A Wish in the Dark

Ember’s father had always taken her out to see the stars as a little girl. He’d point out constellations and planets and tell stories as if he’d been to them. Maybe he had; she wouldn’t know. But she did know that he loved her as if she were as important to him as all the planets and stars in the universe. Love like that was a treasure, but every treasure runs out. Ember’s brightest light went out the day cancer knocked on his door for the final time. From that day on, every time she saw a shooting star, she wished that she would feel love just like that again, if only for a moment.

The jarring ring dismissed the class and broke Ember out of her stupor of thought. She hastily grabbed her things, stuffing a few stray papers into a folder and cramming the rest into the bottom of her bag. 

“You alright?” asked Amy. “I know English is boring, but not that boring. You looked like you were gonna fall asleep.”

Ember scoffed, “I was asleep. I stayed up late listening to Taylor Swift and procrastinating all my homework.”

“That’s actually so real. Like, when are we going to use iambic pentameter in real life? Shakespeare is cool, but he won’t help me pay my taxes.” 

They both shrugged, continuing down a flight of stairs before they split to their separate classrooms. Ember had her calculus class next and she trudged through the doorway drearily, as if a weight fell on her shoulders the second she walked into the room. 

“Taylor Swift again?” a voice called out to her.

Ember lifted her eyes to the boy at the table next to hers, who wore a smug half smile that made the dimple on his cheek cave in in a lopsided, adorable way. 

“Yeah, how’d you know?” she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “Because you’re a total Swiftie and have no life,” he teased.

Ember side eyed him. “Says you, Grayson. You realize One Direction isn’t a band anymore, right?”

“The difference is, One Direction was always good, Taylor Swift was not. All she’s come up with is whiny songs about love. I swear she only gets with people to break up and write songs about it and play the victim. Plus, she’s kissed like who knows how many people.”

“I think you’re jealous,” Ember decided.

“Of what? Of you and your ‘Tay Tay Cray Cray’ fangirling?” he scoffed.

“No, of Taylor! You’ve never kissed nobody, but I bet you wanted to.” 

Grayson turned his head for a second, so that his wavy dark hair covered the sides of his face. He eyes turned to face her, but this time the dark brown irises seemed strained as he searched her face.

“You don’t even know,” he said sadly. 

A shiver ran through Ember’s whole body the longer he looked at her like that, and her heart beat in her head as she felt longing to get lost in that stare of endless space and light. 

Later that day, Amy caught up to Ember on her way to lunch and they both sat down at their regular corner table next to the window. 

“So, Student Council just announced that prom is happening in only two weeks! I’m so excited! Do you think you’re gonna go?” Amy asked enthusiastically.

“Well, I don’t have a dress. Or anyone to go with. Maybe I’ll go with you if I end up going,” Ember replied nonchalantly.

“Oh…well actually I’m going with Ryan. I’d love to go with you, but maybe we could do a double date instead

“But I don’t have a date. Well not yet…but who’s gonna ask me?” Ember wondered.

“Grayson, obviously. You two are so cute together. I see how you look at each other. He totally has a thing for you, girl.” Amy said, shaking her head as if the mere question was ridiculous. 

Ember’s face turned a shade of red she knew for sure was visible despite her olive skin’s attempts to hide the bright color.

“I—um—well like we’re just friends. I don’t think he likes me.” Ember stuttered.

“Yeah right. He always talks about you. And you’ve had a crush on him for the longest time. You need to just go tell him you like him and ask him to prom. Don’t wait for him to come to you,” Amy insisted. 

“I think I’ll pass,” Ember replied. “Prom’s not really my thing.”

For the next couple of days, they didn’t discuss the topic and things went by normally, until with only a week left until prom, it was evident that to get their tickets in time, decisions had to made quickly. 

“Hey, you’re going with Grayson to prom, right?” Ryan asked as Ember passed him in the hallway. “Because Amy told me you could make it to our double date.”

Ember was surprised. “Amy told you that?”

“Well she said you’re gonna ask him today and knowing he likes you, I already booked our table at the restaurant,” he said.

“I wasn’t going to actually,” Ember muttered.

“Seriously? They don’t take refunds,” Ryan said, annoyed. 

“Just find another group to go with you,” Ember said.

“No, it has to be you two. Amy won’t go to prom with any of her other friends but you. She said that she wanted it to be special,” Ryan insisted.

“Fine. I’ll find a date by the end of today. I don’t want to let Amy or you down,” Ember said, walking away with a frustrated sigh. 

Why does she never ask me before she does things? She totally set this up so I would ask him. But its fine. Its just a date, it’s not like I’m confessing my love or anything.

Ember pulled out a sticky note as she walked to her classroom.

Will you go with me to prom? she wrote. It was a lame way to ask, but she didn’t know if she had the guts to ask him in person. She planned on leaving it underneath the “Be YOU tiful” poster, as Grayson and Ember did to write messages between classes. However as she lifted the poster, a sticky note from Grayson already was there and fell onto her feet. She picked it up and read the message.

Do you want to go to prom with me?

The bell rung right as she read the note. Hastily, she grabbed the slip of paper and rushed into her English class and sat down right before the teacher turned to face the class. Amy gave her a questioning look, but Ember just shook her head.

Close one, she thought. 

Adrenaline still pumped through her whole body and excitement from the note. Grayson had asked her to prom! She didn’t know how to reply. Would a simple yes be enough or should she go talk to him in person? She had him next period and she wondered if he would check the poster before then.

“What’s happening?” Amy pestered. “What’s that note?”

“Grayson just asked me to prom!” Ember whispered excitedly. “I think I’m gonna talk to him about it next period.”

“Tell me how it goes!” Amy squealed as quietly as she could. “That poster messaging you guys do is so cute. It’s like writing secret love notes to each other.”

“I know! I’m not even mad he asked me from a sticky note because I would’ve done the same thing!” Ember said. 

She could hardly contain her excitement and anxiousness for the next class. It seemed to go by too quickly before the bell had already rung and she headed out the class to see Grayson.

“Good luck!” Amy shouted above the noise of the hallway as Ember ducked into her last period of the day. 

Grayson was already there. Somehow he managed to beat her to every class. 

“Hey Grayson!” Ember said. “I just want you to know that I would love to go to prom with you. Thanks so much for asking! You know I was just about to put a sticky note under the poster with the same thing but you saved me the trouble. So um…yeah but I think Amy and Ryan have a double date planned and I’m really excited!”

“Whoa. Wait when did I ask you?” Grayson said. “I was planning to in person like right now but I’m actually confused.”

“What do you mean? I saw the sticky note you left for me and it was asking me to prom,” Ember replied. 

“No, I didn’t leave that there. Does anyone else know about our poster system?” Grayson asked.

“Well, Amy does,” Ember said. “But why would she put that there?”

“I’m not sure. You should ask her. Was the note signed by me?” Grayson wondered.

“No. It just said, ‘Do you want to go to prom with me?’ so maybe it could have been for either of us, depending on who picked up the note first.”

“Knowing Amy, I think she tried to set us up. But were you saying that you were going to ask me too?” Grayson questioned.

“Oh yeah…I was about to ask you to prom too, but I was shy so I was planning on writing a note,” Ember said sheepishly. 

“Well, that’s a funny mix-up. I think I should officially ask you in person. Ember, will you go to prom with me?”

Grayson was so handsome in that moment to her, his freckles a galaxy and his eyes a supernova that Ember knew could destroy everything in her. And yet, she was not afraid. She wanted to fall into that light and to just tell him that she loved him. That she’d loved him for years and wanted to be more than best friends. 

Yet all she could say was, “Yes, I would more than love to go with you.” 

They both smiled and Grayson’s dimpled smile was practically so wide he was having a hard time controlling it behind his red face and twinkling eyes. 

The days leading up to prom were the slowest ones that Ember had ever felt. But finally the glorious day came when Grayson picked Ember up at her house. They wore matching burgundy clothes with a rose corsage and boutonniere. Everything seemed perfect. The photography went smoothly and the restaurant was elegant and the food delicious. They finally ended in the large gym with hundreds or many thousands of people dancing in gorgeous gowns and suits.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, Amy,” said Ember over the noise of the crowd. “Was it you who left that note behind the poster to set me and Grayson up?”

Amy smiled. “What are friends for? Of course it was me. I just had to get you talking to him and I knew it would all come out. Did you tell him you’ve had a crush on him forever?”

Ember shut a hand over Amy’s mouth, completely embarrassed in front of Grayson. 

“It’s not like its a secret. Grayson and you have been the cutest ‘non-couple’ for years,” Ryan added.

“No both of you stop it!” Ember pleaded in vain. Grayson just stayed silent.

Both Ryan and Amy teased the two of them for a few minutes until Grayson finally opened his mouth in a serious, shaky voice.

“Ember, be honest. Do you like me?” he asked, his eyes desperately searing into Ember’s as if he needed an answer.

Ember choked up on words that wouldn’t form. “Of course I like you, but not like—um well we haven’t really talked about it and you know—I think you’re awesome—but if you don’t like me—well uhh I really don’t know.”

Grayson couldn’t meet her eyes. “I understand.”

He stood up and pushed in his chair, walking out the door.

“Why didn’t you say yes! Go run after him! You can still fix this!” Amy insisted.

 Ember couldn’t hear her over the sobs she felt rising up.

“Don’t say anything. You’ve helped enough,” Ember said, rushing out of the gym and out of the doors to the night sky beyond.

Ember wished she could do it all over again, maybe apologize, or just run into Grayson’s arms and say that she did like him. Instead, tears washed over her cheeks, bits of mascara staining her eyelids and hands. She looked up at the twinkling stars above, remembering what it was like when her father told her stories of the sky.

There was one she remembered, the one of Andromeda and Perseus. Her father described in a narrative voice how jealousy twisted Poseidon to send great and fierce monsters to destroy the kingdom of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia because they boasted their child Andromeda was more beautiful than any of Poseidon's. 

Betrayal like a snake engulfed Cassiopeia's heart to sacrifice her own daughter, Andromeda to the monster to save the kingdom. But when Perseus found her struggling, he rescued her and they fell in love. Yet their love was not meant to be, for Andromeda was promised to another named Phineus. 

Valiantly, Phineus and Perseus fought for the hand of Andromeda, before Perseus used Medusa's head, a prize from his previous adventures, to turn Phineus into stone. Their fabled love was written in the stars, almost literally as their constellations shine brightly telling the story of two lovers who battled through it all for each other.

Ember looked at the constellation of Perseus and Andromeda and knew that it was time for her to turn her fears into stone with her own head of Medusa. She was willing to fight for what could be. She would not let love like this pass, like her father’s had. She was going to cherish every moment.

Ember pulled out her phone and called Grayson. No reply. She texted him finally after 6 missed calls.

We need to talk. I have to confess something. Meet me in the front of the building.

She waited for what felt like hours, yet knew it was possibly only minutes. Grayson came into view and seemed to notice her puffy eyes. 

“Grayson, I’m tired of living a lie and hiding behind sticky notes and posters. I like you. A lot. And I think you’re wonderful and sweet and I wish we were more than friends,” Ember said, determined to keep her voice from cracking.

“I like you too, Ember. I have for a long time. I was afraid to tell you, but I love you more than I am afraid of rejection. And I want to ask you another question. Do you want to dance with me?” he said nervously.

“Yes!” Ember said with energy. 

They walked back into the gym for the final slow dance. He placed his hands on the curve of her waist and she put her arms around his neck. They rocked back and forth, her head tucked into his shoulder. 

Ember knew it was love. They had both known it for a long time. Love like that was a treasure, but not all treasures run out. Stars fade, but they are never truly gone. Though things and people corrupt and rot, their impact shines forever. If only for a moment, if only until the light runs out, if only for a wish in the dark.