After a day's hike, you arrive and head straight for the center, where the tiny star sits crying in a dimly lit heap. All of the other stars are sitting around a campfire at the edge of the field, drunk and slapping shards of debris into each other's chests to see who can get the coolest flame going. Kneeling down, you gently shake metallic beetles and the remnants of firefly dreams from your sleeves, and then you gather the tiny star into your arms. They weep and weep, leaving trails of blue light against your cheeks. When the sun rolls over the treetops and kicks out the other stars for being fire hazards, the two of you are already deep in the forest, collecting ingredients together for a spell that will teach both of you new ways to fly.
lae astra is an artist and writer who calls Tokyo home. Their work appears or is forthcoming in Astrolabe, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere. Co-founder of Far Future, an artist collective, they are currently befriending the neighborhood crows. Find them at laeastra.com/links.