Elizabeth Guilt

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October 1st: Starlight Decay

Right, then. It’s October. So here we are, and I need to embark on Day One of my drabble-a-day challenge. Here is today’s drabble…


Starlight Decay

The first time I went offworld, Zoe asked for a bottle of starlight.

She loved it, until Frankie broke it.

"Big brothers are the worst," I agreed.

She asked again, next time I went. She was older - and smart, getting As in physics. Diodes embedded in glass wouldn't fool her now.

She took the new, black bottle with her to university: her favourite posession, her starlight, fetched by her astronaut uncle.

When her girlfriend opened it, that ended the relationship.

"You dumped her? For that?"

"She said how pretty the starlight was as it spilled out. I'm not an idiot."


Today’s title comes from a track that came up while I was out running this morning, it’s from the sadly now-defunct American horror-punk band Blitzkid [EDIT: Wikipedia tells me they’ve reformed. Woot!]

The story bears no relation to the song, I just loved the phrase “starlight decay” and decided to use it for today’s jumping-off point.

Have you written a drabble today? I want to hear about it! If you’re on Twitter, I’d encourage you share it using the hashtag #drabbletober. Or drop me a link in the comments!