"I am no man."
She knew that already. "A Star?"
"Perhaps I am."
"Perhaps?" she echoed. "How can you not know what you are?"
"Iknow what I am, but do you need to know what I am?"
She pulled away, packing the salve into her basket. She tugged the bread and cheese free, shoving it toward him. "I want to know."
He stared at the food in his hands like he’d never seen such a thing before. "How are you not afraid of me?"
"I often don’t do things as I should. A flaw, as my mother would say." She shrugged a shoulder, watching as he cautiously took a bite of the cheese.
"Humans and their flaws." He said it lowly, as if forgetting she was there.
He wasn’t human. She’dknownbut?—
A Star, then. Her Star.
He stood with the half-eaten food in his hand. "Where do you go when you are not here?"
She stared up at him. "What do you mean?"
He gestured to the leaves of the willow, hanging around them both. "Do you live under this tree?"
She laughed, and his eyes brightened. "No. I live in a home. Humans don’t live under trees—though, I would if I could manage it."
Satisfied, he nodded. "I will return when the moons rise again."
He left her there, under the willow tree. His words weren’t a blatant invitation, but a quiet inquiry into the state of her company.
She smiled to herself as she watched him go.
The next day,she sat beneath the willow tree, waiting for him.
She had stayed up nearly all night, wondering. She’d risen early and dressed, shoving fruit into her mouth as she headed to the archival building, governed by an elderly woman with a hunched back and dour face. All day, she’d sat in the little building, a cat weaving between her legs as she pored over books.
She’d been able to find nothing on fallen Stars who appeared as men.
Her gaze kept being drawn to the stained glass window, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of him outside.
Under the willow tree, she braided long pieces of grass as she watched the treeline.
He appeared like an apparition—golden skin, dark hair, and black eyes. He still wore the pants.
He stalked up the knoll to where she sat, staring down at her.
"You are quite determined."
"Do you wish for my apology? You were the one who told me when you were going to return."
He sat. She waited for that white light to appear, but it did not.
It was quiet for so long, she wondered if he’d forgotten she was there.
She felt his sudden desire to leave. She didn’t want him to go.
