‘What did I do wrong?’ She muttered, extending her arm towards the sky. ‘Why did you curse me?’
In the night covered sky, stars twinkled like jewels. It was the type of night perfect for a walk with friends, or a lone run. And there were some who were doing just that, enjoying the early night, but there were some who were unable to feel joy at the moment.
‘It can’t be!’ Lara’s voice shouted, her shaking fingers wrapping the burning sphere. ‘No-,’
But the five blinking stars were stubbornly still there.
‘Why are they there!’ Lara shouted. ‘I must be seeing something wrong, yes that’s it.’ Lara closed her eyes and ran her finger over the sphere again. The glass ball went cold as it recollected the stars once again. Lara held her breath and then waited as the sphere started to warm up again.
Please. Please be different. Please change.
The sphere started to burn painfully hot and when she couldn’t take the best anymore, she opened her eyes.
The sphere showed the splash of colors of pink, purple and orange. And in the midst of the many dotted galaxies, she saw the four shining stars.
‘Yes!’ Lara exclaimed, fist pumping in the air and then, as she peered closely, she saw a fifth star in the line. ‘No,’ she moaned, sitting back down.
The five stars shone right underneath the constellation of pisces. There was no denying it anymore, something bad was about to befall Lara.
. . .
As the morning dawned, life began to fill the streets beneath her window. Lara kept sitting, her eyes itchy from lack of sleep.
Her room door pushes open.
‘Oh my, you scared me!’ The wife of the owner of the house, Mrs Farrel yelped, her wrinkly hand coming on her heart. ‘What are you sitting in the dark for?’ She pressed a button and light spilled from the bulbs above.
Lara shielded her eyes.’Mrs Farrel please, it’s too bright.’
‘Were you up all night again?’ Mrs Ferrel glared with hands on hips. ‘You will find a master soon, Lara. You should worry this much.’
Lara rubbed her eyes and stood up. ‘No that’s not the case. Five stars last night shone right beneath Pisces in a perfect line. Something bad is going to happen to me until they scatter.’ She picked up the sphere from the desk and showed it to Mrs Farrel. She peered for a moment,.missing the fifth star in the first the just like Lara did before.
‘It’s very faint though,’ Mrs Ferrel said with a crease between her brow. She gave an empathetic smile at her. ‘Check again tonight. Maybe it is just for a day?’
Lara sighed and put the sphere back on the desk, closing her eyes just for an instant.
‘If I make it through the day, that is.’
At breakfast, she spilled her tea all over her clothes.
‘Must be due to the sleep!’ Mrs Ferrel said in a fake pretense of being joyful. ‘Nothing to worry about my dear.’
After breakfast, Lara was subjected to brutal nausea and then eventual food poisoning.
‘The eggs must’ve been uncooked!’
Lara gritted her teeth to refrain from saying anything from the bathroom.
‘Perhaps consider rechecking the stars?’ Mrs Ferrel recommended meekly when Lara stumbled out of the bathroom, her stomach still in knots. She nodded and doubled down as her stomach twisted again.
. . .
Later that night, Lara laid sprawled on the grass.
‘What did I do wrong?’ She muttered, extending her arm towards the sky. ‘Why did you curse me?’ From afar, it seemed her palm had cupped the star. She closed her first and it seemed the fifth star had ceased shining.