Beautiful Sorrows Read Online Free PDF

to the girl. “What do you want to do now?”
    She was slightly shaken. “I think that I want to go home,” she said, and the boy thought that was a fine idea. But it didn’t turn out to be as easy as all that.
    It really was a very small village, and when the people heard that there was a boy with wings and a glowing girl, they all wanted to see for themselves. Before long there was a crowd of people pressed around the boy and the girl, and it became quite frightening.
    “Hey, I know you!” shouted a voice over the crowd. “You look just like your mother!” Soon other people were shouting about how they recognized the girl, or how they wanted to see the boy fly, or wondering how they could get a bracelet of stars for themselves. It took several minutes until the boy and girl managed to push their way into the little house.
    “That was terrible,” said the girl. Her clothes were torn and her hair had been patted and touched and plucked. One of the stars stuck its tongue out at the people still gathered outside.
    “That was rather awkward,” agreed the boy as he flopped on the floor. He was missing several long feathers, and his hair was even more wild than usual. “But at least they can see you.”
    “Yes,” said the girl, and she smiled. “I am very happy for that. You don’t have to leave, do you?” She looked terrified when the boy started to stand up, and he quickly sat back down. The sky didn’t necessarily need stars tonight.
    “No, I can stay,” he said, and they sat very close together, trying to go to sleep.
    But it was impossible. The curious people stayed outside of the house, knocking on the doors and peeking in the windows, and the girl had become quite nervous. The boy thought for a while, and then stood up quickly.
    “Let’s go,” he said, and they ran out of the house and were up in the sky before the people below them had time to realize what was going on.
    When they got to the nest, the boy dropped the girl off and flew off to toss a few stars in the sky, just for fun. When he returned, the girl had already fallen asleep. She had her hand stretched out, and as the boy curled up next to her, he thought that her hand looked very empty, somehow. He thought of what he could put in it, but nothing seemed to fit. Finally he slid his own hand inside of hers, and then nodded with satisfaction. That was exactly right. He realized with some delight that his wings tucked just as nicely around two as they did around just himself, and as he drifted off to sleep he put his other hand on his chest, which was hurting him again.
    “Why do you keep touching your chest?” the girl asked him a few days later. The river leaned close to listen. It was very curious, as well.
    “Because it hurts sometimes,” said the boy.
    “Do you know why?”
    “Not really,” he said. He changed the subject. “How are things in the village?”
    The girl leaned back in the grass. “Much better, now that people are more used to me. I have some people there that remember my parents. And some of them remember me, too, before I stopped talking. And I guess when you stop talking...”
    “People stop seeing you.”
    “Right.” The girl watched the boy out of the corner of her eye. He was rubbing his hand over his heart again.
    “You must be hurting more and more lately,” she said.
    The boy frowned. “I think it is because I have never been so happy. I’ve never really had a friend before... ow .”
    The girl was worried. “Let me see.”
    “No.”
    “But I really want to.”
    “No,” he said again.
    “Please?”
    The boy sighed, and then slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He pointed to his heart. “See?” he said.
    The girl gasped. The boy’s heart was beating quite nicely inside of his chest. It wasn’t hidden at all.
    “Your heart!” she exclaimed.
    “What about it?”
    “I can see it!”
    “Well, of course you can.”
    The girl shook her head. “No, a heart is usually deep inside of somebody’s