"How could that be? A star is a ball of hot gas that nobody could live on," Leia said.

"Oh, come on, Leia, don't get into your down-to-earth phase. Go back to your whimsical, day-dreaming, star-touching self. Everything doesn't have to make sense," Shawn replied softly. He felt a cramp in his hand, so he flicked out his wrist to stretch it. As he did, his hand caught the edge of Leia's soft brown hair. The tiny strands of hair fell through his fingers. As he felt that small movement, the slipping away of something so tiny, he felt a sudden surge of melancholy. All of a sudden, he thought how life could so easily slip away. Just like that.  

Tears filled his eyes, though he had not idea why. He looked away so Leia wouldn't see them. 

Every other day, he thought. You hear something about a random shooting, or a kidnapping, or something bad. Sometimes you'll hear a sad story about someone who died from some sort of illness. But you think, this will never happen to me. Don't worry. But in the back of yor mind, you think, well, what about that kid on the news who was perfectly healthy and happy, then a month later, died of cancer, huh? That person probably thought it would never happen to him. But it did...

"I think, Shawn, the reason I sometimes suddenly want to refuse to be all day-dreamy, is cuz I'm too scared to venture far from reality. They say people are afraid of what they don't know. Or what can't be explained. It's too comforting to just come up with an explanation. They need to come up with an explanation. Why do you think the Greeks created all that mythology? Why do you think everyone became obsessed with science. They say because of human curiosity. But I think it's fear, too, fear of not knowing."

"But making up a world for yourself can be wonderful! Beautiful things can happen if you just beleive! They don't have to be real. Not knowing is perfectly fine."

"Yeah, tell that to my little sister," Leia replied, her voice cracking. She turned over on her side so Shawn wouldn't see her tears.

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Fun activity: Find the three zeros in the O's of the above TTOOPP! 

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Before I write anything, I just want to say that this story, in three short posts, almost brought be to tears. This is amazing and I'm afraid that I'll ruin it by posting.....

Lying there on the hill, Shawn felt more at peace than he ever had. Ever since Selene had disappeared two years ago, Leia had been inconsolable. She and her sister had been on bad terms when Selene had gone for a walk and never came back, and Leia had always blamed herself for that  Shawn knew this better than anyone, because he could hear her thoughts. It wasn't exactly mind reading, and it was only with Leia, but he always knew exactly what she was thinking.  

Rolling over on his side to face her, Shawn asked, "What did you wish for?"

"I wished.... I wished that Selene would come back."

"Liar."

"How did you...?"

Oh no. Shawn had never told Leia about his ability, he was too embarrassed. It was like opening your eyes to see someone's diary over your face, and you had to read it all. Maybe he should tell her though, he knew all about her power.....

"Um....."

"Is that?  Is that another shooting star?"

Puzzled at the change of subject, Shawn looked up and saw a glowing ball descending over them.  

Aw, thanks, Balletandbow! I take it you like the story so far? Thanks for the new opportunity with the shooting star. I was hinting at that and hoped you'd take the bait.

Leia's eyes widened as the star hurtled nearer. Shawn leaped to his feet, grabbing Leia's hand and pulling her up with him. The star came closer, heat radiating from it. Shawn pushed Leia down the hilltop they were on, jumping after her in a hopeless attempt to escape a fiery death. The star rammed the ground not three feet away from them, sending shock waves through the hill and knocking stones loose. It exploded in a flash of bright light, temporarily blinding Shawn and Leia. As they stood, blinking the brights from their eyes, a figure became

I need to get off 

Aww, Owlgirl, I wanted to finish mine. I knew someone would intervene, but I really wanted to carry through with mine in another post. I couldn't even finish my sentence before my parents took my computer away, and I hoped that you'd wait for me to finish before you continued.

"Ah, but that ruins the imagination, dear Shawn," Leia murmured in her mysterious voice. "If you have all the answers, there will be no questions; no mystery. Everything would be resolved, no one would learn any lessons... Such a world may seem like a paradise, but it could be a woeful life in disguise."

"But, Leia," Shawn rolled over on his side to face her. "If we lived in that world full of answers, there wouldn't be the trials, or the accusations, or the hangings in town square. It would be perfect." Shawn could barely bring himself to say this last part: "If we lived in that world, Miracle wouldn't be dead."

Leia sat up. "That is where I have an answer to your earlier question. Sometimes, when I think of Miracle, or Jemi, or anyone else who was put to death in the square, I believe they are the stars. They tell me what is right, put me on the right path, and sometimes allow me to have some suffering, to make me better."

"Like angels?" questioned Shawn as he eased Leia back to her previous position lying on the ground.

"Yes, but they don't hide me from the bad things so much that nothing good ever comes in. They allow suffering," Leia murmured, her eyelids beginning to droop.

 "I like that," Shawn sighed contentedly. Then, hand in hand, the two children fell asleep.

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