Musca Munificent
by Lara Bartram
"What's that one?"
Katsuragi Narioki looked up at the sky where his daughter was
pointing. "I don't know, Misato. You'd have to ask someone else," he
answered curtly.
"Oh." Misato's arm lowered to hang limply by her side, though her
eyes remained directed at the endless black velvet of the sky above
them. The feeling in her nose had fled, and her cheeks were tingling
with the threat to do the same, but she did not head back inside.
"Ikari's already gone with the sample."
"No doubt the bastard will try and claim all the credit."
Misato glanced briefly at her father and the man he was talking
to. They were always in an unhappy mood, so deep in their work, they
couldn't see how wonderful the sky was.
Being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do, wasn't
something she would have really wanted to do, but now that she was
there, standing on a flat, frozen field beneath the most beautiful
thing she had ever seen...
"Come inside, Misato. I won't tolerate you getting sick because
you weren't smart enough to keep warm."
"But it's--"
"No backtalk. Inside."
There was no arguing with her father when he took that tone, even
though he treated her like a pet more than his daughter. As if she
was too stupid to come in from the cold...
He took her arm and began walking toward the shelters. "This isn't
a vacation; this is work. I can't let you act so irresponsibly."
Misato had tuned out her father's words and was staring back at
the sky as she trudged toward the shelter. There was still that
formation of stars, winking periodically down at her.
They looked like jewels, sometimes flashing blue, sometimes red.
If it were at all possible, she would have liked to stay there, even
if it was too cold, and watch those stars hang in the sky...
The door was shut, and her father was pulling her away from the
tiny window and back to their meager quarters.
***
If only... Stars so bright... Winking endlessly... Red and blue
over and over...
So bright against the sky... But not brighter than... than...
Stars so bright... Red and blue endlessly... Winking over and
over... Sky so dark...
So dark...
So dark...
Except for the stars.
"She's completely catatonic. No response to outside stimulus at
all." The doctor wore a grim look on his face as he looked at the
slack features of the girl.
"How long has she been like this?"
"It's been over seven months now, and there haven't been any signs
of improvement."
The other doctor nodded. "Tragic."
The two watched the girl as she stared at something very far away.
The stars, so bright, against the sky...
Musca - constellation found in the polar region of the Southern
hemisphere
munificent - generous, quality of being generous
Updated 4-17-2000