Ivan sits quietly, flipping through a star atlas. Niel drops his bag onto the table with a dramatic sigh.
Niel: Ugh. I still don’t get why we’re doing constellations. Can’t we just draw stars and be done?
Ivan: It’s not just drawing. It’s mapping. Orion’s Belt is the easiest to spot.
Niel: The three stars in a line, right? I saw them once. Thought they looked like a traffic light.
Ivan chuckles softly, tracing the stars with his finger.
Ivan: Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka. They’re the ones I look for first.
Niel: Why those?
Ivan: They’re clear. Even when the rest of the sky feels confusing.
Niel pauses, watching Ivan’s expression.
Niel: So... they’re like your shortcut to the stars?
Ivan: Yeah. Like you.
Niel: Me?
Ivan: You’re bright. Loud. Impossible to miss.
Niel looks away, flustered. The silence stretches.
Ivan: But the stars... They only look close. They’re actually light-years apart.
Niel: Oh. That’s kinda sad.
Ivan: Yeah. Like us. Side by side, but never real
NovelToon got authorization from Alice Calano to publish this work, the content is the author's own point of view, and does not represent the stand of NovelToon.
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