When Compass took pity on me, she reached down into the Underworld, touched the shoulder of Morita's, and asked her forgiveness. Then Compass took my sister in her arms and placed her in the sky, where she, too, turned to stardust. Magiano looks at me, his eyes wide. It seems as if he already, somehow, understands.“My goddess made me a promise,” I whisper. Only now do I realize that I have never seen him cry before. In the stories, Compass and her human lover would descend each night from the stars to walk the mortal world, before vanishing with the dawn. So, together, we stare at the sky, waiting.

The Midnight Star