In a town called Loyal I grew up with 2 amazing best friends, Celeste and Aster, who shone brightly in a town of close knitted families. While they stood out with their silky golden hair, sun kissed skin and eyes as bright as the blue sea.
I however blended into the background scene behind everyone else. My light brown hair and pale skin that’s hardly seen the light of day never caught anyone’s eye. The only thing I liked about myself was my sea foam green eyes.
I only happened to meet by chance when we were younger. My mom had taken me back to school shopping when I noticed a little girl crying near the fountain. She looked like a princess in her flowy sundress and golden wavy hair cascading down her shoulders.
I asked her what was wrong and she said she got separated from her mom and brother. I held her hand and went back to the table my mom was sitting at only to realize that she was no longer sitting there.
Panicked, I tried my best to hide my own fear of being abandoned when I heard a boy shout ‘Celeste!’ She turned around and in a flash she was hugged tightly by a boy. In appearance they almost looked identical. Like a real life prince and princess.
She explained to him that she got lost and I was helping her. He looked down at me dismissively which was something I was used to by other kids, but I was shocked when he suddenly pulled me into a hug and thanked me for finding her.
He grabbed Celeste’s hand and headed in the direction he came from. I turned back to the many rows of tables hoping to see my mom, but I could feel my tears begin to fall when she was nowhere to be seen.
I was about to fall to the ground when I felt a hand wrap around mine. The prince came back and was smiling at me. He asked if I was lost and I silently nodded. He walked us to the fountain and we sat there waiting for our parents.
It must have only been 10 minutes when I heard my mom calling my name ‘Nova’. And right after I could hear a soft voice calling for them ‘Aster, Celeste’
With a wave goodbye I thought I would never see them again. Probably the closest thing I would ever see to a real life prince and princess.
Life is funny and I swear it was because the stars and planets aligned perfectly that we had met again. It was only a week later that I learned their parents bought the house across from us. I was so excited when I saw them running around the front yard as the movers brought in large pieces of furniture.
When I walked out to our front yard they noticed me immediately and ran over to play. After that we became inseparable. Things just seemed to flow naturally between us. I had become a part of their family and they became a part of mine.
It wasn’t odd for us to be together and even though they were both so outgoing they accepted that I would be on the sidelines to support them in everything they did. Aster was a year older than Celeste and I, but I still went to every game, concert and other activity they both decided to do.
I was never one to be in the spotlight like them, but I admired them for it. Never feeling resentment or jealousy towards either of them. I knew what I wanted out of life and that was to open my own business the same way my parents opened up the local grocery store here.
Aster wanted to join the NBA and worked hard for his scholarship to a college out of state with the highest recruit rating. Celeste wanted to travel the world and thought about becoming a flight attendant or working on a cruise ship.
I knew that once she and I graduated high school that I would hardly see the both of them, but I hoped we could all stay close and keep in contact. That was my one and only wish I made on the same shiny bright star outside my window every night. Too bad wishing upon a star is something that only works in fairytales.