The Boy Who Dreamed in Starlight

Previously

…Elara approached him slowly, the starlight in his mind pulsing with a gentle curiosity. He had always felt a strange kinship with the old man, a sense that Hemlock saw the world, or at least the sky, in a way that was not entirely unlike his own. Old Man Hemlock didn't turn as Elara neared. He simply shifted his gaze from the horizon to the boy, and a slow, understanding smile spread across his weathered face. It was a smile that held no judgment, only a profound recognition. "Ah