The Other Side of Someday

by FoolAmongTheStars

Why I Run Away

"Are those the last of the dishes?" Starlight asked Sunset as they cleaned up after the kids who left the house an hour ago.

"Yup," she affirmed and placed the freshly wiped plates on the cupboard. "Finally, we’re done!"

"Yeah, it’s nice to have the house quiet again.” Starlight chuckled. “Good thing they didn't break anything."

"Well, Luster was pretty strict with her friends about running around the house. I wonder where she got that?"

She lets the teasing slide this time, Sunset helped her put the house in order, after all. The party had been uneventful for the adults, but the children surely had a blast, especially Luster, who didn’t stop grinning or laughing whenever Starlight saw her. It didn’t take Starlight long to understand why: she was surrounded by her best friends (a group of five odd but nice kids) and her father had arrived with a unicorn plushy and a gallon of her favorite ice cream. As soon as Luster saw the toy, she didn’t let it go for the rest of the day or Sunburst for that matter.

"Anyway, it's nice to see that Sunburst hasn't lost his touch when it comes to kids."

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "When it comes to kids, huh? I never thought he'd be able to handle a handful of them."

Sunset laughed. "I get where you're coming from, but I’ve known him for a long time, and I've seen how kids are just naturally drawn to him despite how he looks. Guess they can see he’s a goofball underneath all the seriousness."

"That's very interesting." Starlight quipped as she wiped the excess soap in the sink.

"You tell me! Growing up, my dad wasn't very happy when I hung out with other boys, but it was a bit different with Sunburst. He wasn’t happy, but he felt a little relieved if Sunburst was there whenever I went out." Sunset narrated and sat on one of the chairs inside the kitchen. "I'm sure you feel the same way whenever you're around him."

She could almost hear the smile in her friend's voice. She nodded slightly.

For a moment, she thought that would be the end of the conversation, but then Sunset let out a deep sigh, and when she spoke all traces of playfulness were gone. "Will you just give him another chance?"

Starlight nearly dropped the sponge she was using as she turned around to face her. "W-What are you talking about?"

Her friend’s brows furrowed, marring her pretty face. "Starlight, I don't have to spell it out for you, do I? You know what I'm saying. You're smart."

She turned her back to her friend and proceeded to clean the counter with a rag. "Well, I've…I haven't thought about it, I guess?"

She heard something hitting the table and she stiffened. Despite her better judgment Starlight turned to see what it was with wide eyes. It's not all the time that she got to see Sunset angry. Annoyed? Sure. Upset? Plenty of times, but never angry, especially at her.

"Do I need to remind you that Sunburst is my friend too, and a dear one at that?” Sunset crossed her arms and glared. “That’s why I think it's unfair that you're stringing him along!"

Stringing him along? Is that what she's been doing? Certainly, that's not what she's been doing to him. Was she?

She’s so caught off guard by Sunset’s words that it took her a moment to compose an answer. "Look, I'm just doing this because Luster wanted to see him for her birthday—"

"That's not what I mean!"

Starlight would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit terrified at the sight of her angry friend.

"I know you to be reasonable, but this—this has gone too far, and it’s too cruel, even coming from you." She slumped in her seat and shook her head. "If you're not going to let him in your life again, then don't do this to Sunburst anymore, stop giving him hope."

To be honest, Starlight expected Sunset to grip her shoulders and shake her violently to make her point, and was somewhat relieved when Sunset somehow calmed down. She let out the breath she’d been holding.

"I never said anything about letting him in my life again, as far as I can remember.” She said calmly, grabbed a towel, and took her time wiping her hands dry. “I’m only doing this for Luster, I’ve realized that I’ve hurt her by not letting her see him, she has the right to see her father and have a relationship with him, regardless of how I feel about him.”

Sunset kept her unsettled expression as she stared at Starlight for a few more seconds before she stood and made her way out of the kitchen. Starlight only realized that her muscles had been tensed during the entire exchange when her shoulders dropped and her breathing settled. Before she could fully relax, Sunset stopped and turned to her, standing on the entryway that leads to the dining room.

"I'm sorry if I upset you—it’s none of my business in the end—and I know that you're older than me by a few years, but let me tell you this, as both your and Sunburst's friend: you have to stop running away at some point, because you're not as young as you think are."

She sighed but nodded. "Don’t you think I know that?"

---

She found her daughter in her bedroom, curled in the fetal position beside the sleeping form of Sunburst on her not-so-tiny bed, clutching her new toy tightly even in her sleep.

The last time she saw this same scenario was about two years ago, when their marriage was already rocky, but they were still pretty much on good terms. Every afternoon of almost every weekend, when Sunburst wasn’t tied up with research, Luster would ask her dad to play with her until both of them were tired from being outside and would retreat to Luster's room (or the living room, when they were too tired to even go upstairs) for an afternoon nap. She would surprise them with afternoon snacks (sandwiches and some leftovers from breakfast if there was) by the time they both woke up. And then they would all go to the living room to spend some time watching Luster's favorite noontime shows or just hang out together until it was time for dinner.

That was before. Now is different.

She didn’t realize that Sunburst was awake. When she does notice, he's already sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't notice that I've stayed later than I intended, Luster wanted to play a little more." He said sleepily, and she watched as he carefully left the bed to make sure that Luster didn’t wake up. "She's still as energetic as I remember." He said with a fond smile. "Have you ever considered enrolling her in some sport or something?"

Starlight didn’t answer right away, only watched her daughter sleeping soundly. She met his eyes, face blank of expression. "Are you leaving now?"

He put his glasses on and looked at his daughter one more time before answering. "It'll be easier to leave if she's not awake." He turned to look at her and smiled a little. "Besides, you must be tired as well, you should rest."

She wasn’t sure what possessed her at that moment, but it registered a beat later that her fingers latched on the end of his shirt when he passed her by. Starlight immediately removed her hand in shock and covered her mouth. 'Ah, shit!'

Sunburst was just as startled as she was. "S-Starlight?"

The sound of her name was her cue to get herself together to save her face while she could. "N-Nothing. There was a stain on your shirt,” she lied and pretended to wipe the invisible stain away. “Take care on your way home."

'Should I see him off?'

Sunburst curtly nodded. Was that disappointment written on his face? She wondered. "You take care, too."

This time she reached out and grab the back of his shirt, she smiled when he looked at her from over his shoulder.

"And thank you, for making Luster happy on her birthday…and me as well."

The last thing her mind registered before sleeping that night was the tender smile on her ex-husband's face.

---

It had almost been a month since Sunset argued with her, and a month since she'd seen Sunburst, too. Sunset wasn’t the type to hold on to grudges, so things were back to normal between them by the time Monday arrived. Sunburst, on the other hand, despite them not getting into an argument, seemed to be tied up with work, because she hadn’t seen him around campus. Maybe she's seen him once or twice, but only because his hair can be spotted easily even in a sea of people. Other than that, he hasn't dropped by her cubicle like he used to or even sent her a message asking how Luster was doing.

She told herself that it wasn’t because she missed his presence. It was only because she had almost—almost—gotten used to his presence. That was all.

"You could text him to meet up or something," Sunset told her one time, but Starlight assumed that's not how it's supposed to be. They are divorced and they really shouldn't have anything to do with each other and should stay out of each other's lives, in theory at least. It was much more complicated to do so now that he was so close.

Starlight grumbled as thunder reached her ears. Of all the times to work overtime, it had to be on the day when the chances of rainfall were around 80%-90%, according to the weather report. She usually took this with stride, but judging by the heavy rainfall, her umbrella would be put to shame if she even tried to commute on her way home.

'I guess I should text Sunset to stay with Luster a little longer.' It also meant she had to pay her for overtime as well.

She sent her message and received a quick reply, leaving her with time to mindlessly browse her social media. She’s so absorbed in her phone that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a presence behind her and yelped when it touched her shoulder, she whirled around to see that it was Sunburst. "Don't just stand behind someone like that!"

She doesn't know if she was happy to see him after almost a month of silence, or if she wanted to punch him in the face after not seeing him in for a month.

Sunburst opened his umbrella. "Do you need a ride home?"

She looked at her umbrella and then at the deluge, then back to Sunburst. "That’s alright, the bus should be here any minute, I just rather wait for it here since it’s relatively dry."

"But Luster will be left alone," Sunburst stated the obvious. "What if something happens and you're still here?"

She shook her head. "Sunset's with her, she babysits Luster whenever I can’t be home early."

Somehow, Sunburst still looked uneasy at that thought. Starlight sighed

"Don't worry; Sunset's taken care of her very well. Nothing's gonna happen to Luster if that's what you're worried about."

He was still frowning. "But what about you? The cafeteria's closed already, and there's no one here anymore."

She allowed herself to laugh a little. "Do you think this is the first time this ever happened to me? Look, Sunburst, you can go ahead. I can manage."

For the first time that evening, he gave her a stern look. "That's what you always say even when you're really in a pinch."

'What is this punk doing?' "Sunburst, I'm not that immature, you know. I know my limits and what I can manage. Go home now, before I push you into your car and watch you leave to make sure you did head home."

Sunburst sighed heavily. "You see, Starlight, that’s your problem: you don't let anyone help you because you're so caught up with proving that you're fine that you don’t realize you can only do so much! It's…you're wrong, you know!"

They hadn’t seen each other for almost a month, and when they finally do, they start fighting. Typical.

"But look how I've been doing while you were gone! Luster's okay, and I can look after myself. I can manage. I have managed. Now, if you can't accept the fact that I can do things on my own, then you aren't any different from all those chauvinistic bastards out there!"

She braced herself for any physical contact that could occur because that's how it usually ended after exchanging a few heated words. Sunburst would grab her by the shoulders or by her arms, and his grip would tighten as he tried to prove his point. Sometimes she'd throw a fist or two on his chest as she put her feelings into words. It scared her at first until it became a routine during their fights, and she felt like it was a natural thing for them to do, just as waking up in the morning, going to work after dropping off their daughter at school, and mechanically kissing each other goodbye as they headed for their respective workplaces.

But there weren’t any hands on her shoulders or her arms. Instead, she saw him trying to contain his anger (hand on his chest, and breathing deeply with his eyes closed).

An unwelcome series of flashbacks—from the first time they've met after they separated, up to the recent events that they spent time together unwillingly (for Starlight) and unplanned (for the both of them)—occupied her already busy mind.

Sunburst had changed. A lot.

Whatever happened during those two years that they were apart might've been for a reason. He's still quiet and his presence isn’t noticed by most people, but he's grown to be expressive, and during the times that she allowed him to be around Luster (under her watch, of course), he's become sensitive to her thoughts ("I’ll sleep on the couch", "that is…if you’re fine with that"). And now this.

This wasn't the Sunburst that she's used to, she admitted, but she acknowledged that in a good way.

And what about her? What happened to her in the two years that they weren't husband and wife?

---

Do you have time today? Let's talk. Before regret took over, Starlight pressed the send button.

It's been a while since she's felt this anxious about sending a message. It's also been a while since she's felt this anxious over receiving a reply. Was she being too forward?

Three seconds later, her phone vibrated in her hand, and she read his message.

I'll be home after 4. Will you be available around that time?

She checked her organizer to make sure she didn’t have anything scheduled for the late afternoon before responding. I'm okay with that. Let's meet at the park where we brought Luster to play.

She arrived thirty minutes earlier for two reasons: one, she already had her schedule free around three that afternoon, and two, she deemed it necessary to prepare herself mentally and emotionally before they finally sit down and talk over things—about her feelings, about his feelings, about Luster, about their setup and, well, about their future, because Sunset was right when she scolded her and reminded her that she had to stop running away, and they both have to settle the score—it was high time they put a lid to this jar of questions and uncertainties.

Starlight paused as she lightly patted her cheeks with both hands.

This was important. This talk had to happen soon or she might not be able to sleep soundly for as long as she lived.

Comments

[Melody Song]

Dang cliffhangers! I don't hate you for it because I've done it myself, but still.