“but I forgot he’s not allowed in the night sky until winter.”
I regretted my words as soon as they left my lips, expecting him to run from the geek hiding behind tight clothes and bold makeup.
“Orion? Is that a constellation?” he asked, his voice sweet and soft.
It had a warm thickness to it, like molasses, and he sounded genuinely interested in my response. I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Why is it not allowed in the sky?”
His voice was tinged with curiosity as he turned back toward the stars. My body slumped in relief when he was no longer studying me.
“Because the scorpion is in the sky. See? There he is.” I pointed at the constellation above.
He followed the direction in which my finger pointed and looked at the sky closely.
“They’re not allowed in the sky together, so Scorpius shows himself in the summer and Orion shines in the winter.”
“Why can’t the two constellations share the sky?” he asked, his face drawn in confusion.
“Um, well …” His spicy scent washed over me, and I filled my lungs with the smell, memorizing it. “There’re different versions of the story, but I’ll tell you my favorite if you’re really interested.”
He nodded slowly, eyes on my face before they turned back to the heavens above.
“Orion was a great hunter who spent the majority of his time avoiding people. He was somewhat nocturnal, hunting and fishing at night and resting during the day. One of those nights the moon goddess, Artemis, spied him down below as she flew across the night sky.
“She wanted to leave the sky and tell Orion she’d fallen in love with him, but she was a goddess and Orion was a mortal. If Zeus, her father, found out her secret affections, he would kill them both.
“One night, Artemis decided she couldn’t hide her feelings for him anymore. She began sneaking out of the sky to hunt with him night after night. Orion fell in love with her as well.
“Zeus somehow found out about his daughter’s reckless behavior and hatched a plan to end the affair. He commanded a giant scorpion to drop down on the land where Orion slept. Orion awoke and began fighting the scorpion, but the scorpion killed him.”
“What happened next?” he asked.
“Artemis arrived just after it happened, finding her lover dead. She grabbed the scorpion in a rage and flung him high into the heavens where he became the constellation Scorpius. Artemis carried Orion to the heavens, opposite of the scorpion that assassinated him so they’d never have to share the same night sky.”
There was a lengthy pause before he blew out a deep breath. “That’s the saddest, most depressing story I’ve ever heard.”
I burst into laughter. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“How do you know so much about the constellations?”
“My father and I used to search for them on clear nights. I’ve always loved studying the night sky, looking for comets and shooting stars. The mechanics of how everything works so perfectly together: gravity, mass, weightlessness. Imagine what it’s like to weigh nothing. I wonder if it’s like floating in the water with your eyes closed, or maybe something entirely different. The universe is so vast and so unexplored. There’s so much out there that we’ll probably never know about. The unknown terrifies, yet thrills me.”
My proverbial word vomit caused me to cringe, and my fingers searched for a strand of hair. Silky and synthetic, I locked one piece around my forefinger and twisted it tightly.
“Who are you?” he whispered.
“What’s in a name?”
“Everything. Everything is in a name. Your name tells who you are, where you come from.”
I said nothing in response but thought to myself he was absolutely right.
“If you won’t tell me your name, I’ll just call you Moon Goddess.”
His fingers brushed against my limp hand by my side. The action sent a warm, tingly feeling up my arm, a foreign, yet hauntingly familiar feeling.
“Artemis was a
I regretted my words as soon as they left my lips, expecting him to run from the geek hiding behind tight clothes and bold makeup.
“Orion? Is that a constellation?” he asked, his voice sweet and soft.
It had a warm thickness to it, like molasses, and he sounded genuinely interested in my response. I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Why is it not allowed in the sky?”
His voice was tinged with curiosity as he turned back toward the stars. My body slumped in relief when he was no longer studying me.
“Because the scorpion is in the sky. See? There he is.” I pointed at the constellation above.
He followed the direction in which my finger pointed and looked at the sky closely.
“They’re not allowed in the sky together, so Scorpius shows himself in the summer and Orion shines in the winter.”
“Why can’t the two constellations share the sky?” he asked, his face drawn in confusion.
“Um, well …” His spicy scent washed over me, and I filled my lungs with the smell, memorizing it. “There’re different versions of the story, but I’ll tell you my favorite if you’re really interested.”
He nodded slowly, eyes on my face before they turned back to the heavens above.
“Orion was a great hunter who spent the majority of his time avoiding people. He was somewhat nocturnal, hunting and fishing at night and resting during the day. One of those nights the moon goddess, Artemis, spied him down below as she flew across the night sky.
“She wanted to leave the sky and tell Orion she’d fallen in love with him, but she was a goddess and Orion was a mortal. If Zeus, her father, found out her secret affections, he would kill them both.
“One night, Artemis decided she couldn’t hide her feelings for him anymore. She began sneaking out of the sky to hunt with him night after night. Orion fell in love with her as well.
“Zeus somehow found out about his daughter’s reckless behavior and hatched a plan to end the affair. He commanded a giant scorpion to drop down on the land where Orion slept. Orion awoke and began fighting the scorpion, but the scorpion killed him.”
“What happened next?” he asked.
“Artemis arrived just after it happened, finding her lover dead. She grabbed the scorpion in a rage and flung him high into the heavens where he became the constellation Scorpius. Artemis carried Orion to the heavens, opposite of the scorpion that assassinated him so they’d never have to share the same night sky.”
There was a lengthy pause before he blew out a deep breath. “That’s the saddest, most depressing story I’ve ever heard.”
I burst into laughter. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“How do you know so much about the constellations?”
“My father and I used to search for them on clear nights. I’ve always loved studying the night sky, looking for comets and shooting stars. The mechanics of how everything works so perfectly together: gravity, mass, weightlessness. Imagine what it’s like to weigh nothing. I wonder if it’s like floating in the water with your eyes closed, or maybe something entirely different. The universe is so vast and so unexplored. There’s so much out there that we’ll probably never know about. The unknown terrifies, yet thrills me.”
My proverbial word vomit caused me to cringe, and my fingers searched for a strand of hair. Silky and synthetic, I locked one piece around my forefinger and twisted it tightly.
“Who are you?” he whispered.
“What’s in a name?”
“Everything. Everything is in a name. Your name tells who you are, where you come from.”
I said nothing in response but thought to myself he was absolutely right.
“If you won’t tell me your name, I’ll just call you Moon Goddess.”
His fingers brushed against my limp hand by my side. The action sent a warm, tingly feeling up my arm, a foreign, yet hauntingly familiar feeling.
“Artemis was a
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