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“Good evening, Doctor De Kuiper, how are you doing?” Moira asked the man, as she entered his room. He didn’t respond, his head seemingly in the clouds and facing the one window in his room. “Erm, Doctor?” She called for him again.
He quickly snapped his head to look at her. “Hm? Oh, good evening, Doctor O’Deorain. I apologize. Have you come by to check up on my response to your treatment?”
“Yes, actually. How are you feeling?” She asked in an innocuous tone.
“Oh, I feel delightful! My mind is clear, and the voices in my head have subsided mostly.” He beamed, as he gazed out the window once more. “I’ve been admiring the stars, looking for a comet. Come, come…” He beckoned her. She stepped forward to stand beside him, and looked up to the sky.
“Looking for constellations, I assume?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
“How did you guess?”
“Well, you haven’t stopped talking about it for days now.”
“Oh. My apologies. Sometimes I get carried away when I get excited and I—“
“I know you do. But what constellations have you found?”
“I’ve found the constellation of Pisces. Tell me, Doctor, when is your birthday?”
“The fourth of April.”
“Ah, so you’re an Aries…”
“Oh God, you’re not going to read my horoscope for me, are you?”
He laughed heartily for a moment, “No no, dear Doctor O’Deorain! While the prospect of having certain aspects of human relationships and personalities being influenced by the stars sounds interesting… I don’t believe in any of that.”
Moira exhaled in relief. She hadn’t had a moment to relax before the enthusiastic man took her hand to pull her closer to him.
“See, the constellation of Aries is right here.” He then traced the shape of Aries in the sky with his other hand. He still wasn’t letting go of her.
Her cheeks flushed a light red as she followed the motions of his tracing in the sky. “I see… so that means Picses should be near… and Taurus, Triangulum, and the planet Jupiter…”
His eyes widened, with a delighted glimmer within. “Very impressive, Doctor! How did you know?”
“Well. I listened to you talking about them…”
“You listen to my ramblings?”
“Yes. They’re rather… relaxing.”
Siebren blushed, as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah… thank you. Say, i-is the boss still in?”
Moira raised her brow. “Hm? No, I believe he already left. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, um… because I would like to go outside to see more of the night sky. But I know he would not be too pleased if I left.”
Moira scoffed. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll answer to him should he question anything. Do you mind if I join you?”
Siebren smiled at her, offering her his hand. “I was going to invite you to join me next. I suppose you beat me to the punch.”
She chuckled, as she took his hand. “I suppose I did.” She allowed him to lead the way out. To her shock, she was surprised when he led her through a mysterious stairwell just down the hall. “How did you discover this passageway, Doctor?”
“Ah, well… I happened upon this by accident, actually.” Once they reached the end of the staircase, he opened a door. It seems to have led them to the roof- a perfect view of the night sky and all its stars. “And accidents can lead to the most amazing discoveries.”
The woman looked up at the breathtaking display. It was a simple beauty in life, but it still had her in awe. “Indeed… they can.”
He looked over at her, and was pleasantly surprised to see Doctor O’Deorain with a softer expression. “I take it that you’re enjoying the view?”
“Of course. It reminds me of a simpler time. When I was a child, I would count the stars from my bedroom window before I went to sleep.” She fondly recalled, as she sighed. “I do not look up and admire the beauty of Earth. But now I realize that maybe I should… at least every once in a while.”
“Certainly. The world always has something beautiful to offer… no matter how dismal and bleak things may seem.” They remained silent for a moment, until he looked at her. “Perhaps I can offer you a better perspective.”
“What do you mean by that?” She asked curiously. The next thing she knew, he had swept her off her feet with practically no effort and was in his arms, bridal style. She was a fairly tall woman, but at the moment, she felt quite small. Not like she entirely minded. “...You’re just full of surprises tonight, aren’t you?” Her arms instinctively wrapped around him as she looked up at him.
“I suppose so, but that certainly wasn’t my intention. I merely wanted to show you a good time.” He smiled down at her, as he held her securely and close to him. He then began to float further up. The further up they went, the tighter the woman’s grip got around his neck. He winced as he looked down at her. “Are you alright? You’re uh… holding onto me rather tight…”
“Don’t worry. I’m alright… just not used to being airborne.” She snuggled closer to him. “But I trust you not to drop me.”
“I would never.” He squeezed her gently, in an attempt to comfort her. Seemingly, it worked, as he could no longer feel her nails digging into his skin.
Her gaze remained locked on the night sky, because heaven forbid she looked down, she’d probably spiral. Her head rested against him. “You were right. The perspective from above is even better than from below. It’s simply… beautiful.”
“I still am in awe of the night sky, even after all these years. Though I must say, it’s even more stunning than normal.”
“Why is that?” She asked, somewhat puzzled by his response. It wouldn’t be the first or last time she was baffled by his ramblings.
“It’s because you’re here. You bring beauty wherever you go… you burn bright, like a supernova.”
Her cheeks flushed. That certainly was far from what she was expecting to hear from him. She hardly knew what to say. “Wow.. um, thank you, but what has prompted that?”
“I’ve read articles about you and your work and… I find your determination, courage and innovation to be fascinating! Always wanting to push limits, make a change… I admire that.”
She just had one question for him, “But do you believe my work is monstrous?”
He blinked. Sure, there were some questionable ethics… But there is no doubt that she has made some important discoveries. “I don’t believe you are. You’ve managed to make impressive discoveries and advancements. I find it very admirable, despite the controversies about it.”
She didn’t say anything, but instead she simply hugged him. “Thank you. You are the only one who understands.”
He returned her hug, smiling slightly as he embraced her. But she took it a step further. She leaned in, and kissed him gently on the lips… and when she did that, his heartrate doubled instantly. But then he looked at her, his face flushed. “Doctor, a-are you feeling alright? Are you becoming sick from the altitude? Or the nerves from the height?”
It certainly wasn’t altitude sickness, but she was definitely feeling something in her head- a lightheaded feeling. “No, no… it’s not that, or that either. It’s just… I can’t explain it.” But she really wanted to kiss him again.
“And you’re sure you’re feeling well?”
“I assure you, I’m alright. I’ve never been better, actually.”
He sighed in relief. “Excellent… excellent. I was worried for a moment.”
After a moment of silence, she asked, “May I kiss you again?”
“Of course.”
And then she kissed him again. This time, though, he reciprocated. After a few moments, she broke the kiss.
“Tonight was very nice. Shall we do it again sometime?” She asked, one of her hands now resting on his chest.
He smiled at her warmly. “Of course. I’d be delighted to.”