Speculative Short Story: "Love and Loss"

"Love and Loss" (1,100 words) is a sweet little fairy tale, somewhat of a departure from my usual twisted tales.

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Photo by Jaye Haych on Unsplash

Love and Loss

Sometimes, when a child cries, a drop of starlight—fresh as morning dew—falls from the sky. It seeks out the sad soul, landing on the child’s face, unnoticed among the tears. Once that drop of starlight hits the child’s face, they stop crying. That is why, as a child, you felt better after a good cry: your drop of starlight found its mark.

When little Lucy lost her cat and cried as though she might drown the world, her starlight left the heavens and soared toward its charge, but was ensnared by a storm cloud and blown several miles west of its destination—deep in a forest. The starlight dripped and flowed from branch to branch until it became entangled in a spiderweb.

The starlight’s luminescence caught the attention of the spider sleeping nearby. She twitched awake and began to run along the web to her quarry, her eight eyes fierce with hunger.

“Don’t eat me!” cried the starlight. “A little girl is crying out there, and I need to find her.”

The spider’s heart was moved, but not enough to refuse a meal. She continued to approach, jaws clicking excitedly.

The drop of starlight shook with fear. “I’ll trade you,” the starlight offered.

The spider stopped. “What can you offer me?”

“Light everlasting,” answered the starlight.

“That’s a fair trade,” said the spider, who knew she could use the light to catch more food. She untangled the drop of starlight, which kissed the web so that it shimmered and shone like spun gold.

A gust of wind rattled the web, and the starlight leaped into the breeze. It could feel the girl’s pain calling out and knew it was still needed. But the wind left the starlight at the bank of a river too wide to cross.

The starlight fluttered about, looking for a bridge, but spotted nothing. It sank to the ground and groaned.

“Are you lost, little one?” called a strange, gurgling voice. The starlight looked, but saw nobody.

“Down here,” said the voice.

The starlight peered into the river and saw a water sprite, his lace-like leaves waving gently in the water.

“I need to get across this river,” said the starlight. “Can you help?”

“Perhaps,” said the water sprite. “I can call on the river guardian to help you, but you’ll have to answer a riddle to cross.”

“But I don’t know any riddles!”

“Then you’ll need to find another way.”

The drop of starlight sighed, but seeing no alternative, consented to try the riddle. The water sprite sang a few notes, and from the bottom of the river, a giant frog emerged.

“Who requests my presence?” he croaked.

“I do, if it pleases you,” said the starlight. “I don’t know any riddles, but I’ll do my best to answer yours, in exchange for help across the river.”

“That’s a fair trade,” said the guardian. “Listen well, then, little light, and tell me what I am.” He gurgled:

“I'm the long shadow as day becomes night,

The fading of stars in morning's first light.

I’m what remains when love starts to fall;

Better to have me than nothing at all.”

Upon hearing this, the drop of starlight despaired. What did it know about the world and love? It had only begun to explore.

The river guardian waited in the water, offering no clues but allowing the starlight to take all the time it needed.

The starlight thought about what it had learned so far: the world was full of bargaining, of obstacles, of traps and pain and grief. It was full of little girls crying over their losses. And if the starlight didn’t think of the answer, it would lose the only thing it cared for in the world…that was it!

The drop of starlight said timidly, “I believe the answer is loss.”

“Well done, little light,” said the guardian. “Allow me to escort you.” The giant frog knelt so the starlight could climb aboard.

Once across the river, the guardian blew hard so that the starlight could float along once more. “Would that I could carry you the rest of the way,” said the guardian as the starlight floated away.

“You’ve done me a great service already,” reassured the starlight.

This time, the wind was strong, and the drop of starlight had nearly arrived at its charge when it landed next to a busy street.

The starlight searched but found no way to bypass the vehicles zooming by. It took a few timid steps onto the street and was immediately whipped around and nearly run over. It retreated, weeping, “I’ll never reach that poor girl.”

Suddenly—a flash of gray—the starlight was surrounded by darkness! What had happened?

Then the world was bright again, and the starlight saw a gray cat standing with her paw raised just above it.

“Stop that!” said the starlight as she swatted again. “Let me go!”

“Sorry,” said the cat, backing away. “Don’t you want to play?”

“I can’t play right now. I have to cross this street and go help a little girl.”

“Oh, crossing the street is easy,” said the cat, licking her paw. “You just do it. The humans stop for you.”

“I’m too small for them to see. They won’t stop for me…but maybe if you gave me a ride?”

“I could.” The cat rolled over in the dirt. “But what will you give me in return?”

The drop of starlight thought for a minute. “I’ll give you a companion,” it said. “Someone who will play with you forever.”

“That’s a fair trade,” said the cat. The starlight hopped onto her back, and the cat strolled across the street, causing drivers to slam on their brakes and honk. The starlight clung to the cat in terror, but the cat didn’t seem bothered at all.

“This looks familiar,” said the cat. “Where to now?”

The starlight could still feel the girl’s sadness. “That way,” it said, nudging its feline friend down one street and then another, across a third, until the pair arrived at a small house with a girl crying on the front steps.

“There she is,” exclaimed the starlight. It jumped and floated ahead to perch on the girl’s cheek. As soon as it landed, the girl gave a great big sniffle and looked up.

“Trixie!” Lucy shouted, the morose look on her face transforming into pure joy. “You came back to me!”

And the gray cat jumped into the girl’s waiting arms, happy to be reunited with her playmate.

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