Some of the villagers had gathered with Yaska and Jan around the fire, anticipating the story from the outsider, Chloe.

“My father told me it was long ago, I always assumed two or three thousand years. A star fell from the sky. It was unlike a dead shooting star. It was alive. It landed on the planet. The ancient people encountered it, and came to fear it.

“The first person to find it was a great hero. When the star encountered the hero, it took on the hero’s image as its own. For the citizens, it was uncanny to see this false form. They accused the star of being a demon, and captured it out of fear.

“The hero feared for the star. It would be charged will all forms of frivolity, and then ancient nation would decide to kill it. Standing around the star’s prison, and surrounded by his people, the hero took a risk in order to save the star.

“The hero gave a great laugh, and then pointed to the cage, ‘you fools, you have captured the wrong person, for I am the star, and he is the true hero!’

“The star was cunning. It said, ‘Indeed, I am your noble hero, please free me!’

“The hero gave the star a hidden smile, and then ran away. Half of the ancient people pursued, and the other half hastened to free the person they thought to be their hero. The star was yet more cunning, it said, ‘I will chase down the imposter! Leave it to me!’ And it gave chase. The two heroes ran about the city, each claiming to be chasing the other.

“The true hero stopped at his house to rest. He hid, and watched through his doorway. The city calmed. The star, seeing that the hero was missing, assured everyone that it was he that had chased the imposter out of the city. In truth, he was still himself in search. He walked around, fearful at the civilization before him, fearful that his impostering would be uncovered.

“Finally, the star noticed the hero in his doorway. He beckoned. The star approached, and the hero pulled him in. Safe inside the house, the hero told the star to journey out of the city and return to his home. The star told him, ‘I need energy,’ so the hero fed him. The star said, ‘I need an energy different from this.” The hero was confused. He gave him drink. With this, the star left the city under the guise of the hero, and returned unto the skies.

“They say that the star still looks down on the hero in thanks, and that the hero looks up in wonder. Supposedly, it’s the hero that passed this story down to his children, and to the next generation, and that’s why I can tell it to you,” Chloe finished.

So, anyone who visited around December-January will recognise this story. I’ve been meaning to give it a stand alone version for a while. For those who don’t recognise it, it was embedded in a less polished story series, Starman.

Daniel Triumph.

You can follow me:
For updates: Facebook, and Twitter
for art: DeviantArt and Instagram.

P.S. I know I’m “re-releasing” a lot of things, but actually, this is one of my goals. Not cheating my blog, but rather editing, a weakness of mine.

P.P.S. Hey, this is short enough to qualify as flash fiction!