Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

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RORY

Weeping and pain coursed through all of me. I'd only just turned over in the night, unaware of anything, really, but when I felt my daughter's agony, I was up in a heart beat. Sly didn't move, so I grabbed a robe, sending calming waves over Bitsy. I knew what was wrong, and I wasn't surprised.

Bitsy was a tender girl, quiet, kept to herself. Remember what I told you when she bonded Ori the salamander? At the age of two, she'd been largely dependent on telepathy, but'd developed language skills enough to get around just fine in the world.

But it was her emotional sensitivity that caused her struggles. She loved freely and openly and didn't understand why people were sarcastic or short. Tiny things would send her into downward spirals. But she always had a friend to rely on: Ori. And he'd given her a place to retreat to that was even more of a comfort to her than her mom and dad.

Did that sting? Sometimes, but I'd decided long ago to accept my little girl exactly as she was, and that meant letting her disappear into a quiet world with her bonded amphibian when she wanted to. But now, those days were over, and I didn't know how we'd get through it.

Bitsy was on the floor of the guest room in the vacation apartment next to the travel terrarium her Dah had made for Ori, and she had him clutched to her chest, shaking with quiet sobs. I wrapped my arms, body, and whole soul around her and cried with her. I remembered every ache I felt as a ten-year-old girl when my mirka Plix had passed, and I'd never wanted my daughter to go through that.

But that's exactly what happened. Ori was old, and his life'd been unnaturally long since he'd bonded Bitsy. We'd talked about his age a lot in the past year, getting ready for this eventuality, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Bitsy's whole being, all of her sweet, sensitive heart, and her innocent mind reached out to me, and I held her with all that I was.

We didn't get moments like that with Bits very often. She just wasn't that open telepathically. She'd always been more reserved, more withdrawn, but without Ori to cling to mentally, she reached out to me, and I met her with all the love and acceptance I could.

I'd always said emotion was my superpower, but I was a fool wasn't I? I used emotion, feeling. I captured it in book covers and art. I marketed big, sweeping feelings to pull people into a scene, to get them to buy, or to entice them to want something they might've had no interest in. But most of the time, I liked emotions to be something that could be explained and put into tidy spots that made sense.

But that wasn't what feelings were, was it? Nope. They were just there, reactions. Powerful balls of smashing sensation that rumbled through a person knocking everything down until it was ready to get back up again.

Oh why, why Cosmos? Why did children have to hurt? Why did sweet, innocents like Bitsy weep?

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That was the heart of emotion: that we didn't know, couldn't explain. It just was.

Bitsy and I cried for what felt like hours, and I wasn't surprised when her Dah and brother joined us on the bedroom floor, wrapping themselves around us and cradling us in all the love they possessed. Dawn kissed the sky when my daughter had cried herself out, so we made our way to the Ayela Arcana Sanctuary and dug a small hole for Ori.

We weren't the only ones out in the early morning light. There were mirkas hopping all around, curious, munching on peppers, or darting up tree limbs.

"You wanna say good bye, Bits?" Slydar asked as he smoothed the ground over the hole where Ori lay then covered it with fresh orange blossoms we'd picked from the nearby trees.

Bitsy shook her head quietly, biting her lip, her mental presence closed off as usual.

"Ori, you were a friend like no other, and we loved you with our whole hearts. Thank you for keeping my sister company all these years."

A sob squeaked outta Bits, and her brother put an arm around her shoulder as he continued.

"I'll miss you everyday, but Bitsy will miss you more. Our family has songs about those we love always being with us on the breeze, so you follow the winds, and we'll listen for you. That way, you're never far away."

And then he opened his mouth, and the song rose out of him as it had his great-grandpa Ren so many years before: "I heard you on the breeze, just like always."

I added my harmonies to Switch's soft song. "I feel how near you are. You are all love and all things. We'll sing together, for always."

It was a song, but it was more than a song. It was a promise. That everything we love is always nearby, and nothing is ever truly gone. None of us were surprised when we caught the scent of costamelon, clear mountain springs, and acrid coffee. Everyone we loved was right there with us, keeping us close in our moment of grief.

We weren't the only ones comforted by Switch's song; the mirkas paid attention. And as we left the sanctuary, a solid black one scampered up Bitsy's leg, over her shoulder, and into her hair.

The laugh that rolled outta my daughter was echoed in the pulse of joy she sent out.

"Lola," she cried, knowing the creature's name immediately. And the little mirka trilled in happiness as my daughter giggled. Relief rippled through me. Yes, it was another animal bonded, and yes, it would one day pass on as well, but for now, Bitsy had a new companion, and mirkas could live a long time. It was going to be okay.

Sly wrapped his arm around my shoulder and whispered accross my mind. Looks like we had more than one reason to come to Shurwinn, babe. Didn't think we'd be going home with a mirka, did we?

Mental head shake from me.

This is right. The sanctuary, our family on the breeze, Switch's song. All of it fits, he finished.

Nod from me. Exactly. All of it fit like a puzzle coming together, but what was the whole shape of it? There was always so much we didn't understand, and usually, I didn't dwell on it too much.

I had family I loved, and they'd disappeard to the Unknown Cosmos. We felt them or caught their scents wafting on the breeze, and that was enough.

But sometimes, it was almost eerie how things lined up, and a lot of that seemed to center on Bitsy and Switch. Our kids. I didn't really wanna think about that too much, so I let the thought go.

But that didn't really work did it? No, reality had something else it wanted to tell me, and it wouldn't be ignored, so you'll hear about that in a bit.

My family stayed ten days on my home sphere, and we traveled all over doing fun vacation things like snorkeling and visiting the monastery that'd inspired the cartoon Nala's Tales From The Monastery. The kids had fun seeing the old copies of Chaludra in Media Oasis Library, and they loved the restaurant J's Ale House even more.

It was a tour of nostalgia for me, but a desert delight for them, and the whole trip thoroughly indoctrinated my kids into the path of Sibsil Creed. Slydar'd been right: introducing them at that age was perfect because there was enough content that was off limits to keep teenagers interested.

And once they got into the idea of joining the family secret identity business, well, they never really got past it, did they? Nope, next generation on board. Mission accomplished.