ADELAIDE STARLIGHT

Night was beginning to fall as I watched the sun hide beneath the horizon, painting the sky with orange and purple hues. I was lying on a lounger by the lake, with my little Arceus sleeping peacefully in my lap. Beside me, Atlas was resting on another lounger with Anastasia asleep on top of him.

What peace can be felt in this moment, I thought while listening to my little son's soft breathing tickling my ears. The lake in front of us wasn't particularly large, but it offered a perfect view from our position on the loungers.

As darkness began to envelop the landscape, I was about to wake the children to take them to their tents when an idea crossed my mind. Gently, I tried to wake Arceus and Anastasia.

—Nn? A beautiful landscape? —Anastasia mumbled in a sleepy voice.

—Don't... want to move —my little Arceus protested, weakly waving his little arms while sinking back into sleep.

I couldn't help but sigh with an ironic smile while taking him in my arms.

—Ah! Anyway, let's go together! —exclaimed Anastasia while rubbing her beautiful eyes.

We headed to a place not far from where we had been. During my previous inspection of the area, I hadn't detected any traces or auras of monsters, which had made me feel secure in choosing this site. However, something inside me was saying we should wait.

—We should wait for a while —I suggested, following that inexplicable feeling I had.

I felt Atlas's arm around my waist while his other hand held Anastasia. I was still carrying my sleeping little Arceus, and my eyes were lost in the vast landscape stretching before us.

Gently, I woke Arceus. His beautiful blue eyes, still clouded with sleep, began to open slowly. I could notice how the initial confusion at finding himself in an unfamiliar place dissipated as soon as his eyes found mine.

—Now! Everyone please look at the sky! It will begin any moment! —I announced with contained excitement.

Just as I finished speaking those words, a shooting star crossed the sky like a silver thread.

—Wow...! —exclaimed Anastasia with genuine admiration.

My heart swelled with happiness seeing how both Arceus and Atlas watched the spectacle with bright eyes.

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What started as a single shooting star soon multiplied: two, three, five, ten, twenty... The number gradually increased until hundreds, thousands of stars filled the firmament, creating a celestial spectacle that seemed designed just for us. The shooting stars appeared to have a gravitational center, drawing a perfect circle around a specific point and tracing luminous paths on the black canvas of the night sky.

I felt how Arceus's little hands clung tightly to my neck, and I couldn't help but turn my gaze from the sky to contemplate his face. His pupils reflected the light dance of the shooting stars, and I could see how his jaw slowly dropped, obviously overwhelmed by the immensity of the cosmic spectacle he was witnessing.

I could feel how my little one tried to absorb every detail of the celestial landscape, storing it in his childish mind like a precious treasure.

***

ANASTASIA PENDRAGON

I watched my little brother as he restlessly shifted in his sleeping bag. His eyes remained wide open while he firmly held his large teddy bears, and I could notice how his gaze seemed lost, surely reliving again and again the shooting star spectacle we had witnessed.

—Can't you sleep? —I asked him softly.

We were alone in one of the two camping tents, and I couldn't resist the urge to stroke his soft white hair, running my fingers from his forehead back with tenderness. My brother responded with a small nod, his bare forehead slightly gleaming under the dim light of our camping lamp.

—It was really beautiful, wasn't it? —I commented, remembering myself the wonderful celestial spectacle.

"He's so adorable when he's like this," I thought while watching him nod again with enthusiasm.

—But now you need to sleep. Shall we go to sleep together? —I suggested, trying to help him relax.

—I suppose you're right —my little brother admitted, letting out a yawn that made me smile—. Ana, can you sing me that elvish song that mom taught us?

My heart melted at his request.

—Of course —I replied, and prepared myself to sing.

I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering the melody that our mother had taught us. When I began to sing, I tried to make my voice as soft and melodious as I could, wanting it to sound like the gentle murmur of a spring brook, just as I knew Arceus liked:

"You have always rested in peace, in the sweet cradle that my love created.

But you will wake up, chosen you will be by the messenger of dreams,

On your skin I see shimmering, the moonlight in the nightfall,

If only you could stop time and this world end.

There is a reason why we came to meet,

I am the bible and I will show you the path to freedom,

Like a soulless and cruel angel, helplessly you will suffer a tragedy,

A new form of life will begin, when you finally wake from this dream,

More than anyone in the world you will shine, fly child, become legend."

I let my voice fade softly, watching how Arceus's eyelids began to grow heavy. It's working, I thought with satisfaction while a smile formed on his lips and he finally closed his eyes.

I kept staring at him, fascinated by his movements as he sank into the world of dreams.

I watched how he softly moved his fingers and toes, as if he were playing in his dreams. Soon he released the teddy bear and began waving his arms in the air.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on his face, which made me stop caressing his hair and tilt my head with curiosity. "What could he be dreaming about?" I wondered, feeling some tenderness seeing him so happy and relaxed. I couldn't resist giving him a short kiss on his white and clear forehead.