.. Falling Stars and Promises
“It was a shooting star; I swear it on the soda shop. Only I didn’t think we would have to go so far out, Mary Jane,” Theodora groaned while she forced her sore arms to dip the paddle back into the water for the thousandth time.
A familiar laugh reached her. “We’re already so close! Just a little further.”
“You’ll owe me three sodas for all the work I’m putting into this kayaking. My arms might just fall off before we ever get home. We could have planned on the drive-in with everyone else,” she added with an overly dramatic sigh.
Mary Jane looked over her shoulder, just like Theodora had hoped. Her girlfriend flashed a smile, careful about moving in their shared kayak. “You’ll have fun on Hope Island, I promise. Besides, shooting stars are more fun.”
“Sure, except they don’t come with soda and popcorn.”
Not that Theodora really meant her grumbling. They both knew the truth. Joining their school friends at the drive-in theater would mean Mary Jane would feel like she had to wear a skirt, and Theodora would spend too many hours on her hair in the new hip way, which meant a lot of hairspray, and that always made her stomach queasy.
She glanced down at her poor arms with all the work they had done so far gliding across the Puget Sound. It was springtime of ’53, a strangely warm one at that, so it wasn’t too awful being out on the water.
Still, she did regret wearing her skirt. Pants would have been better. Only she had refused, just like Mary Jane refused to leave her leather jacket behind. They could both be stubborn sometimes.
Her idea of fun didn’t typically include risking these cold waters, but she wouldn’t turn down this time with Mary Jane. Hours passed by too easily when they were together. Already the sun was beginning to set, meaning they would soon need to turn back for Olympia.
Besides, Mary Jane had just made her a promise, and they both knew she took her promises seriously. They had known each other for five years—in love for two—and she had never broken a single promise. So, Theodora trusted her, even while kayaking far out of her comfort zone.
“What did you wish for?”
Theodora looked at the dark-haired beauty. “What?”
“What did you wish for? On the shooting star?” Mary Jane pointed out with that lopsided smile of hers that always made Theodora’s heart skip a beat.
“Oh. Ah, that.” Theodora blushed. “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”
“Well, I can’t help you make it come true if you don’t tell me,” her girlfriend teased in return.
“I’ll tell you if it comes true,” she promised with a chuckle. “Now, are you going to get us to shore or not?”
Nodding with that smile of hers, Mary Jane steered them toward shore. An easy distraction to avoid the question for a while. Someday Theodora hoped she could tell Mary Jane about her wish. It was their dream, after all, the one they kept talking about: a new life together where they could have a community. Friends. Where they could belong somewhere. She wished they could have the freedom to live as they desired.
Maybe someday that would happen. Who knew? They had a great big future ahead of them, and maybe this shooting star could make their dreams come true.
And before them now stood Hope Island. Their kayak swept over the water seamlessly like a knife cutting through her mother’s favorite Jell-O salad. It was a beautiful calm day to be out on the water. Soon the stars would be out. And no one was out there, not a person to disturb them. Here in the water, they could be themselves. They could be together. A person didn’t have to wait for wishes to make something happen, even if it was in secret.
“Come on, dreamboat!”
Mary Jane was taller and stronger, so it was she who brought them to the shores of the small beach. Their kayak tilted precariously before riding up over the rocks. When she hopped out into the shallow water in one smooth leap, Mary Jane’s sneakers and rolled jeans were sure to be wet. She didn’t seem to notice. Before Theodora could scold her, her girlfriend was reaching out with both hands.
“You shouldn’t say that so loud,” Theodora murmured while she stood.
“Darling, there’s no one on this island to worry about. I’ve been here before, remember?” Mary Jane offered her a reassuring smile as she snatched Theodora’s waist and lifted her in one fell swoop to land her on the pebbled shore. They wavered, clinging together, until Theodora was steady. “We’ll just take a peek around before heading back home. We deserve a little break. Besides, I have my pack for flashlights and water. And it’s not as though we’ll even stay long.”
Her reasoning was fair. Besides, Mary Jane was experienced and trustworthy, especially being raised with a father who knew everything there was to know about the land and animals in the state of Washington. Theodora was hard-pressed not to feel reassured in Mary Jane’s presence. And it helped even more when Mary Jane took her hand to head toward the trees.
“What do you think a shooting star really looks like?” Theodora asked when they reached the space where sand turned into dirt.
“I think a real star looks like a lightbulb.”
Theodora laughed. “Why would you say that?”
A cheeky grin escaped Mary Jane. “Why not? It’s that or probably rock and metal scraps. Really hot, like when you’re welding. That’s what I hear, anyway. But someday we’ll have people in space to tell us. Why? What do you think it looks like?”
“I don’t know. Pretty, I hope,” she mumbled.
“I’m sure it will be,” her girlfriend reassured her with a wink. “Just not as pretty as you.”
Giggling, Theodora squeezed her hand before moving forward.
Thickets of trees stretched high in the skies ahead of them. That was something she could never get over. Washington was a world Mary Jane had known all her life, whereas Theodora had only been here for a short while. This was much different than the dry and bright Phoenix she had known most of her life. But she liked this, the damp and the green.
This was a beautiful island even with the growing shadows between the tall trees. She eyed them thoughtfully, carefully, and watched for the bears and wild cats that her mother was always afraid of finding outside of their home.
Most of Olympia was just fine. Beautiful and wild, like Mary Jane. Only this island felt different. There was a mysterious tension she could feel that began to knot up her stomach. Her smile slowly faded as the world felt a little darker. The trees felt like they were growing even taller. Everything grew so quiet until she could hear the rushing of her blood through her body.
“You don’t think we’ll go far, do you?” Theodora felt the need to ask once they had left the shores behind. One last glance showed her the first stars coming out to shine as they reflected on the calm waters. There was something so infinite in the sight that it felt like she had left time behind as she turned back to Mary Jane, picking her feet up higher as they crossed the uneven ground.
“No. It’s not even that big, I’m telling you. I’ve crossed this island a half dozen times over the years. Most kids come out here for a smoke if at all. There won’t be another soul or a spot of danger, I can tell you that,” Mary Jane boasted. “I’ll have you back home before curfew. I promise. Maybe even still in time for the last movie, huh?”
Theodora forced a smile. “Right-o.”
Slowing down, her girlfriend turned to her with a frown. Her brow wrinkled into a groove that Theodora wanted to brush out with her fingers. “I’m here to have a ball with you, but if you aren’t having fun...”
“Oh, it’s not that.”
“Are you sure, darling?”
The pet name always made her cheeks warm. Gazing up, Theodora had a strong inkling that was half the reason why Mary Jane said it in the first place. Their relationship was often focused on stolen kisses and quiet moments hand in hand. The two of them were two halves of a whole, and—
A strange sound made them freeze.
It was a gargle, a whine, and a heavy groan layered atop a gritty noise shrieking through the air. The two young women stopped to stare at each other in bewilderment.
“I thought you said there weren’t bears in these parts,” Theodora whispered.
“There shouldn’t be. And I don’t think that’s a bear.”
“What else could it be?”
Mary Jane’s uncertainty dissipated into curiosity. She was faster than lightning, this girl. Most of the time, Theodora felt for certain that the girl could do anything she put her mind to. Not much stumped her when she could put a whole car together from scraps, make a whole theater background, and even stitch together fabric into flowers. She was creative, and Theodora hated to admit, also fearless.
“Let’s go find out.”
“Don’t flip your lid––”
Mary Jane was already tugging her along. “We’ll be just fine. I’ve got you. I’ll protect you, Theo.”
The tightness in her chest left her breathless. “Are you sure about that?”
“I promise. And you know I keep my promises.”
Theodora nodded and trailed close on her heels. She kept her feet in Mary Jane’s footsteps as they went, not wanting to risk losing each other. Her focus was to keep following and stay close. Where they were going, she couldn’t quite tell.
“Oh.” Mary Jane stopped suddenly beside a giant red cedar.
Theodora moved without thinking, coming to see what made her stall. She froze immediately. Her hand clutched Mary Jane’s as they stared ahead in disbelief.
She wasn’t even certain she knew what she was looking at.
The space here before them had not been a clearing before this morning, judging by the broken branches and fallen spruce trees. Nearly ten feet wide was an uneven circle with dying flames of orange and blue and green emanating from a deep pit.
From there came the dreadful noise once more.
Both of them cringed and clung close to each other. They were so close to this noise now, and this time, while Theodora couldn’t understand it, she could feel it. That awful howl. The pain and the terror of a strange voice who didn’t know what was happening. It clawed its way into her heart until she felt like the cry came from within her. Tears of empathy welled in her eyes.
She whispered without thinking, “We have to help it.”
“Talk about radioactive,” Mary Jane muttered before nodding. “All right. You stay put.”
“What?”
Already her girlfriend was on the move. She had released Theodora’s hand to fix the cuffs on her jeans so she might lengthen them over her boots, and then was bending over the pit. It only took her a second to find a foothold. Then another and another. Every step took her away from the level ground and into more danger that worried Theodora’s heart. She wasn’t sure how long she could take it, even knowing she had been the one to say they had to help.
“Wait––” Theodora cried when her girlfriend’s head disappeared.
“I found something!”
Trying not to worry about dirtying her skirt, Theodora bent down and squinted through the smoke. Her eyes burned and watered. It smelled of gasoline and fir trees. Something metallic was down there between all the fire and smoke. A box? A machine? But she lost sight of it and she stopped caring when Mary Jane’s head reappeared.
“Here, take it,” Mary Jane said as she paused from her climb, her hands and white shirt filthy. “Hold on carefully like you would your brother.”
Little Johnny wasn’t even a year old, but the bundle Mary Jane had wrapped in her leather jacket had to be bigger than that. Still, Theodora nodded. She grunted under the weight but reassured her girl that she had a good grip before Mary Jane let go. There was a spot of smoky ash on Mary Jane’s cheek that made her look devilishly charming as she came back up and helped Theodora stand again.
“What is it?” Theodora asked. She was too busy looking at Mary Jane’s face to consider what she was holding. But then the bundle moved, and she squealed, instinctively clutching it tighter like she would her brother.
“Careful, careful,” Mary Jane instructed her calmly. They hovered over the bundled jacket. Their foreheads touched. Ever so slowly, Mary Jane peeled back the leather to reveal a little… thing.
Theodora didn’t know what to call it. A baby? A monster? A monkey-dog hybrid? Her breathing stuttered as her body locked up, not knowing how to react. She’d never held something so strange.
This living creature was a dark blue shade with a touch of brown at the end of its extremities. Hands and feet but they had extra digits and there weren’t any nails. Then it had a tail. A short tail, but a very furry one. There was fur on its back, she could tell, but some sort of hard, metallic skin everywhere else.
Theodora wanted to scream as much as she wanted to hug it close in protection, her emotions warring over the strange encounter.
“It’s a boy?” Mary Jane offered with a cautious grin.
Theodora swallowed hard. “I don’t think it’s human. What could it be? A bear?”
His eyes opened and were a darker blue than his skin. The sight nearly took her breath away as he looked right at her. It felt like he could see every part of her, like her past, present and future. She gulped but couldn’t look away. There were no words to describe the wonder filling her soul.
Mary Jane eventually spoke up. “I’ve never seen something blue like this before. Unless it was a bird. I’d say it’s an oxygen problem, but it’s moving just fine.” They looked again at the chest where it moved up and down quickly. Too fast for a human, Theodora decided, but it wasn’t screaming. “What do you think we should do with it? Him? Go to a vet?”
That was a fine idea. Theodora had been considering it the second she saw the tail. But once it was said out loud, she hated the notion. Loathed it. “No, we won’t do any such thing!” There was no telling what could happen should someone else see this creature. No, this little baby had to be protected. Kept safe. Her shoulders hunched as she held him close. “Not a doctor, either.” She started to think up a defense as new ideas filled her mind. This might take some convincing. “We have to be careful, and we have to keep him safe.”
“Then what do you want to do?” Mary Jane asked simply.
Whatever tension had started to build within Theodora melted like warm butter. She looked to her girlfriend with ease, her body relaxing.
It was the two of them against the world. Whatever she wanted, she knew, Mary Jane would be at her side.
“I want––”
She didn’t have time to answer before she felt another presence. The world grew chilly too fast to be natural. She shivered hard. Both of them turned to look at the colorful burning fire, but it had gone out. All that remained were the scorched branches and crumbled leaves down in the pit. There was no box or anything else that she could see, and she wondered if she could have imagined anything ever being there. The deep hole no longer looked as deep or intimidating.
Then she saw the shadow.
“Oh,” Theodora managed with a small gasp. Her neck slowly craned up for a better view. A tall figure—taller than Mary Jane, taller than any man—stood only a few yards away. But this wasn’t a man. It couldn’t be.
Theodora swallowed loudly as she eyed the floor-length black cloak all tattered and covered in strange chalk-white markings. Then there was the staff of gnarled wood that was nearly as tall as him. Her. It. Them. The limbs were unclear, almost like they were on a blurry television that she had to keep squinting at. She could just tell they were all a smidgen too long. Too unnatural.
As for the head, this creature wore a skull with tall antlers that surely reached out longer than her two arms ever could. She invariably took a step backwards.
“Careful,” Mary Jane murmured. She helped Theodora hold the baby close. He didn’t cry any more, merely wiggled there within their tight grasp. Neither of them moved. Then Mary Jane cleared her voice like she was going to speak to the new figure before them.
Only she didn’t make a sound. Neither did Theodora. What could they say? They couldn’t even run.
The world silenced as the antlered creature stepped forward. They were ancient, Theodora sensed, in their slow and deliberate walk. And they didn’t belong here—only maybe they did. Maybe both creatures did, and it was she and Mary Jane who weren’t supposed to be here.
Tension radiated through the space as the antlered creature reached them. No one said a word. Mary Jane felt the heaving of her heart speeding up until she thought it might explode. Her insides wanted to run or to scream. What if this was their end? Was this all they were meant to be?
They were so young, not yet eighteen. They had plans. Dreams. Tears splintered in Theodora’s eyes at the thought of missing out on their future.
Most Fridays, she and Mary Jane had long conversations. They talked about their wishes and their fears, about never being able to marry. They pretended they could move to other places where they would be safer. Maybe another country or at least New York or California. She had an aunt near San Francisco whom her mother never spoke about anymore, and it made Theodora wonder if that was their way out for a kinder future.
That was what she clung to, the chance that something was better out there for all of them. Maybe for her and Mary Jane. And if there was a place for them, then maybe for this baby in their arms as well.
Didn’t they deserve that? A chance?
A low rumbling emerged from the antlered creature that towered over them. It made Theodora gasp. She watched as Mary Jane hesitated, rocking on her heels, before stepping back. Her girlfriend moved to stand by her side instead. This move revealed the baby to the creature.
Although Theodora meant to hide him, she didn’t have a chance. The creature was already bending down. His antlers breezed through the air with a sliver of a whistle. They towered overhead of while she and Mary Jane exchanged cautious glances.
Neither of them knew what to think. This was the natural world and yet so much was unnatural here and there and everywhere. Back home, their world was ever-changing into new fantastical things. Soda shops and drive-in theaters and fast dance music.
Whatever this creature was, they were something else. Nothing about them made sense to Theodora. She couldn’t think up anything from school or the bible that could explain what she was looking at; no one in school or church or those sketchy magazines could surely explain what was happening here. All she could sense was that this place was more the world of these creatures than it had ever been hers.
She thought about apologizing when the antlered creature made the rumbling noise again.
It shifted and clicked in Theodora’s ears, but it wasn’t any language she’d ever heard of before. Standing still, she could only stare as the staff was lowered to touch the baby.
Her body stiffened as he let out a cry.
“Don’t––” she started.
Mary Jane put a hand on her shoulder. The baby cried louder, wriggling madly, but the antlered creature was still talking in a low, steady tone like they knew what they were doing. Like they knew what was happening. Theodora didn’t like it but didn’t know what else to do. Her breath was short as she tried to listen and hold on.
Even though she couldn’t understand the words, something about the language sang to her bones. She felt something within the earth reaching for them. Roots that lived inside all living things hummed. The creature before them was different, was special, and it was meant to be there for a reason she couldn’t fathom.
This moment was important. She could sense that now. More important than she would ever understand.
Chanting whispers grew until they deafened Theodora to everything else, including her own heartbeat. It consumed every part of her. Deeper and deeper the message dug through her, burrowing into her skin until it was everything she knew and all she remembered. The world was spinning and spinning—
Until it wasn’t.
Theodora inhaled deeply and nearly rocked back on her heels when the antlered creature disappeared. They hadn’t left or walked away. They simply weren’t there. Like they never had been. The rumbling voice was gone, and the sounds of the earth were returning to a quiet chatter.
This was the time to be scared now that she no longer felt strapped to the earth. It had to be the time to scream and run far from here. But as she glanced around the small clearing and the crumpled metal burning in the hole before her and Mary Jane, Theodora felt a sudden ease in her bones. The fear had run its course, ebbing away. She felt only peace and confusion.
She swallowed and looked down as the crying baby in her hands blubbered into sniffles. And then he too was changing. Not disappearing, but shifting. Evolving. Growing. He grew two inches, and with that, the blue skin disappeared into thick brown fur. The tail disappeared and there he was like a three-year-old child covered in fur with a flat snout. Heavier, too.
“Oh,” Theodora squeaked. She felt like she could speak again. She swallowed and glanced at Mary Jane who looked just as stunned as she felt. “That was… Did I imagine everything that just happened?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t even explain what all this was. Suddenly I feel like my square pa whenever I try to teach him about a new dance,” Mary Jane remarked. She blinked rapidly at the baby. “He’s still here.”
Theodora nodded. “But different.”
Warmth flooded through her while she held the baby creature close. It didn’t make much sense, but he felt so right in her arms. Good, even. A smile tugged at her lips. She had always wanted to be a mother. She liked caring for others. It was in a moment like this that Theodora felt as though she could make anything happen.
Studying him thoughtfully, Mary Jane murmured, “Maybe that’s for the best. He can practically pass like a normal animal. A monkey or a dog or maybe even a mountain cat, I suppose. Cute little ankle biter. Do you think he walks? Crawls?”
“He’s a baby still,” Theodora reminded her.
A baby who didn’t seem to belong anywhere or have anyone to teach him what to do. He looked up at her with those big blue eyes and she could have sworn when he bared his teeth it was a smile meant just for them.
Even a strange baby had yet to be corrupted by their society and think she was wrong or sick or broken. She rather liked that, letting someone else know about her and Mary Jane. At least, so long as it was safe. A baby was one thing, but he was another. She knew that much but nothing about what might happen to him in time.
Her confidence waned. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know, darling.” Mary Jane looked just as torn. “It doesn’t feel right to leave him. But what are we supposed to do with a babe in the middle of Olympia?”
She frowned. “I don’t know. I just know that he needs someone. He needs us. He needs moms.”
The words spilled from her before she was properly thinking. Or maybe, she pondered, this was her properly thinking. Maybe this was the plan. Her solution. Maybe this was how her wish was going to come true.
“For how long? And where are we going to even put him?”
Ideas flooded through Theodora as she fixed her grasp on the baby, liking the way he fit in her arms. “Your pa has the farm. There’s got to be somewhere we can hide him. Then we’ll figure out what he needs to eat. I’ll pick up extra shifts at the market to help where I can, and I’ll visit every day. I’ve got new wheels on my bike, remember?” she added eagerly. Another excuse she could use to see Mary Jane every day. She’d take that happily.
Even while she was nodding slowly, her girlfriend didn’t lessen her frown. She stood there with her hands on her hips just eyeing the creature. She saw his small nose and hair, ears and big feet with long toes. “I don’t know how to be a mother. He’s going to grow, Theo. What will we do then?”
For once, Theodora felt more confident than her. “We’ll leave just like we always planned. We graduate high school in two months, don’t we? Then we can do anything we like. Take on more jobs, maybe, or leave.”
That caught Mary Jane’s attention. “You would still leave? Your family still expects you to stay here. With little Johnny, I know your ma likes your help. And you love helping.”
“I love helping Johnny and I love helping out on your farm when you let me. But Johnny has my mother and, well, this little tyke might just need us.”
Mary Jane leaned in close and wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders. “Do you think so?”
“I sure do! I can come over more often to help take care of him. I say we save up to make our way to California like we always talked about. There’ll be plenty of places to hide him outside of a city. It isn’t like he really belongs to us. I know that much. But we can protect him for as long as possible, teach him to be safe, and… and be a little family together. Just for a short while,” Theodora added warmly.
The plan was coming together. It had wings. Her heart was in it. Whatever had just happened had changed the trajectory of her life forever. Now, this was everything she wanted. She craved it so dearly she could cry.
“Please, Mary Jane?” she whispered.
Already she could see their future. Working hard on the farm together and sneaking away to take care of this precious baby with his big blue eyes would be hard but rewarding. Soon, they would be packing to make their way south, where they could start a life together just like she wanted. She had made that wish on the shooting star and this was their chance to make it come true.
Any hesitation on her girlfriend’s face slowly faded as she met her gaze. Mary Jane gently wiped a tear from her eye. “Well, I think it’s time we cut out of here and stop looking back. Sounds like we have a future to live.”
“You mean it?”
“I promise. I don’t know how we’ll make this happen and I don’t have every answer. But if you’ll have me, then I’ll do anything I can to make this work. We’ll take this little fellow anywhere we can. Maybe the antlered friend will come back someday, or maybe this little tyke will venture off on his own wherever he belongs, I don’t know. But until then? It’s you and me, Theo. I promise.”
And Mary Jane did, after all, keep her promises.