The Brightest Star

The boy was impatient to hear that distinct melancholic music from the adjacent room, the cathartic melody that was offering him temporary shelter from the unbearable loneliness in the nights. He kept waiting as the minutes passed, staring at the darkness, negotiating with himself if he should stand up and find the reason for the delay. However, he was afraid of the darkness. He was afraid of how it devoured the light, how easy it would be to swallow someone as insignificant as him. That dominating silence that made him feel like he was alone in the world, though, was even more terrifying, it was his worst nightmare. Not able to endure the waiting anymore, he steeled himself and headed towards the room. He was hesitant when he approached the door of his neighbor as he had been cautious about the woman living there. She was a mysterious person, unsociable, always carrying a cold expression and staying alone without giving any signs of life all day. The boy took a deep breath and knoc

A warm sensation, as well as the feeling of touching hair, the boy jerked up panicky from the floor with drops of cold sweat flowing from his forehead. He hurriedly left the room and returned, holding a lightened candle in his hand that brightened a little the room. A woman was lying face down at its center surrounded by scattered opened books, a sight that almost made the boy drop his candle.    She is alive; he thought as he checked her breathing, putting the candle on the floor and trying to raise her and put her on the bed. He was exhausted, though. Carrying the woman until the bed, he could hardly keep his footing, collapsing, in the end, on the bitterly cold floor. No! I have to get up!However, his body wouldn't listen to him. He was devoid of strength. "I have to get up! I have to get up..." He kept on muttering as his eyelids began to close. ......"Wake up, sleepyhead! It's already

"One! Two! Three! Again! One! Two! You are bad at this, huh?" Anders commented as he looked at the boy who had just fallen on the ground. "The moves are too complicated. I also don't understand why I need to learn dancing," Sirius replied while patting his clothes in a try to remove the dust from them. "It's not just dancing, I told you. These are exercises that will strengthen your body, giving you at the same time flexibility. Watch!" Anders said and took a fighting stance. He first punched the air with a force that was so strong that it even created a sound. He bent down next, making a sidekick and rolling backward over his shoulder before standing back to his feet, all these in a few seconds."The proficiency to move your body in whatever means you want to is essential in battle," he continued with a proud expression. "Wow! That was amazing! You look stronger than Ajamu," Sirius couldn't help than remark with admiration. 

"Are you alright, boy? Wake up! Do you hear me? Wake up!" The boy slowly opened his eyes as bright rays of light welcomed him. How long had he been dreaming? It was a long nightmare, almost eternal. He was alone running desperately in the darkness. Everyone was dead. Only he had remained. The sole survivor in a ruined world. Was it a nightmare, though, or the precognition of a possible future? He didn't care. He already knew what destiny held for him, an inescapable trap he couldn't avoid. "Did you finally wake up? You like to take your time, eh?" Who was that? The boy turned his head toward the voice scared, facing the woman who was staring at him. She had short gray hair and a pair of big round eyes. Although her face was young, its harshness was disclosing the struggles and the suffering she had incurred, making her look older.It was her! The woman he had tried to help! So, she was alright! However, the boy started to feel regret. Wh

"How many laps you think you'll make today?" "All of the ten," Sirius's voice contained confidence this time. He was running like there would be no tomorrow the past two weeks. Today, he truly felt he would finally achieve his personal goal."Where is Ajamu, by the way? I haven't seen him today," the boy wondered. He would see him almost every morning, but because he usually finished far too sooner than them, the two of them rarely talked to each other. However, it was the first time he didn't see him at all the whole day. "He woke up unusually early today. Having finished with his training, he went somewhere together with his friends. Why? Did you miss him?" Anders asked while carrying a mocking smile. "Yes! As much as he misses me every day," Sirius replied ironically. The two of them were incompatible like water and fire. The only reason they conversed sometimes was because Ajamu wanted periodically to mock him during the training. Lu