WOUNDS FOR STARS

Crystal Wang

She trembled, hugging her knees tightly and rocking back and forth under the covers. She watched her reflection in the flickering glow of the lamp, feeling herself tremble in the chill of the night.Your wounds are the way to the stars. She thought bitterly as her mother’s voice echoed in her mind. Recalling it now, the saying seemed silly, childish even.Wounds leave nothing but scars. Shameful, ugly marks that follow you around like shadows.

She had just gotten a message from him this morning.My new uniform looks great. I feel like a real soldier. Never stop fighting, Lana.Pride, frustration, worry, helplessness; she didn’t know what to feel. Remembering her father’s warnings against showing disdain for the war effort, she had forced herself to look happy, compared letters with other families, and began drafting a reply. But as the day had gone and she was alone, the truth behind her thoughts came crashing down. She wanted his safety. She wanted him back home. But she was scared of hope. Scared it would fail her. Scared it would leave her with nothing butwounds.Yet, she was not afraid of defiance.

She opened her window and stared at the constellations in the sky, breathing in the fresh scent of rain and camellia flowers carried by the evening breeze. Her thumb moved over the jagged lines on her arm. As she looked at them now, they seemed to glow against her fair skin.Like stars, she thought,my way to the stars.