Stellify (verb): to turn into a star

He had been dating the woman for about a year, and even though he stayed away from romantic cliches, he knew she was different from the rest.

There seemed to be a thin layer, an invisible distance between her and the rest of the world. She would smile and nod and listen when others spoke, but always left some of her own thoughts unsaid.

But at the same time, she had an air of curiosity. Randomly, she would pepper him with obscure questions about life, passion, human spirit, and all sorts of topics that emerge from nowhere.

To ask but to never answer, she was a walking contradiction.

Tonight, he found out why.

On the night-draped balcony of her apartment, the woman finally revealed to him the inner workings of her intricate thoughts. She told him that she was not a good person, that she was detached from other people, and that she honestly didn’t care whether or not other people lived or died or pursued their dreams. All of her curiosity wasn’t for her, but for her brother. He was the bubbly extrovert of the fraternal twins that loved to explore the earth and the people in it, and she was the shut-in that buried herself in fantasy realms of video games and books.

When her brother passed away, his final request was for his twin to see a little more good in the world.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said the man, gently as if speaking to a wounded animal. “Don’t ever believe that you’re a bad person… I’m sure he’s proud of you up there.”

With a mutually understanding smile, the two shared an embrace under the twinkling stars of the velvet sky.