Mara Voss had always found solace in books. As the head librarian of the Athenaeum, a sprawling archive of forgotten tales, she spent her days cataloging stories and her nights wandering the stacks.
But one evening, she stumbled upon a book she hadn’t seen before.
Its cover was black as night, and its title—The Celestial Lexicon—glimmered like starlight.
The book was a guide to the stars—not just their names and constellations, but how to reach them. With a simple incantation, Mara found herself holding a star, its light warm and pulsing in her palm.
But the book warned:
“Each star carries a memory. To take one is to bear its weight.”
The first star brought her joy, filling her with the memory of a summer night long past. But the second star carried grief, a sorrow so deep it left her breathless.
Still, she couldn’t stop.
The stars were beautiful, and for the first time in years, she didn’t feel alone.
As the nights passed, Mara’s collection grew, but so did the weight of the memories. She began to see visions—a man she had loved and lost, a child she had never known, a life she might have lived.
The stars were pieces of her own story, scattered across the sky.
Then the book revealed its final secret—the stars could be returned, but only by letting go of the memories they carried.
Mara faced a choice.
Keep the stars and their bittersweet light, or release them and find peace in the darkness.
In the end, she chose to let go.
One by one, the stars returned to the sky, their memories fading like dreams.
But as she watched them shine above the Athenaeum, Mara realized she wasn’t alone anymore.
The stars had given her something far greater than their light—
They had given her back herself.