The Stormy Season
an excerpt

“You know,” Nacht said, “I’ve heard that the Aztecs thought the world would end in one of three ways: Earthquakes, fire, or jaguars falling from the sky.”
“Jaguars,” Kean mused, “how fitting.” Nacht was confused for a few moments, then smiled, wistfully. “I see. And falling from the sky too. Maybe ancient people do know a lot.” Kean shook his head, but in disbelief, not disagreement. “Ancient people- from a long time ago- they knew everything. A lot of stuff we don’t, or at least didn’t when they were still around. There were tribes who knew long before we did that the earth orbits the sun. And for example, a tribe in Africa for ages knew Saturn-“ He flicked a finger at a bright star in the sky, “By a name that meant ‘star of nine moons.’ And it does have nine moons. But look at it, do you see a problem with that?” Nacht eyed the star for a while, before finally declaring, “I can’t see any moons at all.”
“Right.”
“But then how did they know there were nine moons?”
Enigmatically, Kean shrugged. “No one knows. Ancient cultures have a habit of being mysterious too.” “Wow.” Nacht stared at the sky with a newfound sense of awe. “Actually,” said Kean, “Later some scientists found a tenth moon, but you still can’t see any of them.” Nacht looked at Kean.
“Does this mean you think the world’s going to end tonight too?” Kean shrugged and spread his arms philosophically. “Maybe. I suppose olden people believed some things that weren’t true, too. Or maybe something was lost in translation. I can’t imagine many people today knowing ancient Olmec.”
“Mayan or Aztec,” Nacht corrected.
“Whatever,” Kean responded. “Look up.” His hands were in his pockets, his scarlet hair barely touched by starlight. He was looking up, and Nacht followed his gaze.
It didn’t take long to realize that Kean wasn’t looking at anything in particular- just the stars. They looked truly magnificent that night. Layers of far-off suns were all visible, shining through each other as though through a great sheet of indigo-black tissue paper, slightly transparent. The stars fell in shapes, falling into patterns, allowing the Great Bear and the Archer, the Microscope and the Crow, the Hydra, and Volans, the Flying Fish to stare down at them. However hard he looked, Nacht could not find any message of doom, however small, foretold there, not one. It was a night like any other- but so much, much more, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?
Somewhere in the reflections, there was a heartbeat of utter stillness. The entire world was quiet and still for only an instant, an instant in which all the animals and the sky and the earth froze. When it was over, six o’clock had come. And the world below their feet didn’t tremble. The trees and buildings on the very distant horizon did not burst into orange flame. And if the stars in the sky were really the thousands of winking cat eyes they appeared to be, tonight was not the night they came crashing down. Somewhere off in the distance, a solitary green firework went up. Slowly, Nacht’s glacial blue eyes slipped over and met with Kean’s lake-colored ones. They smiled. “Well, there was NOT the end of the world,” Kean proclaimed.