Stargazing
Chapter 1: Sky
Staring at the sky above him, he raised his hand up, comparing the size. Apparently, the sky was a whole lot larger.
The bleak, unchanging, city-night sky.
Alfred lay on the ground contemplating his life. He had wheat-blonde hair. Check. His bomber jacket was undeniably cool. Check. His stunning looks were fantastic. Check. Arthur made disgusting food. Check. He was the personification of the United States of America. … Check.
Damn it.
Check.
Checks.
Checkbooks.
Checking accounts.
Check.
Check!
CHECK!
"Damn it all!" Holding his head, Alfred squirmed in discomfort and pain.
He hated, no, loathed, the word.
He had had enough work already, but with the economy like it was, his joints were always aching, his head was always pounding, his heart was always burning, and he was always so DAMN TIRED. All because of those stupid checks! He had to write at least five hundred of them per day. Plus, he had all the other garbage his boss wanted him to do for work. And then there were the other nations who asked him things left and right.
And people blamed him? Everyone else was at fault just as much as he was!
Country or not, he could not handle this. The constant meetings. The constant workload. The constant interviews. Constant life! It all just stabbed holes into him and poured acid in. He just wanted to forget it all.
Or get a vacation.
Ah, a vacation. He could sure use one of those.
He gazed back up at the sky. Tonight was unusually special. Some of the stars could actually be seen beyond the blinding lights of the city. Of course, he could always go out to the country where he could see every star that could possibly be seen, but with all the work he had, the most time he could afford away from his home was an hour or two at the local park.
And it was his only relaxation time, so he tried to make the most of it.
Being so deep in thought, he almost did not notice the light streaking across the sky.
It was like a beacon that immediately alerted him, and he instantly located the source.
Looking up, his eyes radiant with pure awe, he stared at the shooting star. It looked so beautiful, like everything you would expect from all the stories, bright enough to show through even the effects of the city, yet look soft enough to touch.
It began to fade.
A wish!
He had to make a wish!
"Ah, um, I…" he said quickly, looking around, as if looking for something to give him a hint as to what to say. "Ah, I…"
He suddenly felt fatigue catch up with him, and he remembered why he was there. He smiled up at the heavens.
"I wish I could just forget it all."
The shooting star seemed to shine a bit brighter, and then disappeared completely.
-o~O~o-
As Alfred crawled into bed, he knew he would be chastised within the next two days. He was going to miss work, but you know what he could tell them? He forgot. He just forgot. The way he thought about it, if that wishing stuff actually worked, all records in his home would be wiped of the meeting for the following day.
Arthur would not be able to scold him because it would be official: America had not been told about the meeting at all.
The perfect getaway.
He wished he could have asked for an all-expense paid vacation, too. To the Bahamas.
Yeah, that would have been nice, he thought, drifting off to sleep.
What people don't know is, just as nations have personifications, so do other things in the universe, stars being one of them.
Specifically, shooting stars. Scientifically speaking, shooting stars are like comets, not stars at all. Just a rock flying so fast that it looks luminous enough to be one.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…"
A small girl flipped through the pages of a notebook, her short white hair billowing softly. She winced as a pebble hit her.
"Ow!" She stood up angrily. "Now, who did that!"
A boy farther away laughed. "Hahaha! The little wannabe got hurt!"
Another girl laughed with him. "Stop that!" she said mockingly. "Miss Incompetency will not be able to get away from work again!"
The small girl fumed back at them. "Rigel and Capella! Stop being so mean! I am not a wannabe!"
The boy raised an eyebrow. "I see, and I guess you can make my wish come true, then?"
She frowned a bit. "It depends…"
"Then I wish you would disappear!" the boy exclaimed, smirking.
She could have cried. Why were the stars always so mean to her?
"Oh? She's not disappearing! She really must be useless!" the older girl said.
A determined look on her face, the little girl angrily and rapidly went through her notebook. She would show them. She would show them how great she could be. She needed one wish she could fulfill in one night. Just one…
She stopped at a page with a single sentence.
In contrast to other pages with entire essays.
"I wish I could just forget it all."
Alfred F. Jones… She read his profile a little bit.
Oh! He's a personification, too!
America, yes? An interesting prospect. She read on more and nodded to herself.
Yes, he deserved the wish.
She stood up, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply.
She located the American on Earth and found him sound asleep in his bed.
Almost immediately, her spirit found itself next to him. She spun around, taking in the surroundings. This boy had a really messy room, but it made her happy. It was different than the cold loneliness of space. She touched his head gently.
Done.
She opened her eyes and found herself back on her desolate rock. Smiling softly, she hugged herself. She had done it. She wasn't useless.
By tomorrow morning, Alfred F. Jones, the personification of the United States of America, would remember absolutely nothing.
Nothing at all.
This idea has been in my head for a while now, but I only came up with the actual storyline a few days ago.
Little unnamed-for-now girl is just a plot device.
Rigel is the seventh brightest star in the sky and is a blue giant, and Capella is a giant yellow star, like our own sun, but larger. Little shooting star girl is not extremely bright, in terms of luminosity.
I'm a nerd, so shut up ^u^
And little unnamed-for-now girl will remain unnamed until farther on in the story.
Okay, I'll shut up now :D