The City of Stars
Blaring noises from the city streets below gradually begin to dwindle and melt into the silence of night. The faint light of the stars from the window was the only reassurance that the outside world still exists.
Abby, a young artist living in the heart of New York City, sat at her worn-out desk, which had gone through years of relentless usage. The never-ending skyscrapers right outside her apartment window had kept her company every night for years. Each design, each window, each light had a tale translated by her onto a canvas.
On the corner of her usually cluttered desk, rested a picture frame, holding the most cherished moment of her life, a snapshot of her childhood with her parents. They were both archaeologists, her world of creativity was ignited by their tales of the ancient past. But life wasn't fair and took them prematurely in a tragic accident. Their absence left an indelible void in Abby's heart, influencing her art, often reflecting her longing for them.
Her art was her escape, her sanctuary. Her emotions were personified onto the canvas, beautifully merging the line between reality and imagination. Her yearning was tragically beautiful, painting a poignant picture every artist strived to achieve.
One night, as per her routine, Abby sat down with a blank canvas, unknown to the journey it was about to take her on. Out of all the ink bottles, one particular stood out, an ink bottle of luminescent paint gifted by her parents on her tenth birthday. Nostalgia took over her as she picked up the bottle and for the first time in many years, she decided to use the luminescent ink.
As her brush began to soak the ink and waltz on the canvas, her subconscious strummed all the tales her parents narrated about ancient civilizations, mysterious tales of buried cities and hidden treasures. An otherworldly city saturated with the luminescent ink started to take place on her canvas - a city of the stars.
Engulfed in her artwork, the world around her ceased to exist until the first light of dawn interrupted her, illuminating her ardent creation. But something unimaginable happened, the city on her canvas started glowing, emitting a strange celestial aura. The canvas seemed like a portal, not to another world, but to another dimension of her reality.
Startled yet entranced, Abby reached out. The moment her fingers made contact, the room was enveloped in a blinding light. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in her apartment, but in the same celestial city she had painted.
Walking through the labyrinth of star-lit streets, she felt a sense of familiarity, a connection. She realized that through her art, she had not only encapsulated her parents' tales but also their essence, their spirit. The city was not random; it was an echo of her longing, peppered with remnants of her parents' stories.
She spent her time engulfed in the beauty of the transcendent city, feeling strangely at home. A day turned into a week, a week into a month, her mortal outlines began to blur with the ethereal surroundings. Abby realized it was time to return.
Back to her apartment, she found the city she created, glowing vibrantly in her otherwise untouched room. Life had breathed a new chapter, a new inspiration which reflected in her art. She continued painting her emotions but with brighter colors, narrating tales concealed in the city of stars.
Abby's art was not just an exhibit; it was a lens to a world nestled between her imagination and reality. Her longing was real, yet her journey was surreal. But the City of Stars was a place where both coexisted, becoming her unrestrained escape, fulfilling her longing in an ethereally beautiful form.