Star Day Short Story

1324 Words6 Pages
Star Day The stars were out tonight. It was rare, seeing them. The light pollution was too thick, and the people were too lazy to turn them off en masse more than once a year. Still, when the lights were shut off, it was magical to watch the twinkling pinpricks slowly emerge from behind the blanket that hid them. Millions of people would venture outside on that one day. Millions, to see the stars. Legend had it that they used to be able to observe them on any given day, for humans were once free of artificial light. Theories had gone on to postulate that there once existed star sanctuaries. Fancy that. Sanctuaries for the stars. Of course it was only a story, but he still liked to think on it. He knew that the people were divided, he knew…show more content…
If he had spilled the woman’s tea and rushed away with her before the bodies fell. Too late… He cracked before their bones did. Clutched his head. Splintered. Committing murders was a surreal experience. Getting caught was a nightmare. Being given the death penalty? It was as if a gallon of ice-water had somehow seeped through his layers of protection and frozen his heart. His bones. His mind. Ice was hard, but it was also easy to snap under a hint of pressure. An epiphany. It was all wrong. Not just death, but life. “You have to listen to me!” There was a gleam in his eyes now, crazed, but glazed over as well. “I’m innocent! We all are! Death is the thing that tarnishes us, before that we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. I’m not tarnished. I’m not! It was only tea. Only tea. Chance. Gone.” His judge didn’t seem to think so. The court laughed at him, but it held no humour. They thought he deserved to die, not for his crimes, but for tarnishing a record. A record was more important to them than their own citizens. His parents were right. He was worthless. It’s just, they didn’t explain that everybody was. He knew he’d be cold in the grave, felt it even before the world went black. He didn’t realize that he would also be
Open Document