a bedtime story

Cassie is in her bed, but her eyes are open, following my every movement. I turned to her and smiled.

"Just a little while longer, baby girl," I told her in soothing sounds. "Just a little while longer."

My husband is nowhere to be seen. Fair enough. He's had a long and challenging day, but he's gotten to spend most of the day with Cassie. It's my turn now. He knows I need this time alone with her. I climbed onto the bed and nestled close to my 8-year-old daughter. 

"Tell me a story, mommy." Just the sound of her voice breaks my heart. How can I deny her this request, even when my mind is depleted of its creativity? 

"A story?" I asked. "What story would you like to hear?"

"One about a princess and the magician. You know. My favorite one." She smiled. Of course, she'd ask for that story. The fantastically told story of how her father and I met. 

"Alright, close your eyes, little girl. Let me tell you a story.

There once was a princess who lived in a faraway land. She was loved by her parents, the king and queen, and adored by her subjects. Unlike most princesses, who loved playing dress-up and drinking tea, Amelie was fond of astronomy and stargazing. She wanted to reach to the skies and play among the stars. She was so passionate about this one endeavor that she studied under all the tutors in the land. She wants to absorb all the information she can get from them. Once the land's tutors have run out of knowledge to teach her, she was upset. She knew there must be a way she can dance among the stars like in her dreams. 

One day, an official-looking letter came in the mail for Princess Amelie. The letter was an invitation from a school in the neighboring kingdom. They wanted her to come and study the stars with some of their best and brightest. Princess Amelie was so excited. She couldn't wait to leave. Reluctantly, her father and mother let their precious daughter go. 

When Princess Amelie arrived at the school, she was surprised to see the place bustling with people. Young and old, men and women, all hurrying about as if they are late for an important date. It's so easy to feel out of place there. She had a map to her quarters but was then left alone by her guide. She thinks she must have gotten turned around in the second courtyard and has taken the wrong path somewhere. At this point, she will never get to her room by supper time. 

Princess Amelie was getting irritated, when she spotted a young man, busily working on pieces of parchments all over himself. He didn't even realize that Amelie has been standing in front of his face with a confused and irritated look. 

'Excuse me, sir,' Amelie started.

'Whatever it is you're selling. I don't want it.' The young man retorted, without even glancing at Amelie. How rude, she thought to herself. Are all the people here like this? If so, maybe going to this school is the wrong decision for me. Maybe there is time for me to get myself home.

'I'm not selling anything. I was just asking for assistance, but it seems like you are too busy to be a decent human being.' She couldn't help being just a little bit acerbic. She turned to march off.

The young man looked up and was immediately mesmerized by the vision in front of him. He dropped all of his parchments, tripped on his bag, and landed at the feet of the princess. Amelie stifled a laugh that was bubbling up and reached down to help him up. He took her hand and got himself up, dusting himself in the process. She looked at him and realized all the ink splotches everywhere, including his face. If he can only find some water to wash his face in. He actually might look quite handsome, in a quirky kind of way. 

The young man, Robert, ended up gathering his parchments and his wits and showed her to the tower in which her room was located. He returned after washing his face and escorted her to the main hall for supper. She was right in her initial assessment. He was handsome.

Robert and Amelie started talking and she realized that he was a mage-in-training. And that meant he had to study the stars. That meant they had to take the same classes. Days turn to weeks, which then turns to months. Their friendship bloomed into something more. As they spent more time together, her dream of dancing among the stars rubbed off on him. He suddenly wants to do everything in his power to get her up there in the stars. They worked together day and night, and as they continued to work together, they fell in love. Not in a shocking way, but subtly and sweetly. 

Still, no time among the stars. They just had to settle with letting the stars witness the moment Robert asked Amelie to marry him. They just had to settle with saying their wedding vows under the stars. They had to settle with naming their daughter after the stars, Cassiopeia. 

One day, Amelie and Robert heard that a dark shadow has passed over the land and people began dying. No one knows why some lived and some died. People just started getting sick and dying. They thought that surely the stars would never let their family be consumed by the shadow. Robert was fine. Amelie was fine. But the shadow came for little Cassiopeia. This is her last night on earth. For after this, the stars have come to claim her. And she, not her mother, will be dancing among the stars.'"

By the end of the story, I was in tears. I looked up and Robert was on the other side of the bed, his arm around our little girl. He was sobbing. I put my arm around my little daughter and listened to her breathing. Shallow and fragile. The doctors said that it's only a matter of hours. My time with my little girl is coming to an end. I sobbed into the blanket, but my baby girl didn't wake up anymore.

Good night, my little Cassiopeia. Dance with the stars tonight.