CHAPTER 33:
A WALK UNDER THE STARS
(Narrated)
Stars of various sizes are spread across the night sky. Unlike a city, every star is visible from where they’re standing because there's no other light to distract their eyes from it. The blue super-moon is one with the Milky-way galaxy and there’s barely a cloud in sight to take away from its majesty. The twins are still giving them their best show as they dance around the moon together like they’re free- spirited beings with limitless energy. They twirl up together making DNA helix formations over and over again.
Underneath it all, walking beside a lake that’s mirroring the sky, are a young woman and a black lion; Iva Hill and Mane.
Seconds turn into minutes and minutes turn into hours as Mane walks with her and gives her personal lessons of the different fish that lives within these waters. Iva continues to point out random fish swimming about in the lake and ask questions about them. Mane proudly replies to every single question without ignoring her once as he usually would. She learns that every fish, even the bottom-feeders, have some sort of purpose in the water. One fish actually surprises Iva as it leaps off a rock and into the water, barely making a splash.
Iva, being the curious young woman that she is, quickly points to it and ask Mane what it is.
“Iva……………….that’s a frog,” he says in a duh kind of way.
“Oh, um, I knew that,” Iva replies, feeling a hint of stupid.
“No, you didn’t,” he replies tonelessly.
They do many activities together. They even walked across a fallen tree that bridged one side of the lake to another. Iva made it into a challenge by betting Mane he would fall first. Iva made it across the old fallen tree by balancing herself with her arms stretched-out.
Mane isn't so lucky. He fell midway across the tree; splashing belly first into the water. Iva laughed at him, but she receives instant karma as he leaps from the water and shakes his head like a wet dog. The excess water stored in his fur sprinkles on her. She cower behind her arms and begins to scream.
Time progresses. Soon, the running around begins to deplete their energy. They finish off their night by star gazing. Iva finds a comfortable seat on an old tree stump with Mane sitting in the grass at her side. Iva then gives him lessons on the planetary alignments and how they’re many suns far larger than our own. She also tells him about how she star gazed when she was a child and how it kept her from boredom when she had insomnia. One memory she fondly remembers is her trying to convince her mother that black-holes are nothing but periods, like the ones at the end of a sentence.
Of course Mane thought it was a ridiculous idea until she explains it in better detail.
“I believe that fairytales are the most relatable stories ever made. Think about it. Everyone wants a happily ever after, even a villain. I believe that the universe is a giant book written with atoms.”
Mane thinks about her unusual theory and then he begin to feel interested about knowing more.
“So, we are characters in a book?”
“I think so. And your thoughts that come in your mind are words that’s being written.”
“Interesting. You been hanging out with my mother too long.”
“I’m just using my imagination, that’s all.”
“Okay, if that’s true, why can’t we just erase all evil or pain?”
She shrugs her shoulders.
“Because no fairytale would be complete without a villain and a conflict.”
Mane takes a second to think about Iva's response.
“Well, if that was true, what would you name this book?”
“I would name it...,” she takes a moment to think about an intriguing title. “Untamed,” she says with satisfaction.
She then looks over at Mane for his response.
“Untamed?” Mane thinks out loud. “That would be a good title. I would call it “A twisted fairytale”.
I chuckle.
“Do you take anything serious?”
“People always laugh at me but I’m being dead serious. You asked and I replied. You have an odd view of the world.”
“Well, I guess that’s a complement. So thanks,” I reply.
“Where did you get that idea from anyway?”
“I always thought like this. I just never share it with others.”
“I guess we learned a lot about each other tonight.”
“I guess so,” Iva replies.
Together, they spend the rest of the night star gazing and chatting about various things. Both of them are realizing something new about each other with every conversation. Soon, the sun makes its return, brightening the cottony clouds a florescent orange and thus marking the end of the greatest night of her life…