THE KITE OF RE A CH FOR THE ST A RS Stars WRITTEN BY DEAN ALFAR

The night when she thought she would f ina l l y be a s t a r , Ma r i a I s abel l a du' l Cielo s t ruggled to c a lm the t rembling of her hands , rea ched over to cut the tether tha t t ied her to the ground, and thought of tha t morning many yea r s before when she'd f i r s t c aught a glimpse of Lorenzo du V i cenz io ei Sa l v adore: t a l l , thi c k -browed and handsome, hi s eyes c losed, obli v ious to the c a cophony of the a c c ident wa i t ing to oc cur a round him. Ma r i a I s abel l a had jus t turned s i x teen then, and ea ch set of her padr inos had gi ven her ( a long wi th the sequined br ida du c aba l lo, the dres ses of r a re tul le, organz a , and seda , and the di adema f lor a l du' l dama - - the requi s i te f lor a l c i r c let of young womanhood) a pur se f il led wi th coins to spend on any thing she wanted. A nd so she'd gone pa s t the Ca l le du Leones (where s leek c a t s of v a r ious pedigrees somet imes a l lowed themsel ves to be pur cha sed, though i f so, onl y unt il they t i red of thei r new owner s ), wa l ked through the A venida du' l Conqui s t adores (where the s t a tues of the conqueror s of Ciudad Meior a lined the ent i ret y of the broad promenade) and made her wa y to the Enc antu lu Camina t a ( tha t ma ze- li ke ser ies of inter connec ted s t reet s , ea ch leading to some wonder or ma r vel for s a le), where li t t le mus i c a l conch shel l s f rom the i s let s nea r Pa l ao' an could be found. Those she li ked ver y much. In the v i c ini t y of the Pl a z a Emper y a l , she s aw a young man dres sed in a coa t embroidered wi th s t a r s wa l k a lmos t surel y to hi s dea th. In tha t ins t ant , Ma r i a I s abel l a knew two things wi th the conv i c t ion reser ved onl y for the ver y young: f i r s t , tha t she a lmos t cer t a inl y loved thi s rec k les s man; and second, tha t i f she s impl y s tepped on a dog' s t a il — the ver y dog wa t ching the s ame s cene unfold r ight nex t to her — she could a ver t the man' s seemingl y senseles s dea th.

These were the element s of the a c c ident -wa i t ing- tohappen: an il l - tempered hor se hi t ched to some noble' s qa les a ; an equa l l y il l - tempered qa les a dr i ver wi th a whip; a whi s t ling panadero wi th a t r a y of plump pan du s a l per ched on hi s head; two puddles of f resh r a inwa ter brought about by a br ief downpour ea r lier tha t da y ; a sheet of s t a ined gl a s s en route to i t s f ina l deli ver y des t ina t ion a t the house of the Mos t Ex cel lent Pr imo O r ador ; a broken bot t le of wine; and, of cour se, the young man who wa l ked wi th hi s eyes c losed. Wi thout a moment ' s fur ther thought , Ma r i a I s abel l a s tepped on the t a il of the dog tha t wa s res t ing nea r her . The poor anima l yelped in pa in; whi ch in turn s t a r t led the hor se, ma k ing i t s top tempor a r il y ; whi ch in turn angered the qa les a dr i ver even more, ma k ing him cur se the hor se; whi ch in turn upset the deli c a te melody tha t the panadero wa s whi s t ling; whi ch in turn made the panadero mi s s s tepping into the two puddles of r a inwa ter ; whi ch in turn ga ve the men deli ver ing the sheet of s t a ined gl a s s belonging to the Mos t Ex cel lent Pr imo O r ador an uninter rupted pa th; whi ch in turn ga ve the young man enough room to c ros s the s t reet wi thout so much a s mi s s ing a bea t or s tepping onto the broken wine bot t le; whi ch in turn would never gi ve him the infec t ion tha t had been des t ined to resul t in the los s of hi s r ight leg and, ul t ima tel y , hi s li fe. Ever yone and ever y thing cont inued to move on thei r own inexor able pa ths , and the dog she had s tepped on growled once a t her and then twi s ted a round to nur se i t s sore t a il . But Ma r i a I s abel l a ' s eyes were on the young man in the s t a r -embroidered coa t , whose li fe she had jus t s a ved. She dec ided she would f ind out who he wa s . The f i r s t twent y people she a s ked did not know him. I t wa s a but cher ' s boy who told her who he wa s , a s she res ted nea r the but cher ' s shop a long the Rotonda du' l V endedores .

"Hi s name i s Lorenzo du V i cenz io, " the but cher ' s boy s a id. "I know him bec ause he shops here wi th hi s f a ther once ever y sen-night . My ma s ter s a ves some of the choi ces t cut s for thei r f amil y . They ' re r a ther f amous , you know. Maes t ro V i cenz io, the f a ther , names s t a r s ." "St a r s ? " Ma r i a I s abel l a a s ked. " A nd would you know why he wa l k s wi th hi s eyes c losed? The son, I mean." "Wel l , Lorenzo cer t a inl y i sn' t blind, " the but cher ' s boy replied. "I think he keeps hi s eyes c losed to preser ve hi s v i s ion for hi s s t a rga z ing a t night . He ment ioned he had some sor t of teles cope he uses a t night ." "How c an I meet him? " she a s ked, a l l thought s of mus i c a l conch shel l s gone f rom her mind. "You? Wha t ma kes you think he wil l even see you? Li s ten, " the but cher ' s boy whi spered to her , "he onl y ha s eyes for the s t a r s ." "Then I ' l l ma ke him see me, " she whi spered ba c k , and a s she s t r a ightened up, her mind began to ma ke pl an upon pl an upon pl an, rejec t ing pos s ibili t ies , ma k ing conjec tures ; a s ses s ing wha t she knew, whom she knew, and how much she da red. I t wa s a lot for anyone to per form in the span of t ime i t took to set her shoulder s , look a t the but cher ' s boy , and s a y , "Ta ke me to the bes t Ki tema ker ." The but cher ' s boy , who a t four teen wa s ea s il y impres sed by young l adies of a cer t a in di spos i t ion, immedi a tel y dof fed hi s whi te c ap, bowed to Ma r i a I s abel l a , ges tured to the s t reet f il led wi th people out s ide, and led her to the house of Mel chor A ntev adez , f amed throughout Ciudad Meior a and env i rons a s the Ma s ter Builder of aquilones , comet a s , s a r anggol a , and other a r tef a c tos vol adores .

They wa i ted seven hour s to see him ( for such wa s hi s wel l -deser ved f ame tha t order s f rom a l l over the rea lms c ame di rec t l y to him – for fes t i v a l s , celebr a t ions , consec r a t ions , funer a l s , rega t t a l aunches , and such) and did not spea k to ea ch other . Ma r i a I s abel l a wa s think ing ha rd about the li t t le pl an in her head and the but cher ' s boy wa s think ing of how he had jus t los t hi s job for the dubious plea sure of a s ilent young woman' s company . He spent mos t of the t ime look ing sur rept i t ious l y a t her shod feet and oddl y wonder ing whether she, li ke the young l adies tha t f igured in hi s f ant a s ies , pa inted her toes blue, in the manner of the c i r cus a r t i s t a s . When i t wa s f ina l l y thei r turn ( for such wa s the na ture of Mel chor A ntev adez tha t he made t ime to spea k to anyone and ever yone who v i s i ted him, being of humble or igin himsel f ), Ma r i a I s abel l a expl a ined wha t she wanted to the a r t i s an. "Wha t I need, " she began, "i s a k i te l a rge enough to s t r ap me onto. Then I mus t f l y high enough to be among the s t a r s themsel ves , so tha t anyone look ing a t the s t a r s wil l see me among them, and I mus t be able to wa ve a t lea s t one hand to tha t per son." "Wha t you need, " Mel chor A ntev adez replied wi th a smile, "i s a ba l loon. O r someone el se to love." She ignored hi s l a t ter comment and told him tha t a ba l loon s impl y would not do, i t would not be able to a chieve the height she needed, didn' t he under s t and tha t she needed to be among the s t a r s ?

He c lea red hi s throa t and told her tha t such a k i te wa s impos s ible, tha t there wa s no ma ter i a l immedi a tel y a v a il able for such an absurd under t a k ing, tha t there wa s , in f a c t , no des ign tha t a l lowed for a k i te tha t suppor ted the weight of a per son, and tha t i t wa s s impl y impos s ible, impos s ible, impos s ible. Impos s ible to des ign. Impos s ible to f ind ma ter i a l s . No, no, i t wa s impos s ible, even for the I l lus t r ados . She pres sed him then for answer s , to think through the problem; she cha l lenged him to des ign such a k i te, and to tel l her jus t wha t these impos s ible ma ter i a l s were. "Concei v abl y , I could dream of such a des ign, tha t much I ' l l gr ant you. I f I concent r a te ha rd enough I know i t wil l come to me, tha t much I ' l l concede. But the ma ter i a l s a re another ma t ter ." "Plea se, tel l me wha t I need to f ind, " Ma r i a I s abel l a s a id. "None of i t c an be bought , and cer t a inl y none of i t c an be found here in Ciudad Meior a , a l though wonder c an be found here i f you know where to look ." "Tel l me." A nd so he began to tel l her . Somet ime dur ing the second hour of hi s rec i t a t ion of the li s t of ma ter i a l s , she began to t a ke notes , and nudged the but cher ' s boy to t r y to remember wha t she couldn' t wr i te f a s t enough. A t dawn the fol lowing da y , Mel chor A ntev adez s topped spea k ing, rev iewed the li s t of neces s a r y things compiled by Ma r i a I s abel l a and the but cher ' s boy , and s a id, "I think tha t ' s a l l I 'd need. A s you c an see, i t i s more than any man could hope to a c compli sh." "But I am not a man, " she s a id to him, look ing down a t the thous ands of i tems on the impos s ible li s t in her hands . The but cher ' s boy , by thi s t ime, wa s a s leep, hi s head c r adled in the c rook of hi s thin a rms , dreaming of aer i a li s t s and thei r blue toes .

Mel chor A ntev adez squinted a t her . "I s any love wor th a l l thi s ef for t ? Look ing for the impos s ible? " Ma r i a I s abel l a ga ve the t inies t of smiles . "Wha t ma kes you think I 'm in love? " Mel chor A ntev adez r a i sed an eyebrow a t her deni a l . "I ' l l get ever y thing, " she promi sed the Ki tema ker . "But i t ma y t a ke a li fet ime to ga ther ever y thing, " the a r t i s an s a id wea r il y . " A li fet ime i s a l l I ha ve, " Ma r i a I s abel l a told him. She then shook the but cher ' s boy awa ke. "I c annot go a lone. You' re younger than me but I wil l sponsor you a s my companion. Wil l you come wi th me? " " O f cour se, " mumbled but cher ' s boy drows il y . " A f ter a l l , thi s shouldn' t t a ke more t ime than I ha ve to spa re." "I t ma y be s igni f i c ant l y longer than you think , " the a r t i s an s a id, sha k ing hi s head. "Then plea se, Ser A ntev adez , dream the des ign and I ' l l ha ve ever y thing you li s ted when we return." She s tood to lea ve. Tha t ver y da y , Ma r i a I s abel l a told her pa rent s and both set s of her padr inos tha t she wa s going of f on a long t r ip. She invoked her r ight of V er du Mundo (when women of a t lea s t s i x teen yea r s , and men of a t lea s t twent y yea r s , could go for th into the widenes s of Hini r ang; somet imes to seek thei r for tune, somet imes to run f rom i t ).

They a l l ga ve her thei r bles s ings , spoke fondl y of how she used to dance and s ing a s a child, s a luted her new r ight a s a woman and ful l c i t i zen of Ciudad Meior a , a c companied her a l l the wa y to the Por tun du Tr ansgres iones wi th more rec a l led memor ies of her youth, and sent her on her wa y . A s for the but cher ' s boy , he wa i ted unt il she wa s wel l awa y and then joined her on the wel l -worn pa th, the Sendero du' l V i a jero, a long wi th the supplies she had a s ked him to pur cha se. "I 'm ready to go, " the but cher ' s boy gr inned a t her . He wa s c l ad in a wa rm tuni c in the manner of c i t y fol k , and a round hi s nec k , for luc k , he wore an A jima ' a t , a wooden cha rm f a shioned in the form of a wheel . "Wha t did you tel l your k infol k ? " Ma r i a I s abel l a a s ked him, a s he helped her mount a s turdy hor se. "Tha t I would be ba c k in a month or so." I t took a lmos t s i x t y yea r s for Ma r i a I s abel l a and the but cher ' s boy to f ind a l l the i tems on Mel chor A ntev adez ' s impos s ible li s t . They began a t Pur ' A nan, and then t rek ked to Ka t a k ios and V i r i' A to (where the s anc tua r y of the Fi r s t Tree s tood unmoles ted by t ime). They t r a veled nor th to the l ands of Bontoc and Caba r roqui s (where the Povo Mont aha dwel t in sec lus ion). They s a iled ea s twa rds to Pa l ao' an and the I s l a s du' l Ca l ami' an (where the t r ader s f rom count r ies a c ros s the sea s converged in a r iot of tongues ). They ventured wes twa rds to the da r k l ands of Siqui'jor and Joma l 'jig (where the Silent O nes kept cour t whenever both sun and moon oc cupied the s ame hor i zon).

They v i s i ted the f abled c i t ies of the south: Di y a a l Tandag, Di y a a l Din, and Di y a a l Ba j ao (where f i reshrouded Djin and the Tiq'Ba r ang waged an endles s wa r of a t t r i t ion). They entered the ma rbled underwor ld of the Sea Lords of Rumblon and br a ved the La i r of the M' A r induque (in whose house the dead sur rendered thei r memor ies of light and l aughter ). When they r an out of money a f ter the thi rd yea r of t r a vel , Ma r i a I s abel l a and the but cher ' s boy spent t ime look ing for wa y s to f inance thei r ques t . She began knowing onl y how to r ide, dance, s ing, pl a y the a rpa , the v iolin, and the f l aut a , embroider , sew, and wr i te poet r y about love; the but cher ' s boy began knowing how to cut up a cow. By the t ime they had completed the li s t , they had more than quintupled the amount of money they began wi th, and they both knew how to manage a c a r a v an; run a pl ant a t ion; build and ma int a in four teen k inds of seagoing and r i vergoing ves sel s ; r a i se hor ses big and sma l l , and fowl , dogs , and seagul l s ; rec i te the ent i re anna l s of s i x cul tures f rom memor y ; spea k and wr i te nineteen l anguages ; prepa re medi c ine for a l l sor t s of a ilment s , wor r ies , and anx iet ies ; ma ke f l a shpowder , lu fuego du l adron, and pi c a ro de fuegos a r t i f i c i a les ; ma ke gl a s s , cer ami c s , and lenses f rom a lmos t any qua li t y s and; and many many other means of ma k ing money . In the seventh yea r of the ques t , a dreadful s torm des t royed thei r growing c a r a v an of found things and they los t a lmos t ever y thing ( she c lut ched v a inl y a t things a s they f lew and spun in the downpour of wind and wa ter , and the but cher ' s boy fought to keep the s torm f rom t a k ing her awa y a s wel l). I t wa s the l a s t t ime tha t Ma r i a I s abel l a a l lowed her sel f to c r y .

The but cher ' s boy took her hand and they began a l l over aga in. They were beset by thieves and lea rned to run (out of houses and c a ves and temples ; on roads and on sea l anes and in gul ley s ; on hor ses , aguil a s , and wa ves ). They encountered s coundrel s and s inverguenz z a and lea rned to ba rga in ( a t f i r s t wi th v a r ious coins , jewel s , and met a l s ; and l a ter wi th promi ses , threa t s , and dreams ). They were beleaguered by nameles s things in nameles s pl a ces and lea rned to defend themsel ves ( f i r s t wi th wooden pes soa l , then l a ter wi th k r i s , gi a vel lot to, and l amina ). In thei r thi r t ieth yea r together , they took s toc k of wha t they had, refer red to the thous ands of i tems s t il l lef t unma r ked on thei r li s t , ex changed a long s ilent look f il led wi th immea sur able meaning and went on sea r ching for the component s of the impos s ible k i te - - a cqui r ing the dowel by pl ant ing a l angk a seed a t the foot of the grove of a k indl y diua t a ( and wa i t ing the seven yea r s i t took to grow, unable to lea ve), winning the lower spreader in a dr ink ing ma t ch aga ins t the three eldes t brother s of Duma ' A lon, a s sembling the pieces of the lower edge connec tor while f leeing a wa r pa r t y of the Suma liq, sol v ing the r iddles of the toothles s c rone A i' a i' s in to f ind wha t would be pa r t of a wing t ip, c limbing A po' amang to spend sevent y s leeples s night s to get the component s of the fer rule, c r a f t ing an a r t i f i c i a l wa ve to fool the cerena into sur rending thei r loc k s of ha i r tha t would form a por t ion of the tether , rea r ing mini a ture hor ses to t r ade to the Duende for pa r t s of the br idle, and f ina l l y spending eighteen yea r s pa ins t a k ingl y col lec t ing the f i f teen thous and di f ferent s t r ands of thread tha t would ma ke up the aquilone' s sur f a ce f abr i c .

When a t l a s t they returned to Ciudad Meior a , both s tooped and older , they paused br ief l y a t the ga tes of the Por tun du Tr ansgres iones . The but cher ' s boy looked a t Ma r i a I s abel l a and s a id, "Wel l , here we a re a t l a s t ." She nodded, r a i s ing a wea r y a rm to her forehead and ma k ing the s ign of homecoming. "Do you feel li ke you' ve wa s ted your li fe? " she a s ked him, a s the c a r a v an bea r ing ever y thing they had ama s sed lumbered into the c i t y . "Nothing i s ever wa s ted, " the but cher ' s boy told her . They made thei r wa y to the house of Mel chor A ntev adez and knoc ked on hi s door . A young man answered them and s adl y informed them tha t the wi zened a r t i s an had died many many yea r s ago, and tha t he, Reuel A ntev adez , wa s the new Maes t ro du Cos a s Ingr a v ida s . "Yes , yes . But do you s t il l ma ke k i tes ? " Ma r i a I s abel l a a s ked him. "Ki tes ? O f cour se. From t ime to t ime, someone want s an aquilone or — " "Before Ser A ntev adez , Mel chor A ntev adez , died, did he lea ve ins t ruc t ions for a ver y spec i a l k ind of k i te? " she inter rupted. "Wel l . . ." , mumbled Reuel A ntev adez , "My grea t - gr andf a ther did lea ve a des ign for a woman named Ma r i a I s abel l a du' l Cielo, but — "

"I am she." She ignored hi s shoc ked f a ce. "Li s ten, young man. I ha ve spent a l l my li fe ga ther ing ever y thing Mel chor A ntev adez s a id he needed to build my k i te. Ever y thing i s out s ide. Build i t ." A nd so Reuel A ntev adez unea r thed the yel lowing pa r chment tha t cont a ined the des ign of the impos s ible k i te tha t Mel chor A ntev adez had dreamed into ex i s tence, referenced the pa r t s f rom the li s t of things handed to him by the but cher ' s boy , and proceeded to build the aquilone. When i t wa s f ini shed, i t looked nothing a t a l l li ke ei ther Ma r i a I s abel l a or the but cher ' s boy had imagined. The k i te wa s huge and looked li ke a s t a r , but those who s aw i t could not agree on how bes t to des c r ibe the ma r velous convey ance. A f ter he helped s t r ap her in, the but cher ' s boy s tood ba c k and looked a t the woman he had grown old wi th. "Thi s i s cer t a inl y no t ime for tea r s , " Ma r i a I s abel l a repr imanded him gent l y , a s she ges tured for him to relea se the k i te. "No, there i s t ime for ever y thing, " the but cher ' s boy whi spered to himsel f a s he pushed and pul led a t the ropes and s t r ings , pul ley and lever s and gea r s of the impos s ible cont r i v ance. "Goodbye, goodbye!" she shouted down to him a s the s t a r k i te began i t s r apid a s cent to the spec k led f i rmament above.

"Goodbye, goodbye, " he whi spered, a s hi s hea r t f ina l l y broke into a thous and mi sma t ched pieces , ea ch one sma l l , ha rd, and sha rp. The tea r s of the but cher ' s boy (who had long s ince cea sed to be a boy ) f lowed f reel y down hi s f a ce a s he wa t ched her r i se — the ex t r aordina r y old woman he had a lwa y s loved s t r apped to the f r ame of an impos s ible k i te. A s she rose, he s ighed and ref lec ted on the absurdi t y of li fe, the hea v ines s of los s , the c ruel t y of hope, the t ruth about ques t s , and the relent les s na ture of a love tha t knew onl y one di rec t ion. Hi s hands swi f t l y pl a yed out the tether ( tha t pa r t of the ma r velous rope they had ba rga ined for wi th two r iddles , a blind roos ter and a handful of cold and lus ter les s di amante in a ba z a a r held onl y once ever y seven yea r s on an i s l and in the Dag' a t Pa l abr a s Ta c i t a s ) and he rea li zed tha t a l l those yea r s they were together , she had never known hi s name. A s she rose above the c i t y of her bi r th, Ma r i a I s abel l a took a moment to ga sp a t the immens i t y of the c i t y tha t spr awled benea th her , rec a l led how ever y thing had begun, fought the t rembling of her wi thered hands , and wi th a f i shbone kni fe ( tha t s ad and s t r ange kni fe whi ch had been pa s sed f rom hand to hand, f rom women consumed by unea r thl y pa s s ion, the s ame kni fe whi ch had been pa r t of her rewa rd for sol v ing the my s ter y of the Ra j ah Sumibon' s los t tur t le shel l in the southern l ands of Di y a a l Din) cut the glimmer ing tether .

Up, up, up, higher and higher and higher she rose. She s aw the winding s il ver r ibbon of the Pa s igl a , the f luted roof s of Lu Ecoli a du A r c ana Menor ei Ma yor , the t rel li ses and ga rdens of the Pl a z a Emper y a l , and the dimmed s t reet s of the Mer c ado du Cor i s t a s . A nd Ma r i a I s abel l a looked down and thought she s aw ever y thing, ever y thing. A t one exqui s i te inter v a l dur ing her a s cent , Ma r i a I s abel l a thought she spied the prec i se tower where Lorenzo du V i cenz io ei Sa l v adore, the St a rga zer , mus t li ve and wor k . She fel t the exuber ant joy of her los t youth bubble up wi thin her and mi x wi th the f ier y spa r k of love she had kept a li ve for s i x t y yea r s , and in a glor ious bl a ze of i r repres s ible happines s she wa ved her f ree hand wi th wild abandon, shout ing the name tha t had been forever et ched into her hea r t . When a power ful wind took the k i te to sudden new height s , when Ciudad Meior a and ever y thing below her v ani shed in the da r k , she s topped shout ing, and began to l augh and l augh and l augh. A nd Ma r i a I s abel l a du' l Cielo looked up a t the beginning of forever and thought of nothing, nothing a t a l l . A nd in the c i t y below, in one of the high rooms of the s ilent Tor re du A s t runomos (where those who had ser ved wi th di s t inc t ion were housed and honored), an old man, long- ret i red and pl agued by c a t a r a c t s , s ighed in hi s s leep and dreamed a dream of unnamed s t a r s .

L’ A quilone du Es t rel l a s (The Ki te of St a r s ). ( 2016, O c tober 23). St r ange Hor i zons . Ret r ieved O c tober 4, 202 2 , f rom ht tp:// s t r angehor i zons . com/ f i c t ion/l aquilonedu-es t rel l a s - the- k i te-of - s t a r s /