The Celestial Sailor
It's hard to see them nowadays. The city lights have ruined the once beautiful view. It used to be you could look up at the sky and see the vast ocean of stars. It's really a sight to behold. Very few are still able to see and appreciate it. Rarely do I get to see it now. I still prefer to view it all from down there, though. It brings back so many fond memories. But then I can't enjoy it up here. It sounds dumb to think about it that way. Up here you can see so much. I can see the dreams of all those below. I can gaze upon them forever. Personally, I prefer the dreams of young children. They have the most whimsical, imaginative dreams. It's a shame that kind of infinite imagination seems to be lost over time. I never grow tired of it. Then there are the occasional bad dream. These are tricky. They create waves and distortions in the celestial sea. It's not too much of a problem. But sometimes an intruder can enter their dreams. They distort and amplify the power of their nightmares until they eventually consumed by them. The nightmares produced from these unlucky souls... It's impossible to traverse the maelstrom that ensues...
Another day of resting my tablet on my lap and doing nothing for an hour.
"Ugh, screw this stupid artist block." I yelled in frustration. I haven't been able to find any inspiration for months, maybe longer. I’ve sat at my computer with my tablet ready for hours at a time and every time I have nothing to show for it. My big sister says it probably has something to do with the last convention I was at. I barely sold anything. I'm not gonna lie and say that didn't hurt me a little. I don't really have anyway to springboard myself to fame. I don't know any internet famous people nor have I been lucky with catching the attention of any. The number of fans I have are well below fifty, not nearly enough to make any kind living off my art. I've been sleeping like crap for the past few days as well which hasn't been helping anything. I called my mom about it. She gave me the idea to go out for a walk on the town. To take in the sights, the people, all that good stuff and see if it helps me any. I guess she basically just wants me to people watch. It sounded pretty harmless. That's how I found him. It was a little out of the ordinary to see someone just out of nowhere offering palm readings on the bridge for a dollar, but I never thought it would get any stranger than that.
He was fully decked in a fancy dark blue suit, pants and tie with a white long sleeve undershirt. He wore a navy blue fedora with a red band. His tie was interesting. It had some kind of space design on it. It had a bunch of bright stars but the thing that I found most interesting was the red and blue ethereal streaks going passing through. It was like some kind of river or something just running through the stars. I didn't even realized I was staring until he finally knocked me out of my stupid trance with an over the top bow and a tip of his fedora which was showing off his short red hair.
"Good afternoon, miss." He put his hat back on and gestured to the sign he had propped up next to his feet, "Would you like a palm reading?"
While I thought any kind of fortune telling was straight up bull, I thought I might as well entertain myself. It was only a dollar after all.
"Sure, I'll give it a shot." I had a few loose singles in my pocket. I gave him one and waited for a moment while he actually took the time to scrutinize it. Satisfied, he slipped it in his pocket,
"Thank you. Now then, hold up your hands, palms out."
"Palms? Both hands? Aren't you supposed to do it with just one hand? And you lay it flat?"
He gave me the strangest look; like I had just told him the sun was lime green.
"W-What? Now that's just odd. People do that? How is that even supposed to work?"
"I don't know. I mean, I'm sorry if I'm wrong. I've never had a palm reading before, I just thought that that's how it worked. I mean... I'm just going off a few things I've seen on the internet."
He leaned back against the bridge, pushing his fedora down over his eyes, "Ugh, accursed internet. It's vile influence is everywhere and it's a plague I swear..."
I back away slightly. I was starting to regret ever giving this weirdo the time of day.
"Umm... What are you talking about?"
He pushed his hat back up, revealing his eyes again and pushed off the bridge railing.
"Everyone keeps saying internet this, internet that." He started to get a little overexcited. "What is wrong with you people!? It's a plague. It ruins the mystery of the world! It needs to be destroyed."
I could tell even without breaking eye contact with this psychopath that we were starting to attract some unwanted attention. I could care less about my wasted dollar now. I had to get out of there.
"Um, I gotta go now, good luck with your little business though, bye."
I heard him try and call me back as I jogged away. About two hours later, I stopped at a local sit-in pizzeria. Despite it's main focus on sit-in dining, it also did delivery which happened to be a majority of it's income. Thankfully, it was mostly empty save for a two man party sitting in a table in the corner. I was able to sit down and peacefully enjoy a small pasta and a chicken parmesan sandwich. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared to see him again. That fancy fortune teller strode in through the front door, slammed a bunch of bills on the front counter and gave the cashier this most triumphant look I had ever seen. I tried to keep my head down to avoid being noticed, but deep inside, I knew he was going to spot me the second he turned around.
"Ah! You! Thank the stars I found you."
No surprise, the overdressed dork goes straight for my table and sits across from me,
"I guess we both got a little off track, but I can still read your palms for you if you want. I'd feel bad taking your money without giving you something in return."
I kept a polite demeanor. He seemed like a nice guy, even if he was a bit... completely weird.
"S-Sure."
"Alright then, hold your hands up in front of you, palms facing out." He gave his arms a little wiggle as he did the same. I made sure not to say anything this time and did exactly as he asked. He rested his hands firmly against mine and closed his eyes. He stayed like this for a minute then finally pulled away.
"Well?" I asked. He started giggling a little to himself. I was gonna ask again, but the waiter showed up with his pizza. The guy actually ordered an extra large. There's no way he's planning to eat the whole thing by himself. The pizza itself was surprisingly tame all things considered. It had jalapenos, pineapples, and bacon. The jerk started going right in. "Hello? You gonna tell me my fortune or something?"
He just swallowed and waved his hand.
"Oh, don't worry. Just take a midnight stroll tonight. That'll solve your problem."
"That's it?" Now, I was actually mad. After all that buildup and hassle he put me through, that was his cop out fortune? He just nodded his head while he kept stuffing his face with pizza. "So, you're just a con artist. You lure people in with cheap prices and your little stupid get up to score some easy money, right?"
"Mm?"
I finally managed to regain his attention. Somehow he had already powered through two slices. I suppose foregoing the crust would make one faster. He wiped his mouth with a napkin before trying to defend himself.
"Con artist? No. The result of the reading depends from person to person. I can only foresee things based on what's on the person's mind. Like that little girl earlier before you showed up, Ocean Breeze. She was a sweetheart. She's going swimming for the first time tomorrow and she was nervous. I told her that she'd do just fine tomorrow. I also told her that if she really put her all into it, she'd even be an Olympic swimmer when she grows up."
"So, you just give kids the generic 'just follow your dreams' speech?"
He downed a bite of his pizza.
"Oh, no. Have you ever seen a child's dream, Jade? No, that would be way too wild. She just had swimming on her mind, and I told her what was to come and another potential outcome. It would be up to her to pursue it if she wanted. There are many different outcomes for each individual person. Everyone has a whole galaxy of potential in them. It's a shame that barely any of it is ever seen."
The second I heard my name, I had to do a quick mental double check on everything I said prior.
"How did you know my name?"
He just wiggled his hands out in front of me and pointed at his palm while he kept eating his pizza. I'm almost certain he was mocking me at this point and it was getting on my nerves.
"What, you got that from my palm too? Is that what you're saying?" I wasn't paying too much attention to verify, but I think he also changed his tie at some point... Or altered it maybe? That red and blue cloudy river in the stars... It looked a lot wavier than before.
He nodded matter-of-factly.
"Yes." He took another bite of pizza, finishing another slice and pushing the crust aside.
"Mmmmm, I absolutely love pizza. It's such a wonderful thing. So customizable. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing what they put on their pizza, ya know."
I couldn't stand this guy anymore. He was definitely mocking me.
"Well, this has certainly been interesting, but I have to leave now. You have fun with your pizza."
"Okay, bye. Just don't go to sleep too early. Something catastrophic will happen if you do." He said as I left. I couldn’t believe this guy. The heck kind of crap was that? Don't sleep too early or something bad will happen? Take a midnight stroll and it'll fix my problems? Ugh, I needed to do something else. Anything that involved something sane.
I was able to get my mind off of everything with a movie. It was another one of those superhero flicks that are getting popular nowadays. It was alright. I'm sure it would've been a lot better if I was more familiar with the whole superhero universe, but I don't have time for that. Unfortunately, I ended up finding that annoying fortune teller outside the theater. Unlike the last two times I saw him, he was slumped down against the wall pushing his hat into his head. Against my better judgement, I decided to see if he was okay.
"Hey," I said, standing over him, "Are you alright? Let me guess. You got a stomach ache from all that pizza?"
"How could I let this happen..." He said, unmoving.
Oh here we go. I knew I shouldn't have bothered him, but I was already in too deep.
"Come again?"
"My pizza... I finished already... and it's still hours until midnight..."
"Umm... I'm sorry? Next time, try pacing yourself or save some for later, I guess."
I was about to walk off when he just shot back up to his feet, smiling like nothing had happened and offered his hand to me
"I never introduced myself. My name's Chaser. Star Chaser."
I reluctantly shook his hand.
"Hi there. Sorry, but I can't exactly stay and chat, I have to go."
I politely waved and walked off, but the guy just kinda started following beside me like it was nothing. I didn't get far before I finally hit my limit. We made it back to the bridge I first saw him on. I stopped at the middle and turned to face him.
"Okay, I'm sorry, is there any particular reason you keep following me around? Are you stalking me or something? I'm getting close to calling the police."
He leaned against the railing, looking down at ocean not too far below.
"Well, I don't exactly know this city well. So, I don't exactly know where it'll show up. That's why I'm trying to get my bearings. And, it's nice to have someone to talk with while you're exploring some place new."
I started to pinch the bridge of my nose. A habit I have when I start getting really frustrated.
"So, lemme get this straight. You just drove to some random city looking for something and you didn't do any kind of research or get a map or anything?"
"That sounds about right." He happily replied. "I didn't know this city was next to the ocean."
"You didn't even know that much?"
"No, not until I got here and started telling fortunes. It's beautiful though. I can't wait to get back on my boat after this though. I like coming onto land and visiting, but once I'm here, I miss being out on the sea." He looked at me curiously, "Is that weird? It feels a little weird." Before I could even reply, he just looked back down at the water, "I think it's a little weird."
Now he claims to be a captain or a sailor or something. I swear this guy was just taking me for a ride. He must get a huge kick out of doing this. I was already this far in though, so I decided to just keep going for now. This was apparently going to be the focus of my day, whether I wanted it to be or not.
"You have a boat? I can't imagine you having the brains for surviving out on the sea when you can barely even navigate on land."
He chuckled to himself.
"Yeah, I'm pretty bad getting around on foot. I spend just about all my time out there though. It's been quite awhile since I've had to come down here."
"Come down here?"
He nodded, still giving the water his full attention.
"Mhm."
"If you really want a guide so bad, then why don't you just ask someone else who would be more willing to show you around?"
"Because you need someone to talk to. You planned to just go sightseeing. That's not going to get you out of that rut of yours."
I had to take a step back. I still find it disturbing that he just knew all this just by touching my palms.
"And talking to a lost psychopath will?"
"Yup. Inspiration and drive don't just come from looking at something beautiful. It comes from other people. You shelter yourself in your room now and you barely talk to anybody." He turned around and sat on the railing, looking down at me. "Just open a bit. You'd be surprised what you could learn from someone."
I folded my arms against my chest
"Psh, yeah, like that would have a huge impact on my art."
"Sure it would. It'd also help you get your mind off those bad dreams of yours if you told someone." He said with a goofy smile.
I had enough him. I don't know what this guy's deal was, but he had some serious personal space issues. In a short fit of frustration, I stomped over and pushed him off the railing. His arms flailed as he tried to regain his balance but considering he was now being supported his thighs, it was pointless. The bridge wasn't high up at all. It took him seconds to hit the water. I leaned over the railing to take a look at him. He surfaced quickly, spitting out a short stream of water and looked up at me. The smarmy prick just started snickering and burst out laughing.
"Ugh. Stop following me you psychopath!" I yelled at him and stormed off. Surprisingly enough, I didn't see him for the rest of the day. I kept expecting to find him at every turn. I made it back home, grabbed a snack, and sat down at my computer again. Still nothing. I had to have been sitting there for an hour. I looked over at my the clock in the corner of my monitor. Eleven fifty.
Oh, don't worry. Just take a midnight stroll. That'll solve your problem.
His words started ringing through my head. Part of me really wanted to go to bed now; just to shove it in his dumb face. As irritating, not to mention completely invasive, it was to have to hear him just talk like he knew me... The idea that he could be right kept nagging at me.
Just don't go to sleep too early. Something catastrophic will happen if you do.
He even knew my name. I sighed and snatched my room key from my desk. I quickly put something decent on, slipped on a pair of sandals, and left. I swear if I still have issues drawing after this midnight stroll, I'm going to strangle him the next time I see him. I decided to walk to the beach. It wasn't too far, only a fifteen or so minute walk from my apartment. Something about that ocean breeze was always refreshing. I always found it odd as I wasn't particularly fond of swimming and I was always afraid of getting too close to the ocean. But I could enjoy it from a distance. I sat down in the sand for awhile and just watched the waves. Somewhere along the line, I heard something odd... out of place. I looked to my right and saw someone huddled over in the sand. I think I could hear him muttering or crying. Against my better judgement, I got up and walked over.
"Are you okay?"
"I can't do it... I-I can't..." He whimpered quietly. I was already starting to feel a little awkward.
"You can't what?"
"I-I c-can't go through with it... I-I'll screw up e-everything... I-I know it."
Reluctantly, I put a hand on his shoulder, "Just take a deep breath and calm down. What's the matter?"
He suddenly lurched forward and started convulsing.
"W-what is that!? I-I can't see!"
That's when things started officially getting weird. He started screaming and some kind of inky black aura started radiating out of him. I took a few steps back, tripped over a rock, and fell on my butt. He abruptly went quiet and slowly stood up. I was scared out of my mind and started slowly scooting backwards. He turned around; his body was pitch black. Only white pupils and a disturbing white mouth stuck in a creepy smile could be seen on his face. I froze in place. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
"It's time to wake up. " It said an eerily calm voice. It took a step towards me. I screamed as I scooted backwards in the sand, praying for some kind of miracle.
"There you are." Said a familiar voice. I looked behind me and saw him. It was the fortune teller, standing not to far from me with his hands in his pockets. It was Star Chaser.
"I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to find this place. You've caused me quite a bit of trouble you know. I haven't been able to move my ship because of that little storm of yours. You've been following me haven't you?"
The pitch black man started looking at him, thankfully. It didn't say anything though.
"At least you helped me find what I was looking for. For that..." He removed his right hand from his pocket and bowed, removing his fedora and placing it over his chest, "...I must thank you." He put his hat back on and stood back up, "Unfortunately, I need to get my ship moving again, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave that body alone." The pitch black man continued to stare at him with that creepy, unmoving smile. "You intend to keep using it? I figured." He looked down at me, which made me flinch, "I'm surprised you haven't run yet. You should really get out of here now. That thing intends to kill you, you know." That was enough to give my legs their strength back. I got up and bolted behind him.
"Wh-what is that thing? What happened to him?"
"That's a Nightmare. It invaded that man's dreams and killed him. It's going to Realize soon. You wouldn't want to be around when that happens." He said confidently, keeping his eyes on the creature.
"H-he's d-dead!?"
He looked back at me and gave me a light shove.
"Run. Now. Don't worry, I've dealt with these things before, I'll be fine. Just get somewhere safe."
As much as I didn't want to leave him there, I took a deep breath and ran. At least, that's what I wanted them both to think. I was way too curious to just run away. I ran past a bathroom that was nearby. Once I was out of their line of sight, I crept back peeked around the corner so I could watch safely.
"I'm surprised they sent a runt like you and not one more substantial."
The creature suddenly started twitching violently.
"I wonder what kind of form that body will give you."
It continued twitching for a moment until a big cocoon of darkness formed around it. When the cocoon faded away, a human shaped wooden figure was standing in it's place. It had a big black rectangle painted where it's eyes should have been and it appeared to have a mouth drawn on, but multiple staples were placed over the mouth line.
"I guess you didn't have much time to search for a bigger fear to latch on to. Well then..." He took his right hand out of his pocket and thrust it up, pointing towards the sky. "Look up the stars and let them decide your fate. What do you see?"
Had I not already seen a man transform into a monster twice tonight, I would have called him crazy. I looked up at the sky out of curiosity. A star was twinkling brightly. Brighter than usual. The North Star. I looked back at Star Chaser. I don't know when he put it on or where he got it from, but he now had a belt on.
"I see. Then I'll be your guide back to the Celestial Plane."
It was hard to see, but it looked like he brought his right hand down and grabbed some kind of pen or something from the buckle of his belt. He moved it around in front of him like he was trying to draw something in the air and then thrust it back on to his belt buckle. On his buckle, an image of a constellation appeared.
"It's show time!"
And that's when I heard another voice. It sounded like it came from his belt.
"Realize! Ursa Minor!"
His body began to sparkle, brightly. Way too bright. I had to close my eyes for a moment. When the light subsided and I opened my eyes, he was gone. In his place was something else entirely. It was human in shape as well. Its arms and legs were protected by a blue armor. There were razor sharp claws at the end of it's hands. It looked like it's feet had four bear-like toes, each with a small razor sharp blade on the end and a blade on the back it's heels. Its body didn't seem to be armored like the rest of it. It was a lighter blue and was dotted with stars. In the center, a constellation was formed by lines connecting a few of the stars and the image of a bear was surrounding the constellation. Its head looked like some kind of mask with large, solid orange gemstones for eyes and a white, eight-pointed star on it's forehead. Where its mouth would be was a solid indentation that looked like the open mouth of a bear with two sharp looking teeth on the top and bottom of the mouth. I think Star Chaser turned into that thing. The wooden monster looked surprised, letting out some weird guttural grunt.
"Let's keep this brief, shall we?"
The monster grew a wooden axe out of its hand and charged at Chaser. Chaser charged the monster as well, sidestepping his swing and punching him in the chest. The monster reeled back a bit and charged in again, swinging its axe wildly. Chaser dodged its swipes and swung his hand up across its chest, cutting it with his claws. The monster growled and grew another axe.
"Another one isn't going to help you if you don't have the skill. You need more rhythm in your feet. Lemme show you." Chaser mocked. The creature charged in again. Chaser stepped back and weaved under the horizontal swings of its axes. He spun on his left leg and swung his right leg across its chest cutting with his heel blade. The creatures reeled back in pain. Chaser went on the offense. He leapt forward and swung his right leg straight up, raking the blade in his heel up its body. He leapt forward again and slammed his foot straight into its stomach. The monster dropped its axes and clutched its stomach. Chaser ran up to the monster without wasting a beat, uppercutting it in the jaw with his left and punching it straight in the face with his right. He knocked it flat on it's back.
"Now then, time for the finale!" He grabbed the pen from his belt buckle and held it in front of his face. His belt spoke again.
"Ursa Minor! Constellation Kick!"
A small Ursa Minor constellation formed in front of the pen. Chaser quickly swiped the pen horizontally, firing the constellation at the monster's chest. The constellation embedded itself on the monster's chest and started to glow, as did the constellation on Chaser's chest. The monster got up and tried to flee. Chaser leapt high into the air, flipping once he had finished his ascent and extended his leg out for a powerful divekick. He accelerated immediately. The constellations on their chests glowing brighter until he struck the back of the monster. The monster froze in place when Chaser made impact. The stars in on the monster's chest started to glow yellow one at a time until they were all glowing yellow. Chaser leapt off the monster's back. The wooden monster suddenly exploded as Chaser landed back on the sand. The dust and smoke from the explosion rose up into the night sky. He stood up and grabbed the belt buckle, pulling it off his waist. His body emitted that blinding flash again. When I opened my eyes, he was back to normal and the belt was nowhere to be seen. He dusted his legs off and turned back towards the road. I left my hiding spot, chasing after him.
"Wait up!" I yelled. He seemed surprised when he saw me. "What was all of that!?"
"You're still here? How much did you see?"
"Everything. I have so many questions. What did you mean by Realize? What was that thing anyway? What are you? How did you do that transformation thing? What would've happened if I had went to sleep instead!?" I fired questions at him left and right, getting closer to him with each one.
He took a step back, sighing and resting his right hand on his fedora.
"You weren't supposed to see any of that."
"Too late."
He was quiet for a minute as we stared each other dead in the eyes.
"That was a Nightmare. They're creatures that haunt the dreams of humans, feeding on their fears and anxiety. If they give in to the Nightmare, they die and become a husk for the Nightmare to control. From there, the Nightmare can take on a stronger and more stable form. The form they take is usually based on the human they're controlling. This is called, Realizing."
"So... that wooden doll thing. That was some kind of representation of that guy's nightmares?"
Chaser put his hand back in his pocket.
"Yes, for the most part. I saw most of this ahead of time when I touched your palms. If you had stayed home. Well, let's just say, only one of us would have been able to find you. And my navigational skill down here are pretty terrible."
"Why didn't you just tell me about it then!?"
"Heh. Would you have believed me then?"
I hesitated. As much as I hated to admit, he was right. If anything, I would have for sure stayed home out of spite.
"Anyway, I have to go now. My ship's waiting for me, up there."
I grabbed his arm.
"Wait. So you're serious? You have a space ship? Are you an alien or something?"
He chuckled.
"Well, not a spaceship in the sense that you're probably thinking. And I guess I'd technically count as an alien to you. I don't really like that term though." He turned and started to walk away, I let him go without any fight. He made it back to the street and kicked some of the sand off his shoes. "Hey!" He called out to me while keeping his back turned to me.
"Yes."
"You should go home now. It's not safe for a lady like yourself to be wandering around alone at night."
At any other point in time, I would have snapped at him for a comment like that, but I silently agreed that going back home would be the best option for now.
"By the way... What's your name?"
"What?" I cocked my head slightly, "You already know my name."
"I do. But, would you mind telling me again... I want to hear it from you."
"It's Jade. Jade Inkwell."
"It's a nice name. Til we meet again. Ciao." He waved as he started to walk down the street. I jogged out of the sand and on to the street as well. He was walking in the direction opposite my apartment. I had no intention of just letting him walk away like that. I waited til he had gained some distance from me and started walking in his direction. He made a right turn at a nearby intersection. My line of sight to him was cut off by a beach goods store. I took off my sandals to prevent him from hearing my footsteps and carried them as I ran to the intersection. I took a peak around the building. He was gone. I took a good look around. Even if he ran, there was no where he could have run off to, not in such a short time. I put my sandals back on and turned the corner, making sure to check every possible corner and alleyway. Dead ends and nowhere to run but forward. He had somehow vanished. Most likely beamed or warped or whatever back to his ship. I was actually a little sad to see him just disappear like that. There was nothing left to do. It was past midnight and I needed to get back home. The last thing I needed was to accidentally find another one of those Nightmares. Besides, I think I found just the kind of inspiration I was looking for. Who would've thought... An alien fortune teller from the stars, travelling through space on his ship and defending Earth from Nightmares...
---
"I can't believe it! I found her!" Star spun himself around a pole, holding on with one hand and holding a picture frame in the other. "I was right after all. I'd get closer if I searched here." He continued spinning around, laughing happily. "I know I should be worried now that the Nightmare Forces know she's here too, but I'm too happy to worry about that right now." He stopped his spinning and stared off the side of the ship's crow's nest. "Is that weird? I think it's a little weird." He started to snicker a little, which slowly evolved into fits of giggling until he started to burst out into laughter again. "Maybe I'll even find the others too. I'm so happy right now!" He shouted aloud to the unresponsive stars all around him.
He grabbed on to the railing of the crow's nest, swung his legs over and sat down on it. He kept a hand on the railing and held the picture frame to his stomach with the other as he stared off into the starry seascape.
"I hope the others are still out there. It's been so long since then. I haven't kept track of how long it's been. If she were still here, she'd hassle me about it for sure." He started to tear up. "It's okay though. I kept looking all this time... I can wait.” His head lowered. “Knowing that they're so close... I can wait just a little bit longer... And maybe one day...” He held up the picture frame and gazed at it. “...I'll get to see you too."