Look, a guest writer (those always makes me happy), and a long, lovely story!  The Seventh Short Story is back!  Be sure to catch Micaiah at her own blog, Notebooks and Novels, where she posts writing tips and lots of other fun stuff.

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The Star-Catcher by Micaiah Saldaña

All of the best stories start with “once upon a time.” This, dear reader, is not one of those stories. Instead, this story will begin with a star-dance, a wandering knight, and a star-catcher with a cloak as black as night. For you see, a long, long time ago, in the age of kings and castles, one could lay on one’s back, look up at the sky, and watch the stars dance.

The lords and their ladies would watch from their castle windows. Knights would beg for guard duty, if only to see the silver-haired star-maidens skipping about on feet that had never touched a thing called ground. Peasants would peek out of their homes. Wide-eyed children would clap at the sight. All people watched. All people stood in awe at the star-dance.

There once was a star who danced more beautifully than any of the other stars. There once was a blue-eyed boy with a restless soul. There once was a man who wanted nothing more than to catch a falling star. This, dear reader, is their story.

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“Do you want to see the stars tonight, dear one?”

Little eyes blinked open, and cracked lips spread into a smile as bright as the sun. “Yes, please, Daddy.”

Luca Medici picked up his little Gabriela from her bed. He, unlike his daughter, was not smiling. Luca had never been one for smiles, but now that his sweet girl was ill, he was sure that a smile would never grace his lips again. But, smile or no, he picked his ailing child up and took her to see the star-dance.

While wonder flitted through her eyes at the silvery swishing of star-folk, his own were blind to the spectacle above. For how could stars dance when his daughter was dying?

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