Page 169 of Ghost Ribbon

Beautiful.

The word that didn’t match what I saw when I looked in the mirror.

I turned around in his arms and I looked up. He smiled down at me.

I loved his smile

I think it is the most precious thing the world has ever given me.

More precious than the stars themselves.

Because it was the thing that had been the hardest to get. It existed for me.

Because of me.

Alexei Morozov’s smile was the thing I was most grateful for, the thing I would hold onto the longest, the thing I would carry with me into whatever came after this.

I brought my hand up and I ran my thumb over his bottom lip. “Hi, baby.”

He melted whenever I called him that.

There was always a flush of red that crept up from his jaw to his cheekbones. It was faint and so subtle that anyone who didn’t know him would have missed it entirely.

But I saw it. He was blushing when I called him baby.

He would never admit it - that much is clear - but my eyes always caught the red on his skin. “I want to go out a bit,” I said. “Can you take me?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s night, and it’s a bit cold.”

I hadn’t been out in days. My legs were too weak. Actually, my entire body was just too weak.

I opened my arms and wiggled my fingers. “You’ll carry me,” I giggled. “And keep me warm.”

He looked uneasy. I knew that he always found it hard to refuse anything I asked of him. “I don’t know.”

“Please?” I pleaded gently.

He sighed, which meant he was defeated. “Okay, only for a bit.”

I smiled.

He was going to take me outside.

And I was going to see the sky one more time.

We weren’t far from home.

There was a sea nearby and he carried me the whole way on his back while I swung my legs back and forth.

“You’re quiet,” he said after a while. His voice was low. “Are you cold?”

I shook my head against his shoulder. “No. Just… looking.” I tipped my head back and let my eyes find the sky.

I searched the eastern horizon the way I always used to, and then I saw it. Slightly brighter than the ones around it. My hope star.

A soft breath left me. “I can still see it,” I whispered.

Alexei’s steps didn’t slow. “See what?”