WHAT DO THE STARS SAY?
Chapter One
It was 1964 in the little town in
Texas called Rocksprings. It was a critical time in the country; rumors of the
Vietnam War escalating were everywhere. Everybody seemed worried about the war,
a war that seemed unnecessary to join or fight. But this didn’t seem to bother
the people of Rocksprings, Texas. Everybody was at peace there; it was a small
town with one thousand, nine hundred eight people. The war rumors didn’t seem
to bother them at all. It was a small town, but it was beautiful. Fields of
pretty green grass were mostly what were seen. Flowers filled the fields that
seemed full of peace. The lake was always visited by the locals, mostly
teenagers and people in their early twenties. It was really the only
entertainment there, besides going to the school dances and running around
causing innocent trouble. In the middle of a field filled with flowers lay Jack
Dawson, a young, handsome man about twenty years old. He watched the clouds go
by on this very sunny day. He smiled as he watched them pass by. He was
waiting, like he always did, waiting for his best friend in the whole world,
Rose Bukater. Jack and Rose had been friends since he four years old. They had
grown up together in this small town. They knew each other very well; they knew
each other’s deepest secrets and feelings. Well, Jack had one secret that he
had not shared with Rose, a secret he had hidden in his heart ever since he
could remember. He was too scared to share this secret with her, scared of her
reaction. Jack was always there for her, always willing to lend a shoulder to
cry on. Rose always had problems at home. Every time she would argue with her
mom, she would run to Jack for comfort. Jack kept looking at the sky. He closed
his eyes and saw Rose’s image.
"What are the clouds
saying?" called a voice.
Jack quickly got up and saw that
it was Rose running to him and smiling at the same time. He smiled at her and
quickly got up. He stared at her for a while; she looked so beautiful in a
light blue dress with her red curls shining in the sun. Jack stared at her as
she got closer.
"Well, answer my question.
What do the clouds say? What do the stars say? And why do you always smile when
you look at them both?" Rose asked.
"Someday I’ll tell
you," Jack said. "Want to walk with me?"
"You know I do, Jackie. Why
even ask?" she said with a smile. Jack loved the way she smiled and the
dimples that would show.
Jack and Rose walked through the
field, talking and making jokes. They would tease each other and act mad at
each other. They would run through the field and chase each other.
"How old are you going to
be, Rose, next week?" Jack asked.
"It hurts my feelings that
you don’t know that. You know me better than my own mother, Jack," she
said with a frown.
Jack smiled at her and shook his
head. "Is it eighteen? I’m pretty sure it’s eighteen. If yes, wow, Rose,
you’re sure getting old," he said, laughing. Rose slapped his arm as she
laughed with him, and she started to chase him.
*****
The night came, and Rose went to
her house. Her mom was waiting for her on the couch. She was reading a book
when Rose opened the door.
"Well, well. It’s about time
you let that pathetic boy you call a friend go," Ruth said. "You
know, I don’t like that you spend all your time with him. It’s just not
natural; he is a man and you a young lady. What will people think, or should I
say, what would Rick think?"
Rose just rolled her eyes.
"Mother, he is just my friend, and besides, Rick is not in town and he
understands my relationship with Jack. He knows he is just my best
friend," Rose said.
"Just a friend? You know
that men and women can’t be just friends. It’s too complicated, and besides,
how do you know Jack feels the same way about you? How do you know he doesn’t
want to be with you as more than a friend?" Ruth asked.
"I know he doesn’t, Mom. He
knows I love Rick and only him. Jack is just my friend, my best friend. Sorry
that he is of the opposite sex and he doesn’t have much money. But he is the
greatest friend. He really is, Mom," Rose said with a smile, and went to
her room.
*****
Jack lay outside his house. He
put his back against a tree. He stared at the night sky; he especially stared
at the stars. He loved to stargaze. His younger brother, Peter, would always
make fun of him and call him names like dreamer and the romantic. He was about
eighteen, and always gave his older brother a hard time.
Jack looked at each star. For
each one that seemed to be brighter than the others, Jack would name them. The
only name that always seemed to cross his mind was Rose. He never seemed to
stop thinking of her. She was always what he thought of, what he dreamed of,
and what he wished he had. Jack had one secret that he hid from Rose. One
secret that seemed to consume him inside, that did not let him live in peace.
Ever since he could remember, Jack had loved Rose with all his heart, with all
his soul. He had never said a word to her about his real feelings. He had never
dared to tell her. He was scared of her reaction to his confession. What if she
didn’t feel the same? Would she hate him for betraying her trust of friendship?
What if she ended their friendship? He would rather keep this burning secret to
himself. He would not be able to survive if her eyes looked at him with hate or
disappointment. He could only dream of her emerald green eyes looking at him
with love. The love that a woman feels for a man, not a friend. He could only
dream of her looking at him the way she looked at Rick. He knew Rose was crazy
for Rick. He was rich, smart, and a soldier. Rick was every small town girl’s
dream man. She would always be with him when he was in town. He usually had to
leave a lot because of the Army. Rose didn’t know that Jack loved her, and she
would probably never look into his eyes and see the burning passion he felt for
her.
Will she ever realize? Will
she ever know? Jack asked
himself as he looked at the stars.