Weeks passed.
Lina drew better stars now.
They leaned.
They listened.
And Noa laughed more.
But one evening, the moon rose dull and colorless.
The stars flickered uncertainly.
Noa went very still.
"It's time," he whispered.
Lina's chest tightened. "The moon called?"
He nodded.
Above them, the sky shimmered like glass about to crack.
"If I don't return," he said, voice unsteady, "night will collapse in on itself."
Lina grabbed his sleeve. "Then go."
His fingers trembled. "I didn't expect it to hurt."
"You dummy," she said, eyes stinging. "That's what happens when you get attached."
He stepped closer.
"Will you forget me?" he asked.
"Never," she said fiercely. "I'll redraw the sky every night if I have to."
The moonlight wrapped around him.
And he disappeared.