Science tried to explain away the accurately named ‘shooting star.’ But the truth behind these silver streaks across dark is more literal than you’d think. The only reason you can gaze upon the sky, and catch a glimpse of a shooting star is because of one star’s bravery, long ago. That star’s name was Soul.
Soul was amongst 400 billion stars. All of which gazed upon Earth just as we gaze upon them today. Each star, love and curiosity within them, would ponder the blue-green twirl. Earth was a mystery to them, but an intriguing one to say the least. But stars, wise beyond their billion years, were equally hesitant as they were curious. For it was safe in the galaxy. The dark cloak held their flame perfectly. All of the stars were content in their curiosity, and left Earth a mystery. Until one fateful day.
An asteroid, amongst many, came right across Soul. Sure, he could’ve let the large rock pass right through. But after another measureless amount of monotonous time in black, Soul decided to let his blaze envelope the asteroid. The jagged edges slowly became aglow in Soul’s flame. Soul knew this asteroid may float him across the endless galaxy, or could act as a vehicle to the curious spin below. Taking the chance, the asteroid grew ablaze in heat. It grew in flame and glowed with a ravenous red. The asteroid, heating up, began to spin with all of this energy surrounding it. It spun faster, then faster still, until it eventually began hurtling closer to Soul’s answer to all the stars’ curiosities.
Soul felt the dark cage break. Before long, this blue-green beauty was getting bigger than he could have ever imagined. Then larger still. What once looked like a spinning fleck in the distance was now encompassing Soul’s visual reality. Plummeting, and heating up to temperatures he’d never felt before, he was invigorated, but fearful too. He was the first star to take this journey down, and what lay ahead was unknown to him. He felt his flame rage on through his fear, and felt free in a way he’d never understood before. The fire of Soul was the greatest it had ever been. He feared his light may go out completely before reaching his answer. Before he could worry any longer, it hit him.
It felt like everything and nothing all at once, entering what he’d come to know as Earth’s atmosphere. The asteroid that brought him down had become far too hot. After traveling that great distance he felt it crack within him. He trembled in nerves but tried to hold strong. Soul was holding the asteroid together while his heat simultaneously broke it apart. Then, singed flecks of ember, just small sparks began falling off. Piece by piece this asteroid broke into hundreds, thousands of sparks. Soul was being shattered into a million particles. He wondered if he would ever be whole again.
Soul could feel only glimmers of himself in each piece. Now a sparkling dust cloud, he dispersed as he neared Earth, falling like leaves in Autumn. The drift of air carried pieces of him all around the Earth, each one looking for some place warm to keep Soul alive. That warmth he found was in the warm beings of Earth. Some human, some animal. Some were on land, some in the air, some in the sea.
Soul dispersed into many, and no matter how far each of these beings were from one another, he felt himself within each of them. He had taken the risk of traveling down to Earth, and had come to discover its beauty, and to answer the question of that blue-green twirl. Now, he would experience it in thousands of lives. Over time he would feel himself as many people, dogs, whales, birds, over many layered lived. Then each time one of these lives would run into another, he’d feel a spark as part of him connected again.
So after 300,000 years, plenty of meetings—sparks—have occurred. Pieces of Soul coming together again. He would stay on Earth until all of Soul’s pieces, his mates could unite again. But until then, he’d enjoy every little spark when a piece of him would inevitably find another
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