Up in the Stars

“Hey Mom. Look at the sky. Look how brightly the stars twinkle, especially that one over there.”

“Alright, my child. What’s wrong?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Every time you sit by the window looking at the stars or the sky, something is on your mind.” 

“Psh Mom, not true,” the daughter said as she looked away knowing her mom was giving her “the look”. “Okay you’re right.” The mom walked over and gave her a hug, until she finally said, “What’s on your mind?” 

“Tell me about the time you knew you were in love.” 

“It’s a long story. Are you sure?” the mom questions until she sees the look on her daughter’s face. “Alright, get comfortable.” 

“It all started when I was 18 years old working at a boba beverage shop called ‘Simply Bubble’.”

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“I can help you right here,” I said as the next customers approached the counter. It was a group of teenagers my age walking up, making a ruckus if you ask me, but as always I showed kindness as any human being should. I asked for their order and they all said their order at the same time as if anyone could make out what they’re saying; but good thing I was great at my job. The mom winked at her daughter. Anyways, everything was going smoothly until the drinks were finally done. One of my colleagues was giving them their drinks when she slipped and let's just say it was all just a mess. Once she got back up, she immediately apologized and told them they’ll have more coming out as soon as possible. However, that wasn’t enough for them. They started yelling at her and saying really mean things, and I couldn’t watch that happen so I stepped up. Like I said, I was good at my job. I walked up to them with new drinks and I told them to take it and leave. At first they refused, but you know that I gave them a stern talking to. While I was helping my colleague out and trying to calm her down, at the corner of my eye I saw a girl getting ready to spill one of their drinks on the both of us. Until one of the boys in the group stopped her. He didn’t say anything, he just grabbed the drink from his friend, and walked away. I grabbed my colleague and brought her to the back, while I cleaned up the mess and continued till my shift was over. On my way home that day, I started to think about what happened and although he didn’t really see me, I saw him. Who knew that would be the first time I met the person I would fall in love with. 

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Every night, I always went on a walk or run around my neighborhood to get a good exercise in and to clear my head. After all that mess that happened that day at the shop, I knew I definitely needed a run. I was enjoying the night; the weather was nice and there were a million stars in the sky. Those nights were my favorite nights. As I was running, I saw that a police car was pulling someone over and they happened to pull over to the curb on my route. I respect people’s privacy so I decided that I would turn around and find another route, but then I saw who was getting pulled over. 

“Was it him Mom?!” 

“Haha is it that predictable? Yes it was him.” I was going to continue to go the other way until I found myself walking towards the scene. As I was approaching, I heard the police officer asking him questions such as “Did you have any alcohol tonight sir?” and “Can you please tell me why you were speeding young man?” I opened my mouth and said, “Ashton! We’ve been looking for you. Mom and I have been worried sick!” He looked at me confused but I subtly winked at him. “I’m sorry Officer, is he bothering you?” 

“No ma’am. However, he was speeding and he is driving under the influence.” 

“I am so sorry for his wrongful crimes. Sometimes he’s just not all there.” In the corner of my eye, I saw the boy give me a death stare. “He ran away from home and our mom sent me out to go find him. If you don’t mind, I will be taking him home and I will tell our mom all about this.” 

The police officer hesitated but then he said, “I’ll let you off with a warning, only because you look like a responsible young lady and it’s date night with my wife so I can’t be late.” 

“Thank you so much, Officer! We’ll be heading off now. Have a great night with your wife.” I dragged this boy into the car and drove off. He reeked of alcohol so I gave him water to sober up. The whole car ride he kept saying that he felt like throwing up, so I pulled onto the side and waited for him to do his business. While he was doing that, I looked through his car to find any information on him so I knew where to take him. Once he was done, he got back into the car and passed out. Luckily, I was able to find information, including his ID. Oddly enough his name was Ashton. I went to the address and dropped him off. I rang the doorbell and a sweet, old lady opened the door. She was confused at first until she  saw who I was struggling to hold up. She gasped and helped me bring him to his room. The maid thanked me for helping out and insisted that I stayed until the sun came out. I looked at the time and agreed with her. I left once the sun came up and I never spoke of that day or saw him again. 

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"Every day was the same. Work, home, some leisure activities, and running. However, this one particular day was the beginning of a whole new routine." 

"Let me guess Mom. He came to 'Simply Bubble'? He better have apologized and thanked you!" 

"Don't worry he did, and honestly it was quite awkward but definitely very cute. He was stuttering and although he put up a front, you could tell he had a soft side." 

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“Hi. Umm.. I.. umm.. thank you." Ashton put his hands in his pocket. "My maid, Marie, told me what you did. Thank you." 

"It's no problem. Tell her I said thank you for her hospitality." 

"Yeah of course. Ummm… Please let me take you out to pay you back for what you did for me, and show you my gratitude and how apologetic I am.” 

“Mmm I don’t know.” 

"Please. Come on. I don't usually beg like this." His face started turning red. 

"Alright. Alright. I'll go but after my shift of course." 

The mom looked at the daughter and explained how excited but nervous she was. The daughter smiled. She then continued and explained how, for once, she put a little makeup on and wore a dress instead of pants like she usually does. She said that he took her on his family's yacht and showed her around. The mom elaborated on how they had dinner before they went up to the top floor to see the sunset. They danced under the stars and talked till the sun rose. She said it was definitely a night to remember. 

“There was something about nature that made everything feel more special. And he had the cheesiest pickup lines and we both couldn't stop laughing. We both didn't want it to end. After that day we were always hanging out. He would pick me up from work or do his homework in the shop until I finished my shift. We went to the beach and sometimes went shopping. We stayed in libraries for hours or we stayed home and watched movies. All the cute idea dates or even the simple ones you could think of, we did. I was serious about this boy, and by the looks of it he was serious about me. I wanted to tell my parents about him. However, asian parents are tough when it comes to dating. They believe that having a boyfriend while in school is a distraction. Therefore, I kept my relationship with him a secret in order to make sure I'm not forced to break up with him. Not only that, it was more fun that way." The mother smirked at her daughter. 

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Then one night, he decided to take me out on a date.  He said he had a surprise for me. He blindfolded me and didn't take it off until we arrived. 

"Ta da!" I adjusted my eyes and when I looked up there was this big, nice treehouse.

"Ashton, it's so beautiful. Who's treehouse is this?" 

"It used to be mine. But now it's ours." I smiled at him and he smiled at me. Everything felt like it slowed down because then he kissed me! 

The daughter gasped.

"Yeah I know right."

"Were you blushing Mom?" 

"Haha of course. That was my first kiss." The mom blushed as she remembered the feeling. 

Anyways, we went to the treehouse and stayed there all night. It was sweet. We talked about a lot of things; our dreams, the future, what we want in life, our morals, what we believe in, how much we appreciate the Earth, and more. Then, we got more serious. We started talking about our pasts and the problems we had now. I'm a hard person to get to talk about everything and not leave anything out, but it felt different that night. Before he took me home, he looked at me and the happy look in his eyes faded. I asked him what was wrong and he couldn't say. He had tears streaming down his face and it was really worrying me. 

"I didn't want to tell you. I didn't know how," he said as he handed her a paper. I read the paper and I couldn't believe what I was reading. Tears started forming in my eyes and I asked, "You have cancer? What? How? Since when?" 

"See I knew I shouldn't have told you." 

"I'm sorry, excuse me? What was not telling me going to do?" 

"Not have you see me in a different way that's for sure!"

I was taken aback and I apologized. "That's not true Ashton. I'm just worried. I know you could get through this. You're a fighter. You're my fighter. We'll get through together." I smiled with tears streaming down my face and Ashton smiled at me and wiped them away. "You're right," he said. "We're gonna get through this and live happily ever after." I laughed and smiled but I saw the look in his eyes- he was afraid. 

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Although I learned about the information and he learned more information about his symptoms, we tried to make things seem normal. For the most part it worked. However, there were times where you could tell he was struggling more but trying to hide it. Despite the pain, he really didn't want me to worry. Overall, things were okay and as time went by we heard news that he could survive through this cancer. 

When we heard that I hugged him and said, "I told you, you were a fighter!" He hugged me back and said, "Your fighter." He took me home so I could get some rest for once in my life, things felt like they were finally falling in place. Just for a second, I was happy. 

Then, in just a few seconds, all of that was taken away by one text. In just a few seconds, my best friend, my first real love, my soulmate, my everything was taken from me. 

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“What’d the text say, Mom?” the daughter says with tears in her eyes. 

“It hurt me so much that I remembered every word. My friend’s text said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. He’s gone. He’s really gone.” After reading that text, I was in denial and like how anyone else would react I asked if she was joking, but then she called me. It was true, and I could hear the genuinity in her voice. Everything started hurting and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground sobbing. Days after days, I was crying and barely even eating. I was hopeless and completely heartbroken. I didn’t know what to do with my life anymore. I wasn’t living life, I was just being alive; and there’s a big difference. My friend texted me again but this time it said, "I know it's a hard time. I'm grieving too but knowing Ashton he'd still want me to give this to you. It's a letter but I decided to text everything to you." 

"Mom… what'd the letter say?" 

"A lot. It said, 

To my one and only love, 

    I was so sure of you. I was so sure that I bought you a promise ring and I wrote out this thing I wanted to say: "This isn't just a promise to one day marry you, this is a promise for a better us. This is my promise to move so we can actually be together. This is my promise to be the best boyfriend I can be. This is my promise to always be there for you through thick and thin. This is my promise to stay, no more leaving. This is my promise to treat you how you deserve to be treated. This is my promise to love you for you. This is my promise to be your best friend, your shoulder to cry on, your diary, anything you need me to be. This is my promise to be yours. This is my promise to you; to us. I love you. With all of my heart." More than you will ever know because it is impossible to put into words, and nothing can compare to it. I want you to be happy. I want you to remember what it's like to laugh really hard, and to be smiling for reasons I could not give you. I want you to love yourself. I want you to live. Really truly live. I will always and forever love you. 

Always, Ashton" 

The mother wiped away a tear before it fell. 

"Mom…"

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“And that’s the story of the first time I knew I was in love.”

“Wow. I’m sorry Mom. I can’t even imagine.”

“It’s okay, my love. Then I met your dad. He showed me that I could fall in love again. It was definitely hard and my heart will never be the same, but he gave me hope again and mended my broken heart. He gave me a new love and he gave me you and your brother.” The mother hugged her daughter and they both giggled.

 “‘Do you miss him?” After a few minutes of silence, the mother said, “Yes, I do. Everyday, but when I look up at the stars I know that he’s looking back down at me, watching over me. The moon was his favorite, so full moons always give a different vibe when they come around.” 

“I hope I have a good love story too.” 

“Awe honey, I know you will. Just open your heart and listen to it.” The daughter smiled and the mother hugged her once again, giving her a gentle kiss on her head. They shared a moment of silence as they both looked up at the stars.