When Shooting Stars Fall: Chapter 2
02 | Gravity
The seems to have burned a hole in the sky, revealing a ring of red light. And at this time, Xavier stands beneath the afterglow, practicing his newly learnt swords techniques, more or less giving off an aura like that of a , making others not dare to come close and interrupt.
I hug a wooden sword and sit under the eaves not far away, watching him practice his sword while thinking about how I should extend the invitation later on. Making a mental draft makes it easy to make mistakes, and I’m bored with nothing to do, so I begin using my sword tip to scribble on the sandy ground, making a numbered list.
Once-in-a-century, this term has already turned insignificant to the denizens of Philos.
For normal people like Xavier, how many more centuries will they experience in the future? As long as the artificial core does not extinguish, they will probably be as eternal as this planet.
If he finds out that I am someone who can’t even live up to a hundred years, and promises me anything out of pity, it would be meaningless.
I finally managed to wait until class ends, and I’m about to stand up, but realize that my target . Only after looking all around me for a while, do I find that in the at the Academy’s gates.
I hurriedly chase up to him, only to unexpectedly really witness that legend about Xavier—
Those people are not wearing black unlike normal bodyguards, and also keep a distance from Xavier in a controlled manner, but just somehow cause others to feel a strange sense of oppression.
Xavier has his bag slung over his shoulders as he walks in the center, seeming like he’s already used to sidelong glances from bystanders, but his usually expressionless face seemed to show even less vitality.
It’s completely different from the person he was earlier, training under the sunset.
I don’t know anything about his , nor do I know where those people want to take him. I just know that he’s not happy at the moment.
“Xavier—!”
I use the loudest voice I can muster to call out to him, and only after the sound leaves my mouth do I realize that it seems to have been the first time I even called his name.
The evening breeze passes through the streets. Amidst the crowd, he turns back towards me, his vaguely perplexed gaze softening the moment it meets mine.
I walk up to him, saying that a teacher is looking for him, while grabbing his hand and pulling him along as I run in the opposite direction.
As for where we are running to, I haven’t had the time to plan that far yet. Despite also not having the time to notice Xavier’s expression, it feels like his hand, which I had originally just hastily grabbed, gradually begins to tighten around mine too.
”They’re catching up.” His words scatter in the wind.
While I’m in a daze, Xavier pulls me in a different direction into a round tower, and hides inside an empty auditorium that he discovers.
The lights are out in the auditorium, and the two of us are like little beasts who had just escaped their enclosure, laying low in the dark as we pant roughly. A sliver of light leaks through the lattice windows, and I stare at his shadowy figure, which has one hand resting on the window sill, my heart feeling almost as though it’s about to leap out of my throat.
After a little while, he pulls out a nearby chair, then casually takes a seat on another desk. I stand rooted to the spot for a moment, only then realizing that he’s asking me to go over and take a seat.
“Why’d you want to help me?” The Xavier sitting on the table is significantly taller than me, and in the dusky darkness, a pair of eyes with lights swirling within them look down at me.
“You looked like you were unhappy.”
“How did you know I was unhappy?”
“About that… We’re ultimately classmates, so I do at least have some sort of understanding of you.”
As I’m in the middle of thinking about how to explain myself without exposing my feelings, to my surprise, Xavier lightly says: “By sneaking glances during class?”
“...There’s a reason for that!”
Xavier looks at me, as though he’s waiting for me to continue.
“I wanted to ask you out… Ah no, I mean, invite you to watch the meteor shower together with me at Skymirror Salt Lake next month. I heard the salt lake is very shallow, and really resembles a real mirror. When the time comes and the meteor shower is reflected on the lake’s surface, it’s bound to look dazzling! Plus, the meteor shower next month is a once-in-a-century occurrence… After this one, there won’t be a next time.”
“The next hundred years will arrive quickly.”
“For you all, it certainly will be quick. But for me…”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing, you’ll understand in the future… Do you want to go or not? It’s really pretty.”
My invitation is excitedly thrown into the air, but when it’s met with silence, it abruptly crashes to the ground.
Xavier’s eyes turn bleak and dark before I know it, and he only responds to me after quite some time has passed.
“I can’t go there.”
“Can’t? Is it related to those…” I hesitate for a while, deliberating how to address those people. “...Those people?”
Xavier freezes for a second, then nods silently, as if he wants to say something, but stops himself.
However, I don’t continue to pursue the matter either, and simply look at the focused way he’s gazing at me. My pointer finger reaches out subconsciously, , poking at the corner of his mouth. “Don’t be sad anymore. I’ll just go by myself, and then, I’ll bring your wish along with mine to the shooting stars. What kind of wish do you want to make?”
“I don’t really have any wishes.”
“How could a person not have any wishes? Then, how about I share my wishes and give one to you?”
I rise from the chair. Facing Xavier, I clasp both my hands and close my eyes, making a heartfelt wish. “I wish for Xavier to be forever free.”
Xavier is stunned for a second. Then, he asks me, “What about you? What do you want to wish for?”
“, but I just don’t know if it will actually work.”
I silently count to three, waiting for the shooting star in my heart to pass before opening my eyes.
Suddenly, a ray of starlight really does flash by in the darkness.
I look closer, and see a cluster of light in Xavier’s palms glowing in the dark—
“The shooting star says, it’s a promise.”
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