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The view of the sky in exile was nice. It was probably one of the things Tommy appreciated the most. There wasn’t much light pollution, so the stars were clearly visible. Even better, there was a small hill that was decently away from whatever light Tommy had on.
He loved staring at the sky.
On clear days, the bright blue sky held so much depth. It reminded Tommy of when his mom would compare his eyes to the sky (they weren’t that bright anymore). When it was stormy, he loved to see the intricacies of the clouds. He could see their layers, it looked even better when lightning lit up the sky.
And at night?
Tommy loved to see the sky at night.
He knew space was vast, full of things he couldn’t even fathom. Stars that looked so small to him were giant in reality. When stars fell, it felt like there was someone up there, exploring the galaxies.
And maybe, if there was someone up there, they were alone. He felt some sort of solidarity with them. With that fictional astronaut who explored the cosmos alone. They were like Tommy, wandering through the world, no one on his side.
It wasn’t always like this for him, though. He’d had people. People he thought had cared.
Maybe it was the same for that astronaut. Maybe they went to explore space because everyone left them. Maybe they decided that instead of wasting their efforts on people who would leave and leave and leave, they should live life for themselves.
Tommy didn’t think he could do that. He didn’t even get the choice to leave L’Manburg. He was forced out, exiled by his best friend. Almost no one had come to visit him since. No one except for Dream and—
“Tommy?”
The familiar voice sent fear into his heart, but it wasn’t malicious like in older memories. This was the voice of someone innocent. Ghostbur. He didn’t mind the ghost. To be honest, he preferred Ghostbur to Wilbur.
Wilbur hadn’t always been...the best in those last few months.
“Hey, Ghostbur,” Tommy said, “What are you doing here?”
“I just came to visit you! I missed you, Tommy.” Tommy resisted the urge to scoff. It seemed fake that someone would miss him, but he wasn’t sure Ghostbur had the capacity to lie. “What are you doing?”
“Stargazing.”
Ghostbur paused, then lay down next to Tommy. “Okay.”
They stayed there for a while, just staring up at the skies. Every now and then Ghostbur would enthusiastically point out a shooting star. He also showed Tommy some constellations, ones that had been taught to both of them by Techno (though he wasn’t sure if the ghost remembered that).
It was nice, not having to worry for a moment. No governments, no countries, no explosions, no put your armor in the hole, Tommy or no one cares about you apart from me. Just him, Ghostbur, and the sky. He could almost pretend this was back when they were kids and lying in the backyard. Back when all they had to worry about was when Techno and Phil would be back, and what they should have for dinner that night.
Those days were long gone, but for now, he could pretend.