Aurelia Stevens: A Short Story
Near a little house by the ocean, there lived a young girl named Aurelia Stevens. She loved her name for the way it flowed like a river. In contrast, her hair gave the appearance of a blazing fire, cascading in curls that seemed to raise just a little around her neck and torso. Her vivid blue eyes looked to be from the ocean itself, deep and mysterious just the same.
She was isolated due to her father being a writer. He needed space to work, and decided that separating his family from society would work perfectly. They had a garden so that they could make their own food, and enough money from his wife’s job as an orthopedic surgeon, retiring at an early age after years of college. They were old when they had their first child, and decided when she was born, to finally move away. That is when her mother quit her job, and her father …show more content…
decided that writing was his passion. One day, as she was walking the sands of the beach by her house, she witnessed a boy coming her way. His matching gray eyes and ashy hair, coupled with his tall and gaunt appearance, gave the girl the impression of a burning skyscraper, of all things. She stopped to stare at this strange boy as he walked closer to her. The boy stopped a few paces away from Aurelia, his gaze traveling up and down her as he took her in. A smile tugged at his lips. “You’re beautiful,” he told the girl. Her smile was as radiant as the sun, after hearing such a compliment. Without hesitation, she thanked him for his kind words and softly asked, “Would you like some company?” her wide eyes betraying her inner curiosity towards this foreigner. After all, it’s not very often you meet people that look like danger. “Of course,” he replied. They walked alongside one another, and began to talk. “Why haven’t I seen you before?” she asked. “I’m toxic. I stay by myself to make sure I don’t hurt anyone,” he whispered, leaning closer to her. “You can’t possibly be!
You seem fine, and I don’t feel like I’m dying!” the naive girl said with a light laugh. So distracted was she with the conversation that she missed one of the rocks hidden in the beach. She cried in surprise as she tripped over one of them and landed in the sand with a dull thump. The boy turned around and continued walking backwards, laughing at the sight. Doing this, he too did not see the rocks and tripped over them. “I assume a gentleman,” she emphasized, laughing with the boy, “would help a lady up, rather than laughing at her.” The boy apologized, saying, “I’m sorry. As I said, I’m toxic.” His smile never left his face, even when apologizing. Even so, the Aurelia paid no heed to his repeated warning. Never before had anyone spoken to her as freely as he was doing now. He intrigued her and she was dying to learn more about him. After picking themselves up and dusting each other off for sand, they continued their walk. Eventually, they came to Aurelia's home, where she led him to the balcony in her room, overlooking the ocean. “Does it ever hurt, being alone?” the boy asked, his gaze staying on
her. “Sometimes, but I’ve never felt fully alone lately. There are 37.2 trillion cells in an average human’s body, and they all exist to keep me alive. There are 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and there are 1 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. How can I feel alone when I am made up of parts of one of a billion trillion stars, and there are 37.2 trillion cells trying to keep me alive?” “You must have thought about this a lot,” he remarked, his eyes drifting away from her to the ocean. “I have,” she admitted, her hands resting on the balcony. The boy looked back to her, curiosity dancing across his features. Noticing this, the girl took a breath and continued. "I suppose it is because I have been alone for so many years, and once I realized I was not, I couldn’t forget it.” Her voice cracked as she finished talking. She took another moment to breathe and wipe her eyes while the boy continued to stare at her. His own gaze had begun to soften as memories of their shared past came to his mind. While she may not have remembered him, he remembered her, for they had met before long ago.
***
“Who are you?” she asked, her soft voice contrasting the slight bite of anger in it. She had not seen anyone other than her small family before. “I am insignificant," the boy replied, turning his gaze back to the ocean. "You won’t remember me when I leave again.” Aurelia tilted her head slightly. She doubted that she would forget the boy with the transparent eyes. “What’s your name?” she asked hesitantly. “My name is Adam,” he said. Simply that, no last name. “Mine is Aurelia,” she said in response. “That’s a pretty name."
***
He hated himself, and he had every reason to. Every bad characteristic he could think of, he possessed. He was the villain of the fairytale. Aurelia looked at him, noting his expression change.
“I know that I’m supposed to be the bad guy, but can’t I have a happy ending too?” His hard expression pulled him back into the world they used to call their own, but now it just belonged to him. “I don’t deserve one, do I?” he said, answering his own question. “I am an insignificant iota in this galaxy. I don’t belong in the spectrum of anything you could consider remarkable. I am a broken bottle pieced together and glued in the wrong places. I am a puzzle with a missing piece, I am the space between each line of every sentence on a page in a book. The piece missing from the puzzle of me is my heart. I do not matter, and when my eyes turn completely dark from the ice embedded in my soul, I want you to know that it isn’t because of you. When I begin to fall apart, it will be because my mind is focused on my appearance. When the sky becomes dark, I do too.” “Adam, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say. Of course you matter. You’re breathing, aren’t you? You’re made up of so many cells, why are the ones in your brain the most important ones? Your mind is a complex galaxy currently, but you can untangle your thoughts eventually. The dust from the supernova in your heart causes stardust to fill your veins with every breath you take. Your soul is filled with the light of the sun. You are not simple, you are an entire universe. The only flaw I can see is your self esteem. It’s way down here-” he said, gesturing to an area a few feet lower than where they were, “and it should be way up there.” Aurelia gestured to the stars again. She smiled, and they continued their night in complete normality.
***
She woke up to the sound of screaming. She walked downstairs to her living room, and saw her father lying on the ground. Her mother sat beside him, her hand on his neck, checking for his pulse. When she could not find it, she screamed again. Aurelia felt tears falling from her cheeks, she felt her own mouth open into a scream, but she felt nothing. It did not feel real. What had happened?
She was isolated due to her father being a writer. He needed space to work, and decided that separating his family from society would work perfectly. They had a garden so that they could make their own food, and enough money from his wife’s job as an orthopedic surgeon, retiring at an early age after years of college. They were old when they had their first child, and decided when she was born, to finally move away. That is when her mother quit her job, and her father …show more content…
decided that writing was his passion. One day, as she was walking the sands of the beach by her house, she witnessed a boy coming her way. His matching gray eyes and ashy hair, coupled with his tall and gaunt appearance, gave the girl the impression of a burning skyscraper, of all things. She stopped to stare at this strange boy as he walked closer to her. The boy stopped a few paces away from Aurelia, his gaze traveling up and down her as he took her in. A smile tugged at his lips. “You’re beautiful,” he told the girl. Her smile was as radiant as the sun, after hearing such a compliment. Without hesitation, she thanked him for his kind words and softly asked, “Would you like some company?” her wide eyes betraying her inner curiosity towards this foreigner. After all, it’s not very often you meet people that look like danger. “Of course,” he replied. They walked alongside one another, and began to talk. “Why haven’t I seen you before?” she asked. “I’m toxic. I stay by myself to make sure I don’t hurt anyone,” he whispered, leaning closer to her. “You can’t possibly be!
You seem fine, and I don’t feel like I’m dying!” the naive girl said with a light laugh. So distracted was she with the conversation that she missed one of the rocks hidden in the beach. She cried in surprise as she tripped over one of them and landed in the sand with a dull thump. The boy turned around and continued walking backwards, laughing at the sight. Doing this, he too did not see the rocks and tripped over them. “I assume a gentleman,” she emphasized, laughing with the boy, “would help a lady up, rather than laughing at her.” The boy apologized, saying, “I’m sorry. As I said, I’m toxic.” His smile never left his face, even when apologizing. Even so, the Aurelia paid no heed to his repeated warning. Never before had anyone spoken to her as freely as he was doing now. He intrigued her and she was dying to learn more about him. After picking themselves up and dusting each other off for sand, they continued their walk. Eventually, they came to Aurelia's home, where she led him to the balcony in her room, overlooking the ocean. “Does it ever hurt, being alone?” the boy asked, his gaze staying on
her. “Sometimes, but I’ve never felt fully alone lately. There are 37.2 trillion cells in an average human’s body, and they all exist to keep me alive. There are 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and there are 1 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. How can I feel alone when I am made up of parts of one of a billion trillion stars, and there are 37.2 trillion cells trying to keep me alive?” “You must have thought about this a lot,” he remarked, his eyes drifting away from her to the ocean. “I have,” she admitted, her hands resting on the balcony. The boy looked back to her, curiosity dancing across his features. Noticing this, the girl took a breath and continued. "I suppose it is because I have been alone for so many years, and once I realized I was not, I couldn’t forget it.” Her voice cracked as she finished talking. She took another moment to breathe and wipe her eyes while the boy continued to stare at her. His own gaze had begun to soften as memories of their shared past came to his mind. While she may not have remembered him, he remembered her, for they had met before long ago.
***
“Who are you?” she asked, her soft voice contrasting the slight bite of anger in it. She had not seen anyone other than her small family before. “I am insignificant," the boy replied, turning his gaze back to the ocean. "You won’t remember me when I leave again.” Aurelia tilted her head slightly. She doubted that she would forget the boy with the transparent eyes. “What’s your name?” she asked hesitantly. “My name is Adam,” he said. Simply that, no last name. “Mine is Aurelia,” she said in response. “That’s a pretty name."
***
He hated himself, and he had every reason to. Every bad characteristic he could think of, he possessed. He was the villain of the fairytale. Aurelia looked at him, noting his expression change.
“I know that I’m supposed to be the bad guy, but can’t I have a happy ending too?” His hard expression pulled him back into the world they used to call their own, but now it just belonged to him. “I don’t deserve one, do I?” he said, answering his own question. “I am an insignificant iota in this galaxy. I don’t belong in the spectrum of anything you could consider remarkable. I am a broken bottle pieced together and glued in the wrong places. I am a puzzle with a missing piece, I am the space between each line of every sentence on a page in a book. The piece missing from the puzzle of me is my heart. I do not matter, and when my eyes turn completely dark from the ice embedded in my soul, I want you to know that it isn’t because of you. When I begin to fall apart, it will be because my mind is focused on my appearance. When the sky becomes dark, I do too.” “Adam, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say. Of course you matter. You’re breathing, aren’t you? You’re made up of so many cells, why are the ones in your brain the most important ones? Your mind is a complex galaxy currently, but you can untangle your thoughts eventually. The dust from the supernova in your heart causes stardust to fill your veins with every breath you take. Your soul is filled with the light of the sun. You are not simple, you are an entire universe. The only flaw I can see is your self esteem. It’s way down here-” he said, gesturing to an area a few feet lower than where they were, “and it should be way up there.” Aurelia gestured to the stars again. She smiled, and they continued their night in complete normality.
***
She woke up to the sound of screaming. She walked downstairs to her living room, and saw her father lying on the ground. Her mother sat beside him, her hand on his neck, checking for his pulse. When she could not find it, she screamed again. Aurelia felt tears falling from her cheeks, she felt her own mouth open into a scream, but she felt nothing. It did not feel real. What had happened?