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Whether it was a day full of activity or a lazy day filled only with snacks and your favorite TV show, you find yourself exhausted. And no wonder… you check the clock and it’s way later than you wanted it to be. Your bed is calling your name and you have no choice but to answer it. It’s softer than any other night, and the blankets settle around you perfectly. You’re completely comfortable and sleep takes over almost instantly.
Whatever you dream, be it of good or bad, eventually you have a sinking sensation in your stomach. You’re about to fall, and you’re powerless to stop it. Instead of waking up, however, you keep falling. And falling. And falling. Deeper and deeper into a ravine that keeps getting darker and darker. You land painlessly, but you still don’t wake up. You try everything you usually try when you want to end a dream, but nothing works. You remain in this impossibly dark ravine, looking up at a night sky that has too many stars.
The sound of a throat clearing catches your attention. Turning, you notice a figure in the darkness, shrouded in white, smiling at you from a short distance away. You may recognize them from last year’s Star Festival or you may not, but you know, somehow, that they pose no threat to you. You also know, somehow, that they cannot simply lift you out of the ravine from which you have fallen. They seem to be sorry about that, but then a look of realization comes over their face. They dig around in the folds of their shroud as though looking for something, and after several seconds of silence, they produce a handful of glitter. You’re about to ask when they toss it into the sky. Instead of falling to the ground, however, the glitter swirls around the two of you before forming three sparkling,star shaped platforms that take you all the way to the top of the ravine.
Time to climb, you suppose.
Whatever you dream, be it of good or bad, eventually you have a sinking sensation in your stomach. You’re about to fall, and you’re powerless to stop it. Instead of waking up, however, you keep falling. And falling. And falling. Deeper and deeper into a ravine that keeps getting darker and darker. You land painlessly, but you still don’t wake up. You try everything you usually try when you want to end a dream, but nothing works. You remain in this impossibly dark ravine, looking up at a night sky that has too many stars.
The sound of a throat clearing catches your attention. Turning, you notice a figure in the darkness, shrouded in white, smiling at you from a short distance away. You may recognize them from last year’s Star Festival or you may not, but you know, somehow, that they pose no threat to you. You also know, somehow, that they cannot simply lift you out of the ravine from which you have fallen. They seem to be sorry about that, but then a look of realization comes over their face. They dig around in the folds of their shroud as though looking for something, and after several seconds of silence, they produce a handful of glitter. You’re about to ask when they toss it into the sky. Instead of falling to the ground, however, the glitter swirls around the two of you before forming three sparkling,star shaped platforms that take you all the way to the top of the ravine.
Time to climb, you suppose.
It had been a long day of recording, editing, and… more editing, with a side of taking a break to play the new d4dj demo, as well as catching up on her dailies in her other games, but all good things must come to an end, especially once Tochi looked at her alarm clock and realized what time it was. Deep down, she knew she should hire an editor for her videos, especially at the rate that she wanted to put them out, which currently wasn’t often enough for her liking.
However… there was a certain style Tochi liked her videos in, that she didn’t feel a third party could replicate. There was also the matter of all the subtle jokes and references that Tochi put in her subs, that she didn’t think an editor would be able to translate properly, without the right context. In short, she couldn’t possibly take on anyone else onboard for her projects; they simply wouldn’t be able to interpret her vision properly, after all.
That aside, it was definitely time for bed- just look at how late it was! She had no trouble falling asleep at all, compared to some other nights, and it didn’t take long for dreamland to take over. The dream had started out innocently enough, the usual dreams of stardom and performing on stage, but then she was falling…
And falling…
And falling some more, for how long, she didn’t know, into the darkness. It was a startling experience, for certain, but Tochi was always one to stay cheerful through everything. Eventually, she landed, but instead of falling down off of Tokyo Tower because her best friend pushed her off, or perhaps instead, falling from a mysterious elevator and landing in the audience overlooking a mysterious stage of fate, with a mysterious talking giraffe, she landed down at the bottom of a deep ravine.
Normally, when one had dreams of falling, or any sort of near-death experience, that was when the dream ended, and you woke up, right? Perhaps Tochi should have tried harder to wake herself up, made more effort, but nothing really seemed to work, and instead she remained down her, looking up at the starry sky. Huh, well, that was weird, but maybe this just meant she’d have to play out the story as it unfolded this time, however the ending went.
A noise caught her attention, and Tochi noticed a figure in white, an androgynous figure that she couldn’t quite identify properly, but seemed to be around her age, if she had to hazard a guess, maybe. Either way, they seemed to be harmless, and perhaps even a little apologetic? As to why, Tochi wasn’t sure at first, but somehow, she managed to deduce it was because they weren’t able to help her climb back up to the top, or at least carry her up there. ’Well, that’s okay!’, Tochi wanted to say- she had star power! She was a center nova! If there was a will, there was a way, and if anyone could do it, the self proclaimed ‘Top Star’ could do it.
But then the figure was reaching around for something in their clothing, before they produced a handful of glitter that must have come from a pocket or something…? Interested and fascinated, Tochi watched as they tossed the glitter to the sky, but before she could ask what the purpose was, the glitter turned into three sparkling star-shaped platforms that led upwards. So that was how she was going to get back up, then, huh?
Tochi prepared to make her way back up, but before she did, she turned to wave at the figure in white. “I don’t know who you are, but thanks!” she said, before starting to head upwards. It was a surreal experience, a little like the story of Claire and Flora who climbed a Tower to reach a star that granted a wish, but instead of a tower, there were platform stairs. As she made her way up, she began to recount the story.
A legend, passed down in a small village in a small country, through their summer star festival. Before the downpour of shooting stars that returns every year,
Climbing, as it turned out, wasn’t the easiest- Tochi perhaps needed to get better at her platform climbing skills- but she continued onwards, continuing the story.
“I met Flora,”
“I met Claire,”
For our fated encounter.
“It seems we’ve been together for a long time.
Let’s meet here again, next year.
On this Star Festival night.”
It seemed like forever, but finally, she made her way to the top. Victory was at hand, but the celebration was short lived, as finally, perhaps maybe disappointingly, the dream finally ended, and Tochi woke up. But was it truly just a dream, after all? Although she was still a little confused, Tochi checked her phone- it was still late, but still nighttime. Looking over at her nightstand, next to a violet star charm she had won a few days prior, was a small bottle of glitter, almost like in the dream she had just had. Well, huh. That was weird, to be honest. At the same time, she was still at home, in her own bed, so did the events of the dream truly happen?
… She’d have to think more about it in the morning. For now, Tochi wanted to go back to sleep, because it really had been a long day, to be honest. And, well, maybe, she could possibly dream about meeting the figure dressed in white again. She really wanted to learn more about them- what was their name, and what did they like? Perhaps, even if it was just a dream, they could talk some more, maybe become friends. A silly idea, one that Morie would think she was crazy for, but, well, she just wanted to find out more, y’know?
Guided by starlight, a story of fate
