rang in her ears. "Please pick up," she thought. "Please pick up." And then someone did.
"Hello?" The voice said.
"Hello, it's me." Adelaide said, a lump forming in her throat.
"Addie!" The voice exclaimed, it was laced with happiness. "Where are you?"
"I'm at a gas station on the way to the stars." Tears burned holes in her eyes, but the smile on her lips grew louder.
"Why do I get the feeling this is not a "I'm coming home" call?" A melancholy smile could be heard in the voice.
"Because it's not," Adelaide said. "This is a goodbye call, Leah." She heard Leah laugh through the phone, or maybe she cried, Adelaide couldn't tell. "Please take care of yourself, and please know that I will miss you all so terribly much."
"We know," Leah said. "We know. We will miss you so much too, and my love, please take care of yourself, and him."
"I will," the girl on the payphone said. She was sitting on the ground, her feet folded beneath her as she felt the shadows of the dead willow tree play upon her face.
"I love you, drive safe, I love you." Those were the last words Adelaide heard her friend say, and they did.
As the dial tone died, another sound floated towards her. It was the soft sound of a guitar, perfectly accompanied by a sweet voice. She had heard the song before, it was a long time ago, and the words had faded from her memory, but the melody remained.
She walked towards the sound, and the stars in her eyes exploded as they landed on him. He was leaning against the car, a huge smile spread across his face.
"What are you doing?" she asked him, laughter I her voice.
"Shh," he whispered and took her hand. "Lets dance." He pulled her closer, one hand in hers, the other resting on her waist. Had someone seen them, they would have thought they were dancing in silence, but music spilled from the car radio. Shaky, fragile, tones just strong for them to hear. It was as if the rest of the world had fallen away, and all there was left was music and hearts.
They moved slowly, fluently, in perfect unison. His feet would move, and hers would follow. He would smile, and so would she. He twirled her around, her hair lifting as he did so. She didn't laugh; she just smiled, with stars in her eyes.
"I think maybe, just maybe, we have already found our dreams." She whispered, and as they kissed, the song ended, and the sound of the falling cherry tree hung in the air. They didn't hear it though, and so they kept driving. Safe, safe, safe.
A new day was born within their car, its onyx wing stroking past them as they drove, leaving but specks of light for them to see the world. They didn't mind, because in the dark of the night, the stars shone bright in their minds.
She looked at him. Another song was playing on the radio, and he was soundlessly singing the words. The sight made the world inside of her pulsate with life. Stars and suns shone side by side, and flowers bloomed in the midst of a golden sea. It was irrational, but she didn't care. Because that's not the sort of thing you think of when you are in the middle of a dream.
He looked at her and felt everything. Everything. It was wonderful, lovely, perfect. He took her hand in his, their fingers softly intertwining, and their eyes swam in each other as the night continued to bat its wings outside their car. In that moment, the world didn't exist. In fact, nothing existed. Nothing but blue and green, hearts and love. And when the sound of the falling cherry blossom tree came crashing down, a part of them remained in that moment of perfect nothingness until the end of times.
They saw it at the same time. Illuminated by the yellow headlights, fear dripping from its eyes.
"Harry!" She screamed, the sound of her voice cutting through the night like a shard of broken glass, and suddenly the wheels were turning.
The world didn't stop, it didn't slow down, it didn't disappear. It continued to exist, while the car swerved off the road, a girl and a boy inside. It continued to exist, while the radio played its soft songs and broken glass fell about their bodies. It continued to exist, while the car spun around and crashed into a field of lilac flowers, and the sound of the falling cherry blossom tree hit them with full force.
He didn't know what happened next, but the deer survived.