Stars glimmered in the blackness. She gazed up, worrying her diamond ring. He was leaving her; she could tell.

“Forgive me,” he pleaded, his accent thick. “My people need a leader.”

“How could you?” she cried, heartbroken.

“Here they come now,” he exclaimed, pointing to a shooting star nearing Earth.

Robin Ellen Brooks enjoys constructing compelling stories for the screen, the stage, and the page.