Beautiful Sorrows Read Online Free PDF Page A

delightful!”
    “A...wishing star?”
    The girl nodded happily. “Yes! A wishing star. If you make a wish on that star, it will come true. I should know; I’ve made dozens myself.”
    “Really?”
    “Really!” The girl looked at the boy. “So all of this time, you felt badly about these stars dropping through the holes in your hands. When really, it makes people very happy when they do. Silly boy.”
    He thought about this. He thought that it made him happy. And when he was happy, his chest hurt. He put his hand over his heart.
    “What is it?”
    “It’s nothing,” said the boy. “I think I must be happy. Anyway, I have something else to show you. I think this will help you in the village.”
    “Really?” asked the girl, excited. But the boy didn’t answer. He had already picked her up and was flying back to the nest.
    The girl was quite pleased that she didn’t scream at all.
    When they got back to the nest, the boy dug around until he came up with a small box. “Are you ready?” he asked the girl. She nodded, and he opened it.
    Inside were many tiny, tiny little stars. They made small sounds and crawled over each other, seeming very pleased to see the boy and the girl.
    “They’re beautiful,” whispered the girl. “Why are they so small?”
    “They’re babies,” said the boy, and he tried to pick one up. It was so tiny that it slid right through the hole in his hand back into the box. He looked at the girl. “They’re too small for me to throw into the sky, so I keep them here until they get bigger. But I think that they get bored.”
    The girl watched them closely. It looked like the little stars were chasing each other in a circle. “Are they playing?”
    “Yes. Stars like to play. But they also like to see things, and they don’t get to see much inside of a box. Hold out your hand.”
    The girl did so. The boy whispered something to the stars, and the girl heard several happy little chimes. She looked at the boy. “What are they doing?”
    “Cheering. Just watch.”
    The little stars swarmed into the girl’s hand, and then began to orbit her wrist. They felt cool and bright and made the girl very happy.
    “Now you can take them with you,” said the boy. “They really are very happy little things, and I think that you’ll enjoy them. And they’ll get out of the box.”
    The girl held her wrist up to her face. The stars seemed to be having a lovely time. “Thank you very much!” she said to the boy, and meant it. He smiled.
    “You’re welcome. But there’s another reason that I gave it to you. Come on.” He grabbed her and they headed back to the village.
    They landed in the center of town, and the girl looked around her. “What is it that I’m supposed to see?”
    “I have a theory,” the boy said. He waited until he saw an old man walk toward them. Then he politely said, “Hello, sir. Do you see this girl here?”
    The girl tugged the boy’s sleeve. “I told you that nobody can...”
    The old man peered at the girl strangely. “Do I know you?” he asked her.
    The girl blinked in surprise. Her mouth fell open. She didn’t know what to say. “I...I don’t know. Do you?”
    The old man studied her face. “There was a girl who looked a lot like you, years ago. But she disappeared after her parents died. And she didn’t glow like you do.”
    “Glow?” asked the girl.
    The old man snorted. “She doesn’t know that she glows?” he asked the boy. They boy shook his head.
    “She was invisible until about half an hour ago, you see.”
    “Ah,” said the old man knowingly. He turned back to the girl. “You,” he said matter-of-factly, “glow.”
    “I do?”
    “You do. In fact, there’s no color to you, just light. I think that if you didn’t glow, I wouldn’t see you at all. You’re a very lucky young lady.”
    “Um...thank you, sir,” said the girl.
    He nodded. “You’re welcome.” And he slowly walked away.
    They watched him leave. Then the boy turned