Chapter Text
[Click]
[Click]
[Pearl]
Are you sure we have to do this?
[Grian]
Yes. Even though it was probably just a dream, you still should record it. At least to take your mind off of it.
[Pearl]
Fine.
But only if you buy me coffee.
[Grian]
Deal.
[Pearl]
And lunch?
[Grian]
Pearl.
[Pearl]
(Laughs) Okay! I’ll talk!
Do I just start, or…
[Grian]
Yes, after I do this.
Statement of Pearl Moon, regarding…
[Pearl]
A strange dream?
[Grian]
Statement recorded direct from subject, October 23, 2024. Statement begins.
[Pearl]
I’ve always loved the night sky.
Back when I was a kid, I lived way out in the middle of the outback. The sky there isn’t like the sky here at all—there aren’t really any tall buildings to block the view, and there’s no light pollution to blot out the stars. I could just lay in the bed of my mom’s truck and stargaze for hours, my eyes sweeping from one horizon to the other. The first two years of high school, I got really into star charts—the navigational ones that seafarers use. I guess I’ve always liked the idea that the stars can be used to guide you home, no matter how lost you get.
Sometimes, when I was out there, it felt like the rest of the world would fade out, and it would be just me and the sky. Did you ever do that thing when you were younger, where you sort of prop yourself up so you’re standing on your head, so you’re hanging over this big, endless pit of blue? I would do that, but it wasn’t scary. It was…nice. Part of me always wondered what would happen if I actually fell in.
Would the stars catch me, or would I just keep falling?
I kept the habit when I moved to London, even though it’s terrible for stargazing. Half the nights you can barely see the color of the sky, let alone the stars. And they’re different stars anyways, different hemispheres, “upside-down” and all that, but I would always find myself out on the balcony, searching for them anyways.
It was about a week ago when something changed.
I was in my pajamas—ironically, the space themed ones—standing on my balcony. The sky was clear, and the stars were completely visible, and the moon was bigger than normal. Not, like, a lot bigger. Maybe only two or three times bigger than normal? But definitely bigger.
It hung, full and bright, in the sky, and I stared up at, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. It almost…it almost seemed to get bigger as I looked at it, until it was filling up my whole field of vision.
I don’t know how long I was out there, staring up at the too big moon and the too many stars, but eventually I realized it must have been getting late, and went to look away, and…
I couldn’t.
Or, well, I could. It’s more like I just couldn’t see anything. I could move my head, but when I did, the moon and stars were still there, right in front of my eyes. I could still feel the railing beneath my hand, but it was sort of…blurry. It looked almost like it was outlined with a faint trail of stardust. Everything was outlined in stardust. Everything that was supposed to be there instead of stars, that is. I was outlined too, but my outline didn’t look like the rest.
Mine was brighter, and white, like the moon.
You know…it was actually really beautiful, if not disorienting. It was like what I’ve imagined floating in space must feel like, millions of miles away, surrounded by nothing but expanse. Even when I closed my eyes, there were still stars there, twinkling at me from afar…(Distant) beckoning me to join them…
Hmm? Oh, sorry. Right. Statement…
After fumbling around for a minute, I carefully felt my way back inside. It’s a good thing I left the door open, because I’m not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t. I tried to keep my hands on something at all times as I went, some handle, or carpet, or furniture. I don’t know why I did. I guess I just felt like that was the only thing anchoring me in place, and if I lost track of where I really was…
I’d just drift away.
Eventually I found my way back to my bedroom, and crawled into bed. I drew the blanket up around me, and once I did, I felt a lot more…stable? Secure? I felt secure, like I knew the blanket would keep me in one spot. After that, it was just like when I was a kid, staring up at the sky from the bed of a pickup truck. The blanket was edged in stardust, and the stars were all around me, holding me close.
It…it should have scared me—I know it should have—but for some reason all I could feel was safe. The moon still hung big and bright and white above me, and I could tell it was watching over me, just like it watched over the stars.
I wanted…I wanted to touch it. I reached my hand out, but I couldn’t reach it, not quite. The space was too vast, and it was too far away. That made me a little sad, because I really wanted to.
Eventually, I think I fell asleep? I don’t really remember, but at some point I opened my eyes, and it was morning, and everything was back to normal.
Or at least, almost normal. The stardust and the sky sort of…lingered, before they fully went away. Like, I could still see them behind everything. I guess I must have still been waking up. The world definitely felt smaller though, more confined. As soon as I woke up fully, I wanted to go outside, and once I was outside, I was fine.
And…that’s it. Honestly Grian, I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss about it. Since when did you believe in the meanings of weird dreams?
[Grian]
I…I don’t. I was just worried, that’s all. It only happened once though…right?
[Pearl]
(Hesitates) Yes.
What’s with the look?
[Grian]
Nothing…it’s just…nothing. Thanks for giving me your statement. Now…
(Sighs) Where do you want to go for lunch?
[Pearl]
Lunch and coffee, remember? And Five Guys.
Extra pickles.
[Click]
[Click]
[Grian]
I…I know it shouldn’t be possible—there has to be a logical explanation—but I don’t know how else to explain it…
Pearl has stars in her pupils.
[Click]