★ SPARKS FLY★
PRETTIEST THING IV'E EVER SEEN

it was already late when Kaveh sat in the academy and despaired over his designs. He had a lot of new orders, which was good, at least he needed money, but they also made him desperate. Nothing he had drawn in the last five hours had been even remotely good. There were already a few crumpled up drafts on the floor, pencils on the table that were broken or so small that he could no longer draw with them, and two empty large coffee pots. He would have gone to sleep, but he had to at least get one good draft.

Desperately, he ran his hand through his already disheveled hair and scribbled more ideas on the paper with the pencil in his right hand. It wasn't that he didn't have good ideas. He had many. But getting them done and making them look exactly like he imagined was impossible tonight.

Kaveh had no idea why it was so difficult for him today. Sure, he had a blockage several times, but this time it didn't seem to stop. And the coffee didn't help him anymore either. He was just frustrated, but he also knew full well that he wouldn't fall asleep without a single finished draft. So he could stay awake too.

However, he wasn't really awake anymore, but that changed when he suddenly heard a loud bang. Startled, he raised his head and looked behind him. There was no one there, but the bang definitely came from the academy.

Kaveh was curious and since he wasn't getting any further with his designs anyway, he got up and walked in the direction where he thought the bang came from. No matter which table he passed, no one sat at it and studied or worked. But that was normal. Kaveh was usually alone when he worked late at night. Only at the back of the academy did he see where the bang had come from.

A small wooden ladder lay on the floor, many books were scattered on the floor and a young woman was sitting between them and was frantically picking them up. There were a lot of books and Kaveh noticed that almost all of them were from the bookshelf.

The girl didn't even seem to notice him. She collected the books within her reach, stacked them and mumbled something to herself. He couldn't understand it.

»Do you need help?«

Not at all startled, as if she had noticed that he was standing behind her, she turned to him. Kaveh didn't know her. He had never seen her before. She had pitch black hair and it seemed like it shimmered, like there were glitter stones in her hair. Her skin was very pale and her eyes reflected the same blue tones as her clothing. It glittered just as much, but more strikingly than her hair; you could see the golden shimmer and even that was reflected in her eyes.

She tilted her head to the side and studied him. He certainly looked terribly exhausted. Her blue eyes wandered all over his body and sparkled gold every now and then when her pupils moved.

»Isn't it a little late for work?«, She then asked him.

Basically she was right. But she herself was awake and in the academy. »I often work at night.«

The girl nodded and got up from the floor. She handed him the stack of books and Kaveh took it. He put the books back on the bookshelf. Then she started stacking the books that had flown a little further away. Kaveh picked up the ladder from the floor and leaned it against the shelf.

»What about you, why are you here?«

She picked up the stack and placed it on the table. Then Kaveh first noticed the many small golden stars and crescents that tumbled from her skirt. She had astrological signs everywhere on her clothes. Her gold earrings were also stars and she had a star on her skin right under her right eye. There was also a symbol on her collarbone. It looked like a star sign.

»Well the stars don't sleep at night.«

Now Kaveh understood. She belonged to the Rtawahist school. It was specialized in illuminationism, the study of the stars, and includes disciplines such as astronomy and astrology.

She walked past him and put the remaining books on the bottom shelf herself. She stood on her tips, completely ignoring the ladder, had she fallen down? And tried to pack the last two books upstairs. Kaveh walked towards her and took the book from her outstretched hand. He pushed it onto the shelf.

Then she turned to him and smiled kindly. »Thanks, I didn't mean to distract you from your work.«

Kaveh looked down at her. She was quite a bit shorter than he was. »Oh you didn't distract me.«

»Well, I still promise you that I won't make any more noise like that tomorrow night.« She had a quiet voice. She was gentle and completely kind. »I have all the books for... well I think it will be enough for the next month.«

That's why he had never seen her before. She also worked at night, she had no other choice, but of course she worked outside. Kaveh didn't know exactly what she was working on, what she was doing, or whether she had orders, but she certainly did it all under the stars.

»Did you fall off the ladder?«

Her cheeks turned slightly red. »Yeah.. i was so excited because in a few days is the shooting star shower and I still have a lot to prepare.« The girl reached for the box that was at her feet. »That's why I have to go now, but it was nice to meet you!« She picked up the box full of books and then stared at the second box.

Kaveh had to smile a little. »Should I help you?«

»Nonono! I've stopped you enough from your work!«

His job, right. He had forgotten that for a moment. He never had company at night, which had been a nice change. She was also nice, not arrogant like many people in the academy, unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to carry both boxes anyway.

»If I help you quickly, we can both get back to our work quicker.« Kaveh picked up the box and looked at her with a smile. »Go ahead, I have no idea where you have to go.«

She returned his smile. »Thank you very much.« And then she walked forward.

The girl wasn't exactly tall and she looked very petite anyway, but she could run fast. Kaveh had to make an effort to keep up with her, but that was probably also due to his tiredness. They walked out of the academy and as soon as Kaveh was out in the fresh air he felt better. Maybe he should take short breaks more often and go for a short walk outside.

As soon as they reached a small hill, the girl's steps became even faster. She ran and jumped back and forth excitedly on her feet. She was humming some tune and Kaveh really wondered how someone could be so happy. She placed the box at the top of the hill and Kaveh did the same. A fluffy blanket lay on the meadow, several drawings, pens, small telescopes and several devices that Kaveh didn't recognize. And sweets. Lots of candy paper.

She smiled at him again. »So thank you again for your help.«

»No Problem.« Kaveh looked around and saw a large unrolled map on the blanket. It showed the starry sky. »So what exactly are you doing here?«

»Oh, I study the sky, the stars.« She knelt on the blanket and looked up at him. »The untouchable sky conceals the truth about the world, you know?« And then she giggled softly. »At least, that's what we Rtawahists believe.«

Kaveh had already spoken to some of the academy. He had noticed that not everyone was arrogant, but this girl... He had never met anyone so cheerful and kind. Above all, it seemed like she really loved her work. The stars. Well, and candy.

»I would love nothing more than to babble you full with facts about stars, but didn't you have something to do?«

Right. He had forgotten it... again. But maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to think about something else. But she was also right that he should continue working. And above all, she wanted to start her work safely.

»Yes, right! Have fun with your stars.«

She giggled again. It was as quiet and sweet as her voice. »Good luck with your project.« Luck, yes he could use luck. Because Kaveh doubted that he would be able to do anything today.

The girl turned away from him and took three books out of the box. She flipped through until she got the right pages and picked up some kind of dividers. She adjusted it so that it matched the constellations in the book, did the same thing three times and then looked at the night sky. Kaveh had no idea what she was seeing in the sky, but her smile somehow made him smile too and then he turned away from her.

Kaveh walked to the small tree, and before leaving her alone he looked back at her again. She was throwing a piece of candy paper over her shoulder and was busy writing something down. And he didn't know if it was her friendly nature, her company in general or because she had worked so beautifully, but once Kaveh got back to his table he managed it.

He had inspiration and managed to put it on paper exactly as he had imagined. Before he finally went to sleep he had finished two drafts and before he closed his eyes only one question went through his mind.

What was her name?