"the star catcher" a short story
Vast radiant stars shone in the sky overhead. The Star Catcher donned his long black wool overcoat with golden buttons of constellations. A gentle gust of wind snaked through the Star Catcher’s feet; the grains of sand rode the backs of the invisible force, erasing the combat boot’s footprints. Red clay mountains surrounded the Star Catcher. His body was small in comparison to them, as small as the stars he caught from the sky.
The galaxies, that split open above the hooded Star Catcher, hummed the music of the universe. His feet halted; he lowered his hood. The whistling wind whirled through the grand desert, hitting his body, ruffling and flapping his coat. The wind and the music blended together, harmonizing their pitches. The Star Catcher paused. His chin lifted to the sky, to the stars. A pair of goggles, that looked like they belonged in a fictional steampunk world, covered the Star Catcher’s eyes, reflecting the lustrous lights of the midnight sky. The wind pressed his cloth mask against his face, defining his lips and jawline.
He listened to the music of the universe dance with the sounds of the Earth, waltzing in and out of the music staff, stepping in time with the cords and notes. The Star Catcher focused, closed his eyes, concentrated on the rhythm of the dance partners.
His hands moved his coat behind his waist. Trailing his belt, his leather-gloved fingers found embedded in his belt a thin pouch of sorts. He unbuttoned the leather and slid out a metallic fountain pen. A silver Gemini zodiac star constellation was engraved on the barrel of the pen.
His other hand trailed up the body to a breast pocket, pulling out a black journal with golden metal edges. The Star Catcher removed the cap of the pen, sliding it into his back jean pocket. The exposed nib caught the starlight, which filled and luminated the engraved barreled constellation. He flipped through worn hand-crafted pages to a blank one.
Squinting his eyes, the Star Catcher peered through the stardust-lined goggles. He scanned the sky, raising his hand, the nib connected the lights together. Silver starlight ink spelled words that structured into sentences, falling onto the pages of his notebook. Lines and lines of poems appeared on the page as his wrist flicked throughout the sky, finding stories of the universe, catching them forever within verse.
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