Was hope the cruelest of virtues? That to leave a heart in desperate yearning for what cannot be?

As on every new moon midnight when the stars gleamed their brightest, he ventured from his cabin into the darkness. But this night, low winter storm clouds hid the stars. The candle flame danced in the tarnished brass lantern, casting flickering light as fragile as the illusion that his star would return.

Decades had passed, and mortality had its limits. Because of the wasting disease that wracked body and spirit, he knew this to be his last chance.

Wistfully, he recalled again when his star fell from the sky.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Foolish, most people considered Levi's fascination with the stars, a frivolous undertaking. But the stars whispered to him, hinting of wonders beyond imagination and fueling his fascination. Many nights he delved into their secrets, meticulously cataloging the stars and plotting their paths across the sky. There was a grand order to it all.

Within a cirque of red sandstone spires atop a brushy hill, just outside a town named Gilmoor, which had become his observatory, Levi peered at the night sky, often through a refractor telescope of his own design. Periodically, he would scrawl notes or charts within a leather-bound notebook, faintly illuminated by a brass candle lantern.

Strange, he thought to himself, flipping back to compare with past charts. Was there not a star here before? And there had been other disappearances, which he had deemed as oversights on his part, but this was the twelfth. An ominous tingle crawled down his spine — stars did not simply disappear.

But while pondering the mystery, a deep yawn overtook him, and no explanation would he discover tonight.

Levi fastened his dark cloak tighter against the night chill, stowed the notebooks within a tattered canvas backpack, folded up the telescope and tripod. Then holding the lantern out, he trudged down a well-worn path toward a rustic, one-room cabin nestled within a pine grove, and to the bed that beckoned him. Years ago, he purchased the land containing the cabin and cirque specifically for stargazing, renting out the back pasture to a neighboring rancher.

The sun was already high in the sky when he awoke and made the thirty-minute walk along a tree-shaded wagon trail into Gilmoor, stopping at the Thirsty Ram Tavern as he usually did for breakfast. A tiny bell tinkled as he pulled open the heavy wooden door. During daylight, the tavern projected a comfortable, homey vibe inside, in sharp contrast to rowdy evenings when the farm workers came in for drinks.

From behind a scuffed wooden bar and below wall-mounted sheep ram horns, a short woman with tied-back gray hair, rosy red cheeks, and wearing a stained apron took notice, calling out, "Oi, Levi. Wondered when you'd show up. Almost lunchtime, it is."

Only two other men occupied the tavern, huddled at a corner table in fervent discussion of some issue. But soon, the lunch crowd would wander in.

"Late night, Emma," Levi explained as he took a bench end seat at a long wooden table. "What do you have to eat?"

"Only the best for my best customer. Got some lamb stew on the stove and fresh blackberry pie, if that'll do ya."

Levi grinned. "That'll do quite nicely. And a whole pie to go. You make the very best blackberry pies, Emma."

Her grin matched his. "You do an ole lady good, lad."

Within a few minutes, Emma placed a steaming pottery bowl, a hunk of dark bread, a frothy mug of ale, and a whole pie wrapped within a paperboard box before Levi. When wispy steam rising from the bowl condensed on round, wire-rimmed glasses, he cleaned them with a red bandana taken from a side pocket of his black trousers.

Emma straddled the bench across from him and asked, "Been gawkin' at them stars again? Learnin' them cosmic secrets, are ya?"

Levi picked up a pewter spoon as he answered, "More like a cosmic puzzle. Some stars have disappeared, and I don't know where they went."

"Like socks, them stars are," Emma scoffed with a giggle. "They go missin' all the time, but eventually they show up again."

Levi let out a chortle. "Maybe so, Emma. Should I check under my bed?"

The simplest explanation was usually the right one. They weren't missing at all — just a charting error. That must be it.

The front doorbell tingled as the first of the lunch crowd filtered in. But one caught Levi's attention, causing his eyes to widen as he slunk down in his chair, wishing for invisibility. In strutted a tall blonde woman in an elegant blue and brown dress with a tight bodice that drew attention to an ample bosom. Oh, no, it's Abigail — just the person he wished to avoid. When her blue eyes caught his, they narrowed into angry slits, shooting fire.

Emma raised a gray eyebrow. "If looks could kill, you'd be dead on the floor, lad."

"Most assuredly," he concurred. "I spurned her at the town festival."

"So, I heard. Hell, the whole town knows."

Levi's eyes shot wide open. "Really?"

"And it weren't that you said no, but that you said it so loudly in front of everyone. An upper-crust gal like her needs her social status."

"But she was annoying," Levi grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Why would she chase me, anyway?"

"Are ye daft, man?" Emma replied with a giggle. "A handsome and successful young man like you is bound to attract them young maidens." Standing up, she reached over and gently pinched his cheek. "Why, if I was younger, I might have tried for ya myself. But now I need to tend to the other customers before they turn on me like hungry wolves."

Heat warmed Levi's cheeks as he pondered Emma's words. He hadn't considered himself a prime catch, but that explained some things. Not that he didn't like female attention, just that between the lure of the stars and running his optical shop, he didn't have time for courting. But first things first — he needed to set things right with Abigail, especially since she was the daughter of Rector Thadius Brown, perhaps the most powerful man in Gilmoor, and Levi didn't need the holy man's fire and brimstone scorn.

He approached Abigail, head bowed. "Umm, Abigail..." he said in a timid voice, catching her attention.

"What do you want, Levi?" she spat, eyes narrowed.

"Umm, I would like to apologize for my behavior at the festival. I was inappropriately harsh."

Abigail's eyes narrowed further. "Was I so unworthy of you?"

"No, no, you are a perfectly beautiful and wonderful woman," Levi answered. The social lie soured in his gut. Beautiful she was, true, but wonderful — not so much. Rather, a pretentious and controlling shrew with highbrow tastes.

"Then why did you reject me?"

Shifting back and forth, Levi doubled down on the deception. "Well, you see, I am betrothed to another."

"Betrothed? Then where is this woman?"

"She is far away," Levi replied, stumbling over his words and nodding his head. "Tending to her ill mother, she is. Yes, in a town far, far away."

Abigail glared, but remained silent, then she turned and walked away. And Levi remained unsure she believed him at all.

*****

Levi's shop was one of several small businesses lining the town's main street, nestled between the medical clinic and a post office, all made of white-washed siding. The town stables across the street added a pungent musk when a south breeze blew. 'Optician,' announced the hanging wooden sign above the covered wooden board walk, along with a carved spectacles image. Being the only optical dispensary in the Highland Province, business was good and a profitable venture.

After late nights stargazing, he rarely arrived before noon. And on nights he did not stargaze, he slept in a small apartment above the shop. Levi's assistant, a young man named Ezra who did most of the labor-intensive glass lens grinding, had already unlocked the front door. A woman with a bushy-haired young boy wearing faded bib overalls and a teenage girl waited outside in the shade, seated on a wooden bench.

"Ah, Mrs. Smith," Levi said to the woman in a plain brown dress. "I apologize for my lateness, but your son's glasses are ready."

Levi ushered the boy inside to a swiveling chair that faced an eye chart and a mirror. From a cloth pouch, he slipped out a pair of round, wire-rimmed glasses much like his own, then slipped them onto the boy's face. "What do you think, Paul?"

Paul squinted, widening his eyes while holding a breath as he looked around. Then, he jumped off the chair and dashed to the front store window, touching the frames as he gazed outside. "Mama," young Paul exclaimed with glee. "I can see everything!"

A wide grin formed on Levi's face. He never tired of this reaction.

The woman grabbed Levi's hand and shook it. "Truly you are a blessing, Mr. Wesley."

"My pleasure, Mrs. Smith," Levi responded.

With an impatient head tilt, Mrs. Smith gestured her daughter forward. The girl, in her late teens, kept her eyes down as she stepped forward. A pretty young thing, Levi noted, with long brown hair tied back with a white bow, large honey-brown eyes, and a youthful figure. She wore a red gown more appropriate for a fancy gathering, and a far cry from what a farmer's daughter would normally wear.

Mrs. Smith took hold of the girl's hand and pulled her forward until she stood almost face-to-face with Levi. "Mr. Wesley, I would like to introduce you to my eldest daughter, Ruth. She has recently come of age."

Butterflies took flight in his stomach, and Levi struggled not to drop his jaw upon realizing what was happening here.

Mrs. Smith continued, "She is a wonderful cook. And well-read, too, with top marks at the school reading contest." 

Color bloomed on Ruth's cheeks as she shifted back and forth.

Could this woman be any more obvious? Levi forced a stoic expression and bowed his head to the girl. "Quite useful skills to have, Ruth. Indeed, a pleasure to meet you."

Ruth performed a jerky curtsy, bit her lip, and replied in a weak voice, "Thank you, Mr. Wesley. And a pleasure to meet you as well." Her eyes lifted for a moment, catching Levi's eyes, but unable to hold a gaze, dropped them again, leaving Levi to conclude that the introduction orchestrated by her mother was even more uncomfortable for her than for him.

After two moments of awkward silence, Levi said, "Well, thank you for coming in, Mrs. Smith, and do come back if Paul has any problems with the glasses." He turned to the girl. "And Ruth, a good day to you."

Ruth blew out a relieved breath that the moment had ended. "Good day, Mr. Wesley."

*****

By the time Levi reached his cabin, the weight of social expectations had evaporated from his shoulders. From the porch, Levi looked westward at a setting sun that colored the cloudless horizon in glowing orange and turquoise. A prelude for a perfect night of stargazing.

But first, a piece or two of blackberry pie, since after all, stargazing was best not done on an empty stomach.

Within the cirque, Levi gazed upward, and a pulsing star caught his attention, throbbing irregularly as if a lantern behind wind ruffled leaves. But stars did not do that. Faint, unintelligible whispers flooded his mind like secrets told from too far away. Then, he gasped, staggering as waves of stark emotion surged through his mind — surprise, alarm, terror, followed by an existential dread that iced his soul. His heart pounded as if the emotions were his own.

What is happening?

Inexplicably drawn, Levi trained his telescope toward the star, swiveling the mount and adjusting the eyepiece until the star came into sharp focus. He shuddered while the pulsing continued between unnatural darkening and normal brightness. The dread deepened and, beyond logic, he knew deep within his heart that a terrible thing had happened.

The star disappeared as if devoured by the abyss. At the same moment, a mournful death cry laced with fearful despair swirled in his mind. Levi stumbled backward, and would have fallen had he not steadied himself against a sandstone spire.

Then, light. Dazzling white light filled the cirque, forcing Levi to shade his eyes. The brightness churned, condensing into a human-like being, but made of pure starlight. Levi froze as the being staggered forward, then reached out with a tentative hand to caress Levi's cheek, invoking electric tingles at the point of contact.

"Who... who are you?" Levi stammered while pressing back against the stone, heart racing.

The being did not answer, rather wavered on unsteady feet and collapsed to the rocky ground. The brightness faded, leaving behind a human female form, trembling while curled on the cold stones.