Serix propped himself up on his elbows as Cassie came over to sit on his bed. She scooted back to lean against the wall and crossed her legs, looking down at him expectantly. He was too tired to sit up, so he just shifted to lie down on his back, resting his head on his arms again so he was angled in a way that he could see her. He took a moment to decide which of the stories would be the best to relay verbally.

[b]“Well?”[/b] Cassie said, smiling at him through the darkness. [b]“Go on. Or do you not have a good one to tell?”[/b]

“Patience,” Serix hushed her, closing his eyes. “I’m thinking.” He paused again. “Okay, I’ve got one. Close your eyes and try to put pictures to my words.” He stopped to give her a moment to do so. He kept his own eyes closed as well to better imagine the story in his mind.

“Long ago, in the beginning of my people’s history, our home planet was teeming with life. Tall forests covered the land with trees so tall, one could never see the tops. These trees formed an impenetrable ceiling and divided the world from the heavens with their wide, intertwining canopies. They blocked out all light from above, so that the forest floor was lit only by the dim glow of luminescent mosses and plants that grew along the ground and the sides of the trees.

“Hidden within these wild forests was a small village, where my first ancestors lived. They survived never knowing what was beyond the high ceiling of branches above their heads. For all they knew, there was nothing else. No one had ever climbed high enough to see over the top of the canopy. Over time, they dismissed the idea as impossible. No one could ever climb that high, they thought. And so, they went about their daily lives, never wondering what lay beyond the trees.

“Except for one young Lunairan, that is. His name was Sevix,” He smiled to himself. “It’s actually an ancient variation of my name. My parents named me after him because they always said I was a curious child, just like he was.

“Anyway, Sevix was a dreamy Lunairan, always sitting outside of his home and staring up at the tangle of branches and wondering what was on the other side. The other villagers just thought he was mad. Why would he waste time daydreaming when he could be helping them gather food in the forest? They didn’t understand his fascination with the treetops.

“But Sevix wasn’t bothered by their aloofness towards him. He was determined to prove them wrong. He wanted to show them that it [i]was[/i] possible to climb to the top and that there [i]was[/i] something worth seeing on the other side. So one day, he gathered his courage and set out to make the journey upwards.

“He chose a tree with some low-hanging vines and started to climb it. The other villagers called to him, telling him to come back, shouting that he would fall from exhaustion and die. But Sevix wouldn’t listen to them. He climbed on without looking back until the Lunairans’ desperate pleas faded away.

“Up and up he went, climbing the tree for days. As he moved further from the moss-lit ground, the forest grew darker. He found it harder to see where to put his hands and feet. He slipped many times, fumbling in the dark, but he refused to give up. The blackness was disorienting. He couldn’t tell if the canopy was right over his head or if it was an eternity away. Yet he moved onward.

“More days passed. Sevix’s strength was beginning to wane. His arms and legs trembled from exhaustion, threatening to give way and send him plummeting down to the ground. His eyelids were heavy and he had to fight to stay conscious. His resolve was starting to break. Maybe the others were right. Maybe it was impossible to reach the top.

“But his fears were put at ease when he reached up and felt a wall of branches against his fingertips. He had finally reached the canopy. He drew a knife from his belt and began to hack at the thick tree limbs, slowly opening up a hole just large enough to squeeze through. He wriggled between the branches and climbed through to the other side.

“The sight he beheld was more glorious than anything he could have imagined. The night sky was littered with shining stars, and Lunair’s three, ringed moons hung suspended overhead. Sevix reached up with his arms to touch the heavens. After all of his efforts, he had finally made it to the other side…” Serix trailed off when he noticed Cassie’s soft, steady breathing. He opened his eyes to see that she had drifted to sleep. She slowly slid down the wall, falling out of her sitting position as her body relaxed.

He smiled and shook his head. She must have been more tired than she let on. But how was he supposed to move her? He didn’t want to wake her up again. He glanced back at her. She looked so small, curled up at the side of his bed like that. He carefully sat up, moving tentatively so as not to wake her, and draped his own blanket over her slight frame. He could survive one night without it, and he was far too exhausted to get up and retrieve the blanket from the other bed.

He lay down again, hazily aware of Cassie’s proximity, but too tired to let it bother him. His eyes drifted closed again and sleep swept him into unconsciousness.