The teacher took her sweet time and Sky found himself engrossed in chatting with his fellow artists, so I busied myself preparing the mirror and my camera. Every now and then I'd check on Sky and the kids, just to make sure I didn't lose him in that crowd.

But I got too preoccupied, I didn't notice someone approaching me from behind.

He tapped my shoulder and crouched beside me, intently watching me set up and angle the mirror. His trousers were covered with dead grass, and his white hoodie had splotches of paint everywhere. He grinned at me when I gave him an awkward smile.

"May I help you?" I asked. The stranger seemed harmless anyway.

My heart skipped a beat when he replied, "It's me, Blue."

In a city of unknown faces, Sky's voice brought me home. The familiar lovely sound dissipated all the ugly feelings that came with the unknown. In uncharted shores, he was my lighthouse.

I sighed in relief and took his hand, pressing a small kiss on it. "Took you long enough."

He blushed a little. "Their teacher arrived, but I was having a lot of fun with the kids so she let me stay. They gave me this hoodie and painted over me."

"That is so you."

He beamed. "What are you doing?"

I guided him to the spot where I had the best angle of the skies, the mountain, the fields, and the mirror. "Let's take our picture together. Hold this mirror."

He sat on the grass, crossed his legs and placed the mirror on his lap. I positioned his hands and the mirror in the right angle where I could be seen in the mirror. Then I took some steps back until I saw myself where I needed to be.

The camera covered my face, but I thought it didn't matter.

As long as Sky was there.

"Hey, Sky?" I said, holding the camera up to my eyes.

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He broke into a bright smile. He threw his head back, giggling, and he replied, "I love you too, Blue."

Click.

Perfect.

☁︎☁︎☁︎

In contrast to our very quiet trip to the Sunken Garden, the ride home was lively.

Sky thought that my idea of using the mirror to capture the both of us was absolutely golden. He wouldn't shut up about painting that, instead of the sketch he'd done of Cornwall. He said he couldn't wait to go home and get started.

He said he couldn't wait to go home, but he was also the one who made several stops along the way. We stopped by a road with yellow flowering trees. We stopped by an old bridge, because Sky wanted to make sure that he "gives the troll our toll fee" (I gave him enough change to appease the troll). And we also stopped by the nearest high street and ate our lunch there.

By the moment we reached the road that leads straight to home, it was already dark. But it was worth it, to be surrounded with nothing but the familiar, cosy kind of weird that Sky had.

"Is there anywhere else you wanna stop by?" I asked him whilst driving.

He slowly nodded. "The woods near our house."

"What are we doing there?"

"I wanna see the stars."

"I wanna see them too."

It took us fifteen minutes of driving and five minutes of walking among the tall trees to reach the clearing, where we used to camp out and stargaze. I brought the camera with the stand with me, and positioned it to capture a short time-lapse of the stars.

Sky decided to lay down on the grass and watch the night sky. I sat beside him.

"Thank you for this trip," he said, reaching out for my hand.

"I want you to have your sparkles back." I intertwined our fingers. "So you can paint the two of us."

"I think I have an idea how to get them back. And I promise you our home will be flooding with artworks." He let out a little suppressed laugh.

"Can't wait."

"Thank you," he said again, pressing my hand against his cold cheek. "For a different kind of sparkle."

After some minutes of quietly staring up at the sky, he tugged my hand and asked, "I'm cold and this hoodie does nothing. Can you lend me your jacket?"

I chuckled. "You want the cool jacket?" I took my jacket off, but a wave of dread swept over me as I handed it to him. I clenched my fist behind my back as he wore it, trying to shake the uneasiness and the questions off my mind.

Who is this person?

Why can't I recognise his face?

What if he's messing with me?

I cleared my throat before I asked, "Hey, Sky?"

He leaned against me. "Yeah?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Mm-hmm . . . Your jacket doesn't smell like paint." There it was, the comfortable randomosity.

"Would you rather I smell like paint?"

He pressed his face against my neck and sniffed. "Nah, this is better. You smell sweet." He pushed me down to the ground and rested his head on my chest. I used my arm as a pillow.

"Your heart is beating fast," he mused.

"At least now you're sure I'm alive, aren't you?" I laughed.

He didn't reply. I had a feeling I shouldn't be joking about that.

We lay on the grass for some minutes before Sky sat up and said he wanted to go home. He sounded tired, so I didn't ask any questions. I was getting tired too, and I was honestly slipping in and out of consciousness as we stargazed.

Nobody spoke on the way home. When we arrived, I asked Sky if I could take a quick nap on the couch. He nodded, and said that he would be feeding our guest some paint and glitters in the downstairs bathroom.

He also asked me where the pasta strainer was.

I collapsed on the couch after helping him gather everything he needed for "our guest" (which I figured was just another artsy product of his quirks and eccentricities) and dozed off for a few minutes.

I didn't dream anything.

I was just woken up by a panicking Sky who was covered in paint and glitters.

"Did our guest fight back?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I heard you scream," he said, relief washing over his face. "But you're here, it's okay now."

I shook my head to wake myself up. "What time is it?"

"The clock says it's half past nine."

"Oh!" I stood up. "Your meds—"

He gently placed his hands on my shoulders. "It's okay. I've taken them."

"Really?"

He bobbed his head vigorously. "Really really. I'll take a quick shower, you get more sleep while I cook dinner."

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you too." He walked towards the stairs, stopping for a second and looking me over as if to make sure I was still there.

I reassured him with a thumbs up and watched him disappear from view. I laid myself down on the couch, smiling a little. I guessed this was our normal weird.