The Starry Night
The Starry Night
Dorcas pads quietly up the remaining steps of the staircase. They find themself standing breathless in awe as they gaze around at the view. When Marlene had asked them to meet them at the astronomy tower, this was not what they had expected.
The shimmering stars barely lit the room, the moon casting the palest of silver glows on everything. Dorcas peered around, their eyes gradually adjusting to the light. Across from the staircase, there was a blanket laid out. Dorcas could make out the shape of what they assumed was snacks littered across the fabric. To the left of the blanket was what looked like a tall bottle and two glasses. Dorcas’ face pulled into a small smile. They couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
Dorcas finally spotted Marlene in the darkness, her hair shining slightly in the glow of the sky. She was sitting on the ledge, legs dangling off into the breeze of the night. Dorcas’ breath hitched at the sight of her- and they couldn’t tell if it was because of the danger, or simply the sight of Marlene. Dorcas stepped forward, about to chide Marlene’s reckless behaviour when they were stopped in their tracks.
Above Dorcas, the whole ceiling suddenly lit up with tiny flickering lights. Dorcas stared up into the eaves, trying to figure out what the light source was. The lights were littered around the ceiling, flickering intermittently. They listened closely, and realised the silence had been occupied. By an ambient buzzing. Then they realised. Fireflies.
“You found me then.” Marlene stated, standing up from her perch and walking across to Dorcas. Dorcas reluctantly tore their eyes from the ceiling. “Yeah.. yeah I did.”, they breathed, “How did you…?” they questioned, pointing up to the humming lights. Marlene simply smiled and tapped her nose, knowingly. She was standing so close to Dorcas that they could see her cheeky grin in the darkness. Dorcas felt their cheeks heat up with blush, and silently thanked the darkness for providing cover.
Marlene stealthily slipped her hand into Dorcas’ and began pulling them in the direction of the blanket. Dorcas squeezed Marlene’s hand, still not quite believing that their first proper date was almost literally under the stars. Dorcas didn’t know how to begin to describe the beauty of the whole thing. They were speechless.
Marlene collapsed onto one side of the blanket, crossing her legs and wrapping her hand around the neck of the bottle. Dorcas sat opposite, mirroring Marlene. Here, Dorcas could see the spread more clearly, and saw that the bottle was champagne. Where Marlene had acquired something like that, Dorcas couldn’t begin to imagine - and they weren’t sure they actually wanted to. “Do you want some?” Marlene asked, nodding to the glasses beside them. Dorcas nodded, drinking in every inch of Marlene under the moonlight. They couldn’t understand how they had gotten so lucky.
Marlene poured the drinks and gently passed one to Dorcas. Dorcas tried to ignore the spark they felt as Marlene’s fingers brushed theirs. Marlene smiled her special smile and raised her own glass. Dorcas followed, and their glasses clinked quietly. “This is beautiful” Dorcas whispered, looking around at their surroundings again. “It is. Perfect for you.” Marlene replied, with a wink. Dorcas rolled their eyes but chuckled lightly despite themself. Marlene shuffled around the snacks laid on the blanket to sit right next to Dorcas.
“Hi” Dorcas said, leaning into Marlene’s side, breathing her in. “Hi,” Marlene replied, wrapping her arm around Dorcas’ shoulders. “I want to show you something.” Marlene whispered, leaning back and pulling Dorcas down with her. The two of them laid side by side, gazing up at the flickering ceiling. Dorcas watched as the glimmering continued. Marlene drew her wand out from her pocket and waved it lightly at the ceiling. The flickering bugs stopped, plunging the room into almost total darkness. Nothing lit the room except the natural starlight. Dorcas listened as Marlene murmured something under her breath. Dorcas’ breath hitched again as they saw the ceiling disappear. “What the-” they mumbled. Marlene pulled them in tighter to her side, watching Dorcas’ reaction. “Now we can really be under the stars” She whispered, before planting a delicate kiss on Dorcas’ cheek. And Dorcas could swear, they had never been so happy.