🪐 Chapter 1: The Girl Beneath the Stars
The night was quiet, yet her heart raced louder than ever.
Aira stood beneath the flickering streetlight, clutching a paper bag filled with second-hand space books. The bookstore had closed late, and she stayed longer than she should have — lost between pages about galaxies and astronauts. But now, she was alone. And not safe.
Three boys emerged from the shadowed alley, circling her like wolves sensing fear. Their words were slurred, taunting. Aira’s hands trembled as she stepped back. “Please... I just want to go home,” she whispered, voice cracking.
“Going somewhere, pretty girl?” one sneered.
And then — a flash of silver light.
A firm voice.
A presence like the moon.
“Let her go. Now.”
The boys froze. Aira turned to see Lyra.
Clad in a simple hoodie and black jeans, Lyra looked calm… but her gaze could cut steel. She didn’t shout. She didn’t even flinch. One step forward, and the boys backed off like smoke fading in wind.
In that moment, Aira couldn’t breathe.
Not out of fear — but out of awe.
Because Lyra wasn’t just bold.
She was brilliant. Heroic. Unshakable.
That night, Aira didn’t just fall for Lyra — she belonged to the dream of her.
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Years passed like meteor showers.
Aira studied hard, laughed harder, and never stopped looking at the stars. She wore the same hairstyle Lyra had in school, watched every space launch on TV, and even hung a poster of Lyra taped to her ceiling. Everyone thought it was inspiration.
No one knew… it was love.
Then one evening, while flipping through TV channels, Aira saw her again.
Lyra was stepping out of a space shuttle, dusty from the moon’s surface, smiling for the cameras. Reporters surrounded her. Scientists clapped. Children waved flags.
And Aira sat on her bed, cheeks wet, whispering to herself:
“Wait for me... Lyra. I’m coming too.”
She gave herself four years. And she kept her promise.
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On the day Aira walked into Celestis Space Command, her heart bloomed with joy.
She wore her ID badge like a crown. Her family didn’t come — they didn’t understand her obsession. But Aira didn’t mind. She was walking in Lyra’s footsteps now. Finally.
Until the news hit her.
“She’s not here anymore,” someone said.
Aira blinked. “Lyra Voss? The astronaut?”
“She resigned. Last month.”
Silence.
The stars in Aira’s eyes… quietly shattered.
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To Be Continued... 🌒
