4Sentence Prompt - "Stargazing was a great idea."
Lately, Cherry hasn't been feeling like herself. There is a fog that follows her around, seeping into every corner of her mind, draining every last bit of energy she has. She sleeps more than she moves and shrugs off anyone who asks if she's okay.
It reminds her a lot of the months after her brother died.
The one cat she has never been able to ignore, though, is Moon. Her best friend's kindness never falters, even when Cherry directs the most scathing words towards her. It makes her feel like shit, knowing that she will never be as good of a friend to Moon as Moon is to her. Sometimes, it feels like she's going through the motions waiting for the other shoe to drop, for when Moon reaches a breaking point and leaves her, just like her brother did.
This is how Cherry finds herself traversing through the forest, twisting and ducking underneath bushes and stray branches. Ahead of her, Moon walks with the grace of a cat who has travelled this path a hundred times over. She had asked Cherry if she wanted to come with her to a special place, and Cherry, despite wanting to burrow deeper into her nest in the barn, said yes.
In the deep recesses of her mind, Cherry knows that Moon would understand if she didn't feel like going. However, every time she thinks of Moon, the guilt floats to the forefront of her mind until it's the only thing she can feel.
She's jolted out of her thoughts by Moon calling out to her, "We're almost there!" Vaguely, she realizes that they've started walking uphill, but it's only until she comes to a stop behind Moon does she see just how high up they are.
"Here!" Moon says as she plops down onto the ground and looks expectantly up at Cherry.
Cherry is still for a moment, taking in the scenery of this place she had never seen, despite her months of exploration. The hill is tall but not particularly steep, and the space at the top is large enough to fit all the cats who frequent the barn together. Over the edge, she can see the river in the distance, reflecting the shining moon.
She takes a seat beside Moon. "I think this is the closest I've ever been to the sky."
Moon lets out a short giggle. "I know right? And the stars are so pretty!"
Cherry tilts her head up. The trees were so tall in the forest surrounding the barn that it was hard to make out the sky at all, but here, she could see thousands of stars glittering across the black vastness.
"You know," Moon starts after a few moments of comfortable silence, "my mother used to say that when cats die, they become a star."
"Really?" Cherry's voice comes out slightly choked. She sometimes hates how perceptive Moon is.
"Yep! She said that they watch over their loved ones from the sky." Moon's voice takes on a slight tone of wistfulness. "When I miss her, I like to think that she's looking down upon me as a star."
Taking in a deep breath, Cherry tries to keep the conversation going, for Moon's sake, at least. "Which star do you think she is?"
Moon tilts her head as her eyes roam across the galaxy. "I've never thought of that before."
Cherry thinks the conversation is over after that, but Moon speaks up once again. "That star," she says, raising her paw to the sky. "The one that glows the brightest. That's my mother."
Cherry follows her gaze to the white star twinkling brighter than the rest. "Why that one?"
"Because she's shining that bright to lead me to her!" she says as she rolls onto her side to look at Cherry. "What about you?"
It scares Cherry a little, how well Moon can understand her. Cherry came to the barn at the end of last autumn, after her brother had just died. Feeling alone and lost without him, she lashed out at every cat who tried to help. But Moon always stayed by her side, not even once hesitating to offer her a paw.
Overtime, she has become someone Cherry would consider a best friend. She wonders if Moon feels the same way.
It is this knowledge that has Cherry looking up at the stars, searching for signs of her brother. "That's him," she says finally, nodding her head in the direction of the star. It's smaller than the others, but it's the only one she can see that's blue. She remembers how much he loved the colour, carrying her around as he showed her the blue sky and the blue pools and the blue beetles.
"Pretty," Moon murmurs.
They stare at the sky for a few moments more, before Moon pulls her down and curls up around her. Cherry snuggles into her warmth, pushing her face into Moon's neck.
The fog in her brain does not go away. She's not sure if it ever will. But here, in this moment, it's enough to just feel warm and safe and loved.
"This was nice," Cherry mumbles as her eyes start to fall shut. She's sure Moon can hear her by the way she shifts beside her. "Stargazing was a great idea."
A/N: This is somewhat mentioned in the story, but: Cherry and her brother wandered around the land before he died, and Cherry settled eventually around this barn that a lot of cats frequent. Moon's mother was a clan cat that was exiled, and so Moon grew up in the barn.
I kind of like these characters! I might write something else about them.