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“Without dreams, there can be no courage. And without courage, there can be no action.”
-- Wim Wenders
It’s been five years since Ellie last saw Aster Flores. The last time they met ended with a kiss that felt like a promise of a beginning they dared dream only to be kept for another time. Ellie rode home on her bicycle that day thinking maybe Camus’ theory was wrong after all.
In those five years, they both lead parallel lives but never intersecting even while they came back to Squahamish for the holidays. Ellie graduated from Grinnell, top of her class no less. She made some friends here and there but never really got the hang of dating. One girl she dated loved foreign films but hated rock music. Another girl she dated loved reading but only romance novels and didn’t see the point of discussing philosophy or current issues. Ellie knows none of them could understand her like Aster did. All of her and her barely repressed longing.
Aster moved to New York for art school. She waitressed in coffeeshops and worked part time for a renowned artist to pay the bills. Her parents weren’t too happy at first but they saw the determination in their daughter’s eyes and eventually agreed. For the first time in her life, she could breathe. New York became her playground to explore and define who she really is and wants to be. She flourished. Her art made it to exhibitions and she painted great paintings. Aster became another pretty face in New York but among the chaos that is the city, she found solace. The obvious unseen. She had found people like her. If you look closely to her art, you can still find Ellie Chu in it as though she had never left.
Five years is a lot of time for self-discovery. Ellie and Aster gave each other space for themselves to grow. They hadn’t contacted each other ever since that day but the promise of the kiss remains. The truth was they were teenagers longing to be part of something bigger than themselves. To prove to themselves, the world was bigger than this small town. Squahamish was their jumping-off point and their leap of faith brought them to discoveries that would eventually lead them back to each other.
It was a chilly October afternoon in New York when fate decided to step in. Ellie had made a trip there to meet her favourite author at a writing conference. Once it was over, she decided to spend the day roaming the city by herself. Iowa was a whole different planet compared to New York. Naturally, she found herself drawn towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She couldn’t help but quietly think to herself how Aster would love a place like this.
Ellie paid for her ticket and began admiring the artwork. She couldn’t help but silently awe to herself. The beauty of the museum took her breath away. This is a feeling she has been longing for but deep down, it reminded her of Aster and her longing to share this with her. She allows herself to feel for a moment. She imagines Aster’s hand in hers walking by each and every art piece, pointing out details other people would’ve missed and smiling at her when she finish her thoughts. It brought her some kind of peace imagining it as though a piece of Aster is here with her. Ellie lets herself smile at that thought.
She continues walking, trying to soak up as much information and details of each exhibit as possible. She lets the memory of Aster Flores wander through the museum with her as company. She manages to reach the Greek and Roman Art section of the museum before the intercom echoes throughout the museum informing visitors they are about to close in fifteen minutes. Ellie’s eyes quickly look around to make mental notes for the next time she visits the museum again. Her eyes immediately lock onto a familiar figure. “It can’t be.” she whispers to herself. She blinks rapidly a few times as though the figure would disappear after.
There she was. Aster Flores looking at a painting in the Greek and Roman Art section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Ellie stood frozen as all the memories flood back in. She knew she had to make a choice now or let the chance of a beginning slip away.
If there is one thing she’s learnt, you have to make the first bold stroke. And that’s what she did.
“Which is the boldest stroke?” she asks referring to everything else but the painting, as she stood beside the girl who she had fallen for many years ago.Aster turned her head so quick, she swore the world around kept spinning. Everything was out of focus, except for the girl whose voice it belonged to.
“You. It’s always been you.” Aster replies. The gravity of those words hang in the air. Ellie understood everything it meant.
Time comes to a halt. The voice from the PA system sounds like its miles away to the both of them. Their eyes speak to each other. People are exiting the building, blissfully unaware of the two worlds colliding.
“Excuse me. The museum is closed.” the voice of a museum employee snaps them back to reality.
Both of them offer an apology and made their way out. As they walked down the steps of the museum, not a word was said. Neither could come up with words that would translate the entirety of what they were feeling but the way Aster’s hand slipped into Ellie’s said it all.
They were reaching the last few steps before Aster gently tugged Ellie’s hand and placed her other hand on her cheek, guiding the other girl’s lips to hers. And they kissed. Both could feel the other’s smile against their own.
Aster was sure now. Ellie knew.
Their parallel lives have intersected once again and this time, they do not part ways. Even the Greek Gods do not dare break them apart.