Bright orbs hung in the distance, surrounding every side. Looking as if they would be fluffy to the touch. They called out to them tantalizingly, the only guide of light for the lone traveler. Oh how they longed to reach them. It had been their dream since they were young. 

However it was seemingly impossible as they floated through the emptiness. Abandoned. They had nowhere to go besides wherever they were drifting to. They didn’t know what else they could do. There was no point anyway. After all, no one seemed to care they were gone. The traveler couldn’t even remember what life back home had been like, how would they know if going back would be worth it?

Instead they hoped they’d reach somewhere safe and warm to combat the cold, cruel existence they lived in. And so, the traveler continued to float through the monotony, dreaming of what there could be. Escaping from their dull life. Anything was better. 

They could imagine balls of light spinning around them, as if propelling them through the air. They could imagine flowers, big and stocky ones. Ones vibrant and full of life, ones that smelled of the spring air. They could imagine a big feast with family and friends. Family and friends with no faces but loved ones all the same. It dulled the sharp edge of that dark cloud in their brain. 

The cloud that grew bigger as they floated. It threatened to swallow them whole and take all control. It yearned for them to flail and struggle against the nothing. It yearned for them to open their eyes. To find a sturdy ground beneath their feet. 

They fought against the urges. They shooed it far back behind their mind. It couldn’t hurt them there. 

Their surroundings continued to be the same, they didn’t even know if they were moving. Maybe they were stuck in place. Maybe, their friends would come back for them. Maybe they cared. 

Yes, that would be it, they would wait for them to return. They would wait to be found. Yet time never seemed to pass. They knew not of how long they had been standed nor how much longer they would have to wait. Whether or not it had been hours or just a few minutes, they didn’t mind. They could wait. 

And their patience was rewarded. The cold surrounding the traveler was replaced with warmth. It felt like heaven compared to the cold they had endured. A light reached the glass of their helmet, creating an escape from the darkness of the sky. The traveler was finally able to slip from the tight weight of the suit that had tried compressing them as they waited. They reached for the fluffy stars in the distance, finally able to touch them. The traveler was filled with clarity and a wave of calm passed through them as they rose higher and higher. The dark fog in their mind faded away, leaving them at last. They released a long breath before the cold returned and the nothingness swallowed them up.