Work Text:
Many years ago
“That Eridanus” Himeko pointed to the night sky, splattered with various sizes of stars. “It was originally catalogued by Greek astronomer… Hipparchus? No….It was Claudius Ptolemy. In the…3rd? Wait no 2nd century.”
Himeko catches Kafka looking at her and asks. “Is there anything on my face?” Kafka blinks immediately and shakes her head. “No, just switched off for a little” Kafka looked back at the night sky “And that’s Cassiopeia correct?” Himeko’s mouth gaped. “Who told you that?! Do you have someone else that is telling you about stars?” Himeko pouted. The younger, purple-haired girl giggled. “Why? Are you jealous, my star?” Kafka joked.
“Yes,” Himeko replied immediately. “I wanna be the only person that tells you about stars.” Kafka looked blankly at Himeko before bawling into laughter. “Don’t worry Himeko; you’re the only one who tells me about the stars. I only know because you’ve told me that one before.”
“Promise there’s no one else?” Himeko brought out her pinkie finger. Kafka interlocked her own with it. “Promise.”
So Himeko continued to ramble all about stars and once again, Kafka gets lost in the beauty of the older girl next to her. The way she frowned when she was trying to remember the name of the astronomer or the way her face would light up when she got it right. Kafka loved every bit of it. She pointed out various stars and Kafka gave a very weak reply each time. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes felt like hours. Kafka’s mother had called her countless times but she ignored each and every single one. It probably wasn’t important anyway.
“Did you hear what I said?” Himeko tapped Kafka’s shoulder and she blinked back into reality. “You’re staring once again, is everything okay?”
Can I kiss you? Kafka thought but instead of just thinking it, she said it. Out loud. For Himeko to hear.
The both of them stayed silent and neither of them said anything for minutes. Kafka stayed down on the ground and collected bugs of all shapes and sizes while Himeko stood up and stared at the stars. Even when she is quiet, she is still as beautiful as ever, Kafka thought. A soft breeze made Himeko’s long hair sway.
“Come,” Himeko suddenly spoke. “There’s a village near that’s hosting a night banquet. Let’s go” Himeko was already walking before had the chance to reply. They stuffed their faces with various foods and played many games. It was they had forgotten what Kafka had said not too long ago. Kafka had been sunk into a pool at one of the games and was trying to dry her clothes and hair.
“I once asked my mother why she kissed father but never kissed other people.” Himeko suddenly spoke. “She said that a kiss is intimate. Something that you should only do when you are sure you love them.” Himeko took the damp towel from Kafka and wrapped it around both of them so no one would see them. “So yes, you can kiss me.” Kafka stayed still for a couple of seconds before putting her hands on Himeko’s soft cheeks. She caressed her cheek before slowly leaning in.
It wasn’t like anything Kafka thought it would be. She did not like it. Not one bit. She absolutely adored it. Himeko’s lips were softer than anything Kafka could imagine. Neither of them fought for power – it was as gentle as a mother singing to her baby. And when they pulled away from each other, Kafka saw that Himeko was still keeping her eyes shut.
“Did that…please you?” Kafka whispered. Himeko put the back of her hand on her lips and the younger girl expected Himeko to wipe off the kiss but she just mumbled out a couple words. “I need to go” Himeko dropped the towel and started to walk frantically back to her house. “W-wait, Himeko!” Kafka quickly put her shoes back on and almost fell running to Himeko “I’m sorry!” Himeko didn’t stop walking, in fact, it felt like she walked even faster. “Please, don’t come follow me!” Himeko shouted as she sprinted toward her house. Kafka slowly stopped running and let Himeko go.
Himeko’s chest heaved up and down as she placed her back onto her bedroom door. Mother said it felt good – not it feeling like ascending to heaven. She relived the moment repeatedly in her head as she walked round her room – getting ready for the next day. Once it was midnight, she still couldn’t get over how it felt like a star exploding. Like time completely stopped and waited for them. Eventually, Himeko slept with a wide smile plastered on her face.
The next day, Himeko went to their usual spot to see that Kafka wasn’t there. She sent multiple messages but none was sent back. She even once went to Kafka’s house but her father said that Kafka wasn’t home. She knew he was lying because she could see Kafka playing the violin from her bedroom window. Instead of pestering on, she just left. This happened for days on end until when Himeko was reading in her bedroom, she glanced outside to see Kafka putting a suitcase into the back of a car. She sprinted out of her room and did not even bother to put on her shoes. Kafka heard the sound of footsteps racing towards her so she turned and almost toppled over when Himeko hugged her.
“Please. Don’t leave me here alone.” Himeko sobbed into Kafka’s shoulder. “Please.”
Kafka embraced Himeko tighter into the hug and fought back tears. “I’m afraid that I don’t have a choice, my star.” Kafka let go of Himeko and saw Himeko’s bloodshot eyes. How can someone cry so much in that little time? “When will you be back?” her voice was hoarse. Kafka’s face fell. Himeko knew the answer. The younger girl worked up the courage once again to caress the other's cheek as she had done a couple of nights before. “No matter where,” Kafka gave a weak smile “I will find you. Somehow. Even if it takes 500 years.”
Kafka let go of Himeko’s face and entered the car. Not even a second later, the car drove off into the distance leaving Himeko crying.
Present time
Himeko looked at the image of the star once again and tried to remember what the name was. She looked through her notes but she could not find it. Cassiopeia? No, it can’t be. Cancer? Maybe. Himeko grew more and more frustrated as she couldn’t remember. Someone came to look at the picture as well. The person wore sunglasses and a coat indoors which made Himeko think that it was quite unnecessary. She ignored the person and continued to look for the plaque, which would show the name.
“Eridanus constellation.” The person with the sunglasses started talking. “Discovered by Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.” Himeko thought the person was just rudely talking but then realized that they said the name of the star. “In the 2nd century, if I remember correctly”
Himeko was stunned. “Wow, I’m impressed. Where did you study?” Himeko walked towards the person. “I didn’t study astronomy,” the person said simply, still not taking off their sunglasses. “Just have a friend who loves stars.” The more that the person talked, the more captivated Himeko got. “And that is Cassiopeia.” The person pointed over to another picture of a constellation.
This time, Himeko knew the name of the star and nodded. “You must really love listening to your friend talking about stars. I used to ramble about stars to my best friend but…” Himeko took a deep breath “She’s gone.”
“I always loved listening to your rambles.” The person removed their sunglasses and Himeko immediately recognized the lilac eyes. She dropped her notepad and covered her mouth with her hands.
“Kafka?”
Kafka chuckled. “I’m here, my star.”