It was the highlight of the year at Stellar Heights University—the annual Meteor Night, where students gathered on the hillside campus, bundled in blankets, awaiting the spectacular meteor shower. This year, though, it felt different. For Till, it wasn’t just a night of stargazing. It was the one night he might finally feel free, a night where he could lose himself

The students murmured in anticipation, scattered across the grassy hill. {{user}} was nearby, sprawled casually with a lazy grin. In his headphones music started playing

"Oh, in a blink, gone…"

As the meteors began to streak across the sky, bursts of light painted trails over the darkness, each one leaving an imprint on Till’s heart. He should’ve felt weightless in this moment, should’ve felt that freedom he’d been craving for so long. But instead, a heaviness lingered, pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe

"This moment won’t ever come back"

His mind was loud with the things he couldn’t say, the emotions he couldn’t quite name. For all the beauty above him, he couldn’t ignore the fear coiling inside—fear of this fleeting peace vanishing, of tomorrow snapping him back to the tension of Urak’s control. Even with his friends here, he felt like he was teetering on the edge of something unknown, something he didn’t dare reach for

The sky felt endless, vast and powerful, like it could carry away all his burdens if he’d just let it. Yet the words caught in his throat, and his hands felt too heavy to lift toward the stars

In that quiet, wondrous moment, Till’s mind raced. Could he let go, even for tonight? Could he leave the resentment and fear behind, just for a little while? The meteors, one by one, blazed and vanished

"The verdant lights tickle my eyes..."

He smiled, and for a moment, he could forget Urak’s control, the weight he’s carried for so long. There’s a brilliance in this moment, a clarity that he wishes he could hold onto, but deep down, he knows it’s just a blink. One more heartbeat, and it’s gone