((This was written for a competition, and we were supposed to write about whatever comes to mind when we hear the words "Fall of the Morning Star."))

I glimpsed pale, distant streaks of pink tethered to the clouds drifting freely across the horizon in the fading glow of a vanilla twilight. The air discharged a sweet aura of a drilling calm as a whisper carried on the wind. My sight darkened slightly as the sun burst over the mountaintops in a last attempt at daylight as the sky began to drain of blood, like a little child faced with their greatest fear. I couldn’t make out any stars; the clouds blotted the heavens to the point where it was a huge void of gray. My gaze shifted down to the lake at my feet, the still water glistening and reflecting what was left of the day. Sundown was my favorite time of day, as it was the opposite of daybreak. The water lapped gently at my bare feet, chill and graceful. I raised my eyes back to the sky, where I could see a glorious crescent moon hanging in the air, thin and sharp, bending the waves of the water back and forth in an endless movement. Suddenly, a tiny speck of light seized my attention.

A comet hurtled across the moon, arching in a awe-inspiring flare of emerald. The corner of my mouth twitched into a faint smile. Once again, Roy found his way into my memory. I could easily recall his long, crimson hair, his huge muddy eyes, and his loud but wonderful laugh at my face when I saw what odd clothes he chose to wear that day. Sometimes, I could swear he dug through a cardboard box on the side of a thrift store just to surprise me with mismatched apparel. The meteor brought him to the surface of my mind because we met by the very same lake I sat by at the moment. We had both gone there to watch a summer meteor shower.

I was jolted from my memory at a sudden flash of light from the lake itself. Water sprayed out, hailing down on me as my arms instinctively flew to my face. It died off quickly, and I dared to open my eyes. Hovering above the lake, the waves parting below his feet, was Roy himself. My arms fell limp, my eyes widened, and I resisted letting my jaw drop open. Draped over his pale skin were beautiful, pure white robes that fluttered in an unseen, gentle wind. Extending from his bony back were two bloody wings, the dark crimson liquid dripping from not only the smooth black feathers, but his eyes as well. Dust gathered on his eyes in a film, and his irises were a faded green.

“R-Roy?” I stammered, his name the only thing forming on my tongue. I witnessed his death myself two years before, in that fateful accident, his chest tore wide open, blood gushing out onto my jeans, and the fading light in his eyes as he choked his last words to me. Yet, there he was, floating before me, blind and winged. His eyes flicked to me, as if he really could see me.

“Annabelle,” he said in the same voice I remembered, but with a silent note of pleading, “The time has come.” I shook my head, not understanding or comprehending whatsoever. I scrambled to my feet and outstretched my arm to him, wading into the water to the point where my ankles were soaked. Tears welled in my eyes and flooded down my cheeks.

“Roy, it’s really you, isn’t it?” I whispered. Roy seemed to know that I was waiting for him to take my hand, but he didn’t move.

“Annabelle, please,” he declared strongly, but sweetly, his words dripping with love, “I cannot heed your call. For my time has come to truly move on, and your time has come to take my place.” The muscles in my arm couldn’t hold out a moment longer, and I lowered it back to my side. Roy continued on, tears forming in his own unseeing eyes.

“Please, our time has come. Of all the people I could have chosen to become the Morning Star, I chose you, Annabelle,” he paused a minute, as if in a terrible pain. “I love you, and I feel so selfish for asking this of you.” My mind was slowing down from its frightening pace, but my heart skipped a few beats.

“Annabelle,” Roy murmured, his image fading away. “Annabelle…” I splashed through the lake in a vain attempt to hold him, but when my hand swept out to snatch his hand, I received nothing more than an angelic wind.

“Roy!” I screamed, tears falling thick and fast from my cheek, mixing in with the ice water now up to my knees. Finally, my one eternal love faded from sight. The glowing comet above my head vanished with his dying spirit as my knees gave way and I let myself be swept away into the cold water. The current drove me out into the center of the lake, where the sand beneath me couldn’t exist. I allowed the water to flow in and out of my lungs, not even acknowledging the agony it brought. My body became a weight that brought me down deeper into the killing water. I had watched him die, and for the second time, he was ripped from me. The hole where my heart was supposed to be throbbed like a physical pain. Over time, I had healed slightly, but the mere sight of his face ripped the wound open. Death’s unforgiving hands were coming closer to me, his long, spindly fingers encasing me in a watery tomb. Dreams formed in my head as I finally let go.

Now I gaze down at the world in jealousy, eternally watching love blossom beneath me in the night. I am the last star to fade in the face of daybreak. I am the Morning Star.