Upstairs in the quiet bedroom, inside the ragged house, was the wife of an astronomer; she had her apple themed handkerchief from the top of the wooden dresser and wiped her teary eyes. The handkerchief was her last gift from her husband before he had fallen in love with the stars. She always knotted the handkerchief on her wrist every day before getting out of bed. She wanted her husband back into their children's lives and hers, but he told her that he needed to be left alone; that he was doing this for the family; think about the money. He said that too many times, she thought. The kids were getting wild as months passed without their father's presence.
Every day the wife did everything in her power to keep her children and home in order: cooking their meals from morning to night; cleaning the front yard; washing the family car; and exercising her children to keep them active after they had finished their chores. For so long the wife had muscle pains in every part of her body. She had not seen her husband come out of his study room for days since he had returned from his job. That was one thing she can't stand. His love for the stars had turn into lust. Once she entered the study room with hopes that he finished his work, to find the whole room was dark. The light from the hall shined on her husband. The light had caused him to sprint over to her, push her out and slam the door behind her without a single word. All she wanted from her husband was for him to be attentive to reality. She couldn't deal with his obsession any longer, but chose not to ruin their family's promised future.
One unfaithful morning the astronomer's wife let her children out of the house. One of them stood looking at the door. The wife heard him trying to say something, but couldn't understand the words. Soon, rest of the children gathered in front of the door. She asked what were they looking at and walked to join the puzzled crowd. Right at the center of the chocolate colored door was a note. The note had a symbol of a horoscope with the entire zodiac. The wife knew what it was and who it was for.
She seized the note and read it to herself away from the children. The message was long and rude, but the wife was alarmed. The Star & Space Association had given her husband three months to find the stars that claimed to signal a promising future for mankind. He must come to Association to discuss his findings. If he does not show up or bring any results then he will be kicked out of the team and loose all of his benefits.
The wife ran into the house in a flash. The children called for her as she went through the hallway. After heading to the end she turned to the left and went up the stairs to the study room door across her bedroom. She was banging on the door and it opened wide. Coming out of the room was massive amounts of dust and a smell of rotten bread. She cleaned her face and covered her mouth using the handkerchief. She went inside the room calling for her husband, but there was no respond. The study room was large enough to hold a zoo. The stacks of paper had somehow grown taller after her last visit. They covered the telescope, the library, and the table without the astronomer. She called his name once more and still nothing. The wife tripped on a large bush of paper. The bush revealed the foul smelling husband rubbing his head.
The wife told her husband about the note, but he seemed to be listening to something else. The only other thing giving any sound was the radio and it was spiting static. The wife looked at him repeatedly pulling and putting back books. He said there was still time and said the phrase repeatedly. The wife said he doesn't have any time now that the Star & Space Association were waiting for his answer of the stars. She shoved the note in his face. When he saw it, he stopped and pulled the note away from her. It was as if he completely forgot what the wife had said. He put his hands on the note and tore it in half. The astronomer looked at the wife and turned away after tearing the note into bits of dust. The wife tried to make sense of her husband's action, but he said nothing. He cared about The Star & Space Association. He cared about the stars.
When the astronomer was digging into plies of paper the wife saw him opening a floor door. He took something heavy out and shut the door. The wife went to him and tried to help him up. He told her to take the kids and the box and go to his grandfather's house to stay. He was not been this serious to his wife since before the stars. The wife took his word and left the house with the children. They were making a fuss over where their daddy was. She said in an angry tone to get in the car, and just like that, the children followed her command. They took the car and drove down the road where it leaded to her father-in-law's house.
For over one hour on the road, the wife couldn't stop thinking about everything: from the note from the Star & Space Association to her husband's alarming words about the undersized box. Her children were asleep and there were no sign of drivers on the road. She drove out of the road and parked in an empty parking lot.
She opened the box and saw layers of hundred dollar bills. Underneath the top layer was a note from her husband. It said she would now on take his place as the father of the family. She took a deep breath. After looking at her children, dreaming into their fantasies, she sobbed in silence. She tore the handkerchief off her wrist and threw it out of the window.
2: Breakable Faith