"First our pleasures die -- and then our hopes, and then our fears -- and when these are dead, the debt is due dust claims dust, and we die too."

•°•°•°•°•

To the one from the star,

My mum used to tell me that there was never a darkness so grim that the sunrise wouldn't be able to defeat.

I'd awaited that sunrise for too long, hoping for a miracle; hoping for her to come around. But she never did. I'd lost every hope. Maybe no one wants me? was what I always used to think.

But then you fell from the sky. It was like a tiny ripple of hope that had happened to crack the walls I'd built around me.

I never wanted to drive again. I didn't think I could do it again anyway. But that night, when you pulled me along, shoved me into the driver's seat and fistbumped in the air exclaiming, "Let's go!" I realised I wanted to prove I wasn't afraid anymore.

I didn't want to be afraid anymore.

John was gone. And that wound in my heart will probably never heal. But I realised I needed to learn to suppress the pain. If I didn't want people to suffocate me with their pity, then I needed to break out of my shell and stand strong before the world.

It was time I let go of the pain that weighed me down. It was time I stitched up the gaping hole in my heart, after filling it with happy memories. It was time I remember John as my brother who I loved rather than the unfortunate, six-year-old kid who died a tragic death.

"Where are we going?" you'd asked, despite the fact that you were the one who pulled me out of my house in this awfully, cold weather.

"I don't know?"

"Well..."

"You didn't let me get my beanie. My head hurts from the cold."

"It's not that cold inside the car!"

"We aren't going to sit inside the car forever, are we now?"

"Well..."

"Just tell me where we're going and I'll drive us there."

"Take me to your favourite place around this neighbourhood."

"My favourite place?"

"Uh-huh."

I didn't know a place good enough to hang out. There weren't any coffee parlours nearby either. So I turned the car and sped down the road in the opposite direction, heading towards a park that used to be John's favourite spot.

When You Love Someone blasted on the radio while you hummed along with it, as if you knew the song by heart. Your eyes had this faraway look, probing at a memory that laid beneath a pile of many recent ones.

I've always wondered if you'd ever visited earth before you came to me. Did you have other people ask miracles from you too? Or was I the first one?

I wasn't sure, and for some reason I was afraid to ask. I didn't want to know if you'd had clients before me too. I didn't want to know if you'd helped them witness a miracle too. I didn't know want to know if I will forever be a client to you.

We'd rounded the last corner and come to a screeching halt. Stepping out of the car into the cold weather, I'd pulled you along and entered the park that my brother often loved to visit.

"Is this your favourite place?" you'd asked, with mild disbelief. I could understand why you'd be confused, and I almost laughed at the expression you had in your face. It was a mixture of wonder, joy and...curiosity?

Of course you were curious.

"No, not really. John used to come here with me. He loved to play the swings. And the merry-go-rounds too. And...well, just about everything." I'd laughed. Since you'd come into my life, I lost count of how many times I laughed in a day.

You were amazing that way.

"Oh, but who's John?"

"He wa-is my brother."

"Oh is it? I've never seen him around! You must introduce us sometime."

I'd smiled. "I will."

"Why would you keep your brother in hiding, young lady. It's not fair for him. This djinn could grant him all his wishes!"

"Duly noted, kind sir." And I'd dropped in mock curtsy, before bowing lower, taking a handful of snow from the ground in my fist and throwing it at your face. "Enjoy the cold. You didn't let me get my beanie."

"You-" And you'd propelled forward before I could run. We both dropped to the ground, laughing out so loud that it hurt my stomach after a good while.

"You're evil."

"I know." And I'd winked. The first time I'd winked at someone. It probably wasn't even a wink now when I think about it. In my attempt, I probably had blinked instead. Talk about embarrassing.

You rose to your feet and gave me a hand to hoist me up. We were laughing. You seemed happy. I was happy. I felt this giddy ball of excitement bubbling inside my stomach when I thought everything would be alright eventually. But that was when things changed.

The sky above hung low with clouds so thick, it almost looked like I could reach it. The winds blew louder and faster, swinging the tree branches along with its rhythm of flow. It had started to snow.

And you had started to glow. There was this soft light that first started from the palm of your hand that held my own, slowly gathering and travelling to other parts of your body until you looked like you were lit aflame.

But the strangest thing was, you didn't look worried. You'd smiled instead while I waited for the pull I'd felt in my dream.

I remember gripping your hand tighter. I remember thinking Is it now that you leave me?

But you didn't say anything. You just smiled. The same smile I loved. The same smile that could melt a thousand juvenile hearts. You'd tightened your fingers around my palm before asking, "What's wrong, pumpkin? You look like you've seen a ghost."

The pull wasn't there yet. But I was afraid. I wasn't ready to let go of another person I loved on the same day my brother had died a year ago.

"Are you leaving me?"

"Leaving?"

"Why are you glowing? Are you leaving me? Are you going back to the sky now?"

"What? No-"

"Please don't leave yet. Please don't," I'd said before looping my arms around you and holding you tighter than ever. "You cannot leave."

"Pumpkin, it's getting difficult to breathe here." You sounded like you were being choked, while your light started to dim. "I'm not going anywhere."

"But this is how it always ends. You glow, you smile and when I think everything's alright, you're pulled away from me." I am fairly certain I'd been crying by then. "Please don't leave."

"I'm not leaving. Why would I leave?"

"But you always do."

"Yeah right, in your dreams."

"Yes, you're right." I'd loosened my grip, only to let go and look into your eyes.

"What?"

"You always leave when this happens. In those nightmares, you always leave!"

"When I glow?"

I nodded.

I didn't understand the next few words that escaped your lips but you drew me into your arms, placing your chin above my head before whispering, "I'm not leaving. Ever."

You are a liar. Nonetheless, I believed you anyway. I didn't have a reason not to.

"I am not leaving." You kept on chanting as if trying to make yourself believe the lie. We stood there in each other's embrace for a while when I felt a feather like touch tickle my scalp. You'd kissed the top of my head and said again, "I will never let you go."

The park had been deserted long before we'd come. It was quiet. Only the wind blew and the snow melted from the sky. The night condensed and the sky grew darker.

But I reminded myself that I wasn't afraid of the darkness anymore. I felt perfectly happy in your arms. I felt like I was home.

If only I knew how brutally you'd stab my heart and reopen the wound I've been trying to cure for so long.

•°•°•°•°•

A/N

I know, I know. This is terribly late and I'm sorry! I had things to take care of at home. Hence the insanely late update.

But I hope you enjoyed it? This isn't one of those chapters that I'm proud of, but I hope it helped you connect with the characters.

Just let me know your thoughts in the comments down below!

Thank you so much for reading! ❤

~Jenna