I remember the night I lost my first love.

We exchanged goodbyes in the airport, no thought of danger crossing our minds. Everything seemed completely, and utterly normal. There was nothing that was out of the ordinary, nothing to send off a little alarm in my head.

I should have stopped her from stepping into that plane- then, she would still be with me. Her name still tumbles off of my tongue, the way that would make her laugh. "Ali-sss".

Alice.

Alice...

...

The streetlamp gave little light to the man on the bench. He was alone in the night, waiting patiently for the darkness to consume him. Small flurries of snow rained down from what Henry presumed was the heavens, and each snowflake that landed on his chilled body sent spasms of shivers down his spine. His shaggy dark hair hung in front of his face, and he groaned softly. He lifted his hands to his face, resenting the pity he felt for himself.

When Alice died, he had lost everything. He was drowning in his grief; lost in an ocean of sadness, waves growing, swelling, cresting, and finally breaking, sending him even deeper in his woe.

He ignored the bills, the calls from the IRS- and was evicted from his house in no time. He sold his possesions for food, and now he was here. In Central Park in the middle of the night, shivering on a bench. Nothing more than another sob story. He let his eyes wander up to the sky- almost all of the stars were drowned out by the city lights, but one persevered.

His eyes crinkled in a smile, and he reached out towards it. He hesitated midreach, and lowered his arm as memories flooded through his head.

Soft summer breezes floated in through the open window, cradling us in it's warmth. "Starlight, star bright. First star I see tonight.... what comes next, again?"

Alice rolled her eyes at me. "Close your eyes." She told me, her voice naught but a hushed whisper. I opened my mouth to argue, but before I could speak, soft warm hands closed my eyelids. Her hands traveled to mine, and our fingers entwined.

"Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight." She said, and I could swear that the whole world fell silent to listen to her.

"Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." She fell silent afterwards, and I let one of my eyes crack open to see her mouthing words. What could she possibly be wishing for? She already has everything. Perfect blonde hair that cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, perfect green eyes that pierced your very being and soul, perfect friends, always there for her, and then I realized it.

She was perfect. Perfect in every category. So her wish- what is it she does not have, what is is she longs for? I watched her eyes open, and my heart fell back into it's dark crevasse it called home. "What did you wish for?" I asked, fearing that I was not too bold. She hesitated before smiling, and turned her head to face me, placing her hand on my heart.

"You."

Tears soaked the man's face, and glinted in the light of the sole star that sat alone in the night sky. "Starlight, starbright." He croaked, his voice hoarse with anguish. "First star... I see tonight." He wiped his tears away, and continued on. "Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." He buried his head in his arms, his body heaving as he cried. "I just want to know happiness again." He sobbed to himself, wanting to all to end. He could be with Alice again, he could-

"Henry?"

He froze, sitting up, stiff as a board. A flash of light blinded him, and he glanced around feverishly for the source. A soft beacon of light emenated from a woman nearby, leaning against a tree.
"Is that your name? Henry?" She said, walking towards him. She had silver hair with purple tips, fringed and spiked, topped off with a gold nose ring. She looked rather punk, and in the same sense; ancient- he shifted his weight in the other direction, not trusting what he saw.

"Yes, that's my name-" He started, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat, and continued. "-but who are you?" The woman laughed, ruffling her short silver hair that seemed to glow in the moonlight. "I though you would have recognized me Henry, after all of these years- I'm your wishing star."

Henry laughed at her claim, and shook his head in disbelief. "You're a star? What, is this a joke?"

"No."

"Am I going crazy?"

"...Maybe. Probably- I mean, most likely, yes."

The pair watched each other in silence, and the star continued nearing Henry, and sat down onto the bench next to him. Henry looked into her eyes, and saw everything that ever was, and everything that ever will be. Galaxies as old as time swirling in tempo to the sound of music that only it could hear.

"What are you looking at?" The star asked him, her musical voice almost as enchanting as her eyes. Breaking his train of thought, he replied, "Nothing, nothing. Sorry." The star laughed at him, rolling her eyes.

"Humans are so strange- for the longest time, I questioned their existance." She told him, throwing her head around as she spoke, scrunching her nose up so that her nose ring stuck out at a different angle. "But then.... I realized why they exist." She turned her face to look at him, as if she thought he knew the answer. "And why is that?" He pressed, letting a faint smile slip onto his lips. "They bring pointless joy to the universe, it puts everything in balance, you know?" He nodded in agreement, letting his gaze drift off to the city lights.

"But then, I look at you." His smile was qucikly replaced with a frown, and he turned his head back to her. "What?" He asked, his face scrunching up in such a way that his worry lines showed through. "You're so sad! But I mean, I understand why." The star whispered, looking at where the World Trade Center used to stand tall- proud, even.

The star watched Henry, her eyes full of twinkling galaxies and supernovas saddened. "You loved her very much, and know that she loves you too. She still does." Henry replied with silence, which was more than enough for her.

She leaned in close to him, her eyes fluttering at snowflakes tickled her eyelashes. "I can't stay forever, Henry." He nodded slowly, turning his head so that their noses could almost touch. "Take me with you." His voice was sincere, he had his heart set. The star lurched backwards.

"What?"

"Grant my wish."

And so they entwined their fingers, and they met in a kiss- and in a blinding flash of light, she was gone, and Henry was left with nothing but a lingering feeling of warmth. He let his eyes wander up to the sky- almost all of the stars were drowned out by the city lights, but one persevered. His star- Henry's star.

...

I remember the night I lost my second love.