''Welcome my newborn stars, to Astrology Class, where dreams are but a soft stretch away from the minds grasp...''
Christine was breathless and awe-struck. Her teacher was just as magnificent as the room that surrounded them now. It gave her a pause though, wondering if all the teachers here at Caislin Hallows would hold such a magnitude of not only knowledge but power and grace. The teacher in front of her, though drastically different, reminded her so much of Miss Danae, and the way she secured the rooms attention with just a simple gesture of standing or a wave of a hand.
A small smile crept across her lips at the thought that she might offend Miss Danae if she became to like her new teacher more than the lovely Formalities instructor. As quickly as the thought crept into her mind, she shot it down with the simple fact that Miss Danae was the one person whom she unequivocally trusted more any any one person that was not her Martha. She was the nurturing hand that plucked Christine from the weeds and replanted her in a garden full of blooming flowers so that she too, might be able to breath once more and claim her true glory...there was no changing that.
However, her thought process was interrupted as she felt a familiarity of warmth against her skin. She looked down at the soft fingers against her skin and followed the arm up to the face of the blonde haired blue-eyed boy. She could not stop the smile that spread across her lips and the way the moonlight shined over her, giving her stark white hair a glow about it that was almost as if she was of another world. She watched as Ian took his place among the stars and moons themselves as he sat at the large table. She would go to join him, but not before giving her own greeting to her new teacher.
"It is very nice to meet you Miss..." Her words were cut short as she had not learned the name of her teacher. But she did not intend to make another bad impression, so she continued her thought as if nothing had made her pause in the first place. A soft curtsy would come with her words, the teachings of Formalities coming into play. "It is very wonderful for you to invite us to your beautiful Classroom."
Though her words would be soft, they seemed to echo around her in the large room. She couldn't help but become fascinated with the glory around her. Of course Christine had gazed at the stars before, peeking out her window at night after Martha had gone to bed to see a bright and glorious moon staring back at her and the shining dots that sprinkled the dark blue abyss of the night sky...For a moment, Christine let her mind trace back to those nights in her room living with Martha, and she had thought that it had been quite some time since she took a moment to stare up at the stars like she did back then.
She tilted her head and let her gaze drift up and beyond the ceiling, through the shapes and up into that dark night once more, finding something she had lost long ago, a part of herself that she had enjoyed and let slip away with her sorrow and grief. The sound of her teachers perky but strong voice pierced through the starry skies in her mind and brought her back to the reality that she drifted from so often.
"I do hope you enjoy this class my young stars."
She would take a seat besides Ian and let her eyes drift up once more towards the ceiling but she would keep herself grounded to the world around her, ears swiveling atop her head as she picked up the sounds from around the room. Her attention would be brought back down from the ceiling when the teacher would lay a silver notebook in front of her. She let her fingers slide across the folder, the moonlight shining on the object and making it shine just as her hair did.
"...So take this into heart my darlings, that Imperfection, is the Perfection of our lives.''
Christine would watch her teacher with great intent as the words fell from her lips...Imperfection is perfection. Despite her ability to have overcome a great deal of obstacles in this school, she still had doubts. The rose that she was, had blossomed, but not fully. However, with these words, just simple words, her world became so much clearer. She took a second to glance at Ian who had not once turned away from her since she had let herself shine. She had Imperfections...clear and defined that had made him stutter the words "beautiful." All she could do was give a soft "hmm," like a light switch was flipped in her head and now the bulb was shining ever so brightly.
"'Now what I would like for you all to do...Is pick your favorite star..Constellation or Galaxy, tell us why you like this particular one, and what it means to you.
She looked down at the book that was open to page three in front of her. Pick a star? How am I going to do that....? She sighed deeply and looked up at the ceiling once again and began to drift away to that place that was not here. As she did, her eyes glazed over in memory at a thought, distant though it was, it was so vivid in her mind.
** "Martha, Martha!" A little girl, not 6 or 7 ran up with big fluffy ears atop her head, and bright eyes in the soft glow of the coming night. Her hands clasped together with a dim yellow light emanating from between them. An elderly lady with hair just as white as the little girls looked down at her and smiled. "What have we here?" A ginger smile spread her already thin lips even thinner. The little girl looked between her hands as she slowly spread them open and a little black bug with a bright glowing butt crawled along her fingers. Dazed with wonder in her eyes and such an innocent voice, the little girl whispered ever so softly. "I caught a star..." **
Christine smiled at the thought that she had been so full of life back then, but her Martha had endowed her with that joy. A slight pang of grief welled up inside her and she forced it back down with a hard swallow. When she glanced back up at the ceiling out into the night sky, all she saw now were dots, which she knew were not fireflies that she would ever be able to catch. She let out a gentle sigh as she looked down at the notebook, still open, as the information on the page didn't even register in her mind. Glancing over at Ian, she would see him working diligently...He seems so sure of himself...
In times of deep thought or even boredom, Christine would find herself reaching up with gentle fingers and rubbing her thumb over the outside of her ear. It was more a habit than anything and she didn't even register her bodies movements or the comforting feeling she had when she did it, until she would be reminded by some strange look or the loud purring that registered through her body. However, this time it was stopped by a stroke of enlightenment.
Drawing on a piece of paper in the margins, she would doodle little sketches of the moon with the stars around it, just for her own amusement more than anything as she began to write very slowly, as if to articulate her thoughts one letter at a time. "The moon is brilliant. It shines even through the darkest and coldest nights and returns again even if we do not want it. It is unyielding and shines on us with beauty and grace filling, what would be darkness with pure light. The moon means comfort, in a safe place, with warm tea and an even warmer bed. It means simple, but beautiful. A light in the dark. A star, brighter than any other star there for hope that the sun will rise again to bring a new day and new life. "
She would wait until her paper was completely covered with doodles of bright stars and half moons and full moons along with her answer before she would stand and place the paper upon the hard surface of their teachers desk. She gave a soft curtsy just before she returned to her seat, but not without a moment of insecurity as she glanced over her paper once more just to make sure it was exactly how she wanted it.