Young Writer Ariella

The Young Writers Club welcomes Ariella Liang as the 1st place winner of the 2025 “Welcome to My World” Writing Contest.

Welcome To My World - The Fallen Star

by Ariella Liang, 7th Grade 

A long time ago, in a land no longer called what it was called then, a star fell. 

Some say the star fell from the sky because of a war throughout the stars. The young star had been shot to Earth for safety. Some say the star fell mystically and magically to this land with reasons no one, not even the star knew. But the true story is that the star was yanked from the sky. Stolen. Thousands of years ago, a powerful human took the star from the sky. The power was too much for the human and he lost it. Stories of the star were told from generation to generation. The story's light waned and faded, forgotten from the legends we know now.

To this day, the star lies on the ground, waiting to be found. 

Evelyn 

Evelyn woke from her slumber. She shot up from bed, got ready, and entered the forest. 

Even from a young age, she had always loved waking up on Saturday and walking through the  forest. It was peaceful. It was only her and the forest. Her parents were always puzzled about her  connection to the forest. They thought it was just a phase. But now, at twelve years old, the same amount of years for this ‘phase’, they had just let her be. Evelyn’s call to the forest had never ceased. But today, it felt different . It was like the forest was telling her that something important was happening today. As Evelyn watched the light bleed onto the newly green spring leaves, she decided to press on. Go deeper into the forest than she had ever been.

Today, it wasn’t about calming. It was about adventure. 

As she trudged through the thicket a sound of trickling water met her ears. Soon, she was in front of a little creek. It was the type you might find in fairy tales and movies of great wonder. It was a sight Eveyln’s eyes were usually drawn to. But today, her eyes were locked on something else. Five rounded edges seemed to be glowing. Stuck in the middle of the stream was an object . The middle space was like a magnifying glass, it bulged in a subtle but definite way.

It looked like a star. 

Evelyn leaned down and picked up the star gingerly, her eyes transfixed on its enchanting beauty. Her mind was swimming with questions, but she silenced it. Right now, all she did was look in awe at the star. 

Star 

What was that thing staring up at her with such curiosity and wonder?

It had a round and fair face and dark hair surrounding it. Hair . . . what creatures had hair? The star searched its long memory for a deity with hair. Humans . . . but a human would be from Earth? Is that where they had come from? The Star was nestled into the human ’s hands. It had been long ago when they had been first touched by the hands of a human. 

The last thing the star had remembered was sitting in the sky watching a star who they had known their entire life turn into a supernova. The Star had been sad. The elderly neighbor had been kind to the Star their entire life. Now that star is gone. They had just begun sulking when they had felt like they were “falling.” It was only a shooting star thing to “fall,” so the star had been confused. But it had been so forceful, so pulling , that the star felt that it had to be more than just falling. 

The next thing it knew, it was in the hands of a figure. He was cloaked in robes of blue and purple. It looked like home. The star nestled into the person’s hands, for it felt like it was the sky trying to catch them. But it was not the sky. The hands were not pleasant hands. They were groping at the star, grasping, pulling. The Star silently screamed, crying in pain.

And then the Star was dropped.

It pulsed alone, surrounded by a clear, cool liquid and being towered over by large things that started brown and branched out into a green. This new human’s touch was tender and gentle, unlike the others. This human was kinder. The Star stayed in the human’s grasp. The human held the Star to eye level. The closer it was to the sky, the more it thirsted for it. It pulsed and wiggled, trying to get to the sky, to home. At first the human was startled, their hands shaking and almost dropping the Star. But the human had recovered. The human spoke comforting vocalization. Somehow, the garble was reassuring, soothing even. They settled down into the human’s hands again. 

But the Star had to get to the sky. How could they tell the human? 

Thief 

The Sorcerer raised his hands to the sky.

He had heard stories of capturing stars from around the world. He had spent years collecting materials to excavate his first star. After consulting the charts, he decided to go for a star due to explode in the sky. After all, his first star was meant to be extravagant, right? 

The day he captured the star started boring. No one treated the Sorcerer like he was going to take a star from the sky. They mostly humored him and asked him questions like “What type of ‘magic’ are you going to do today?” And when he told them, they usually laughed and said, “You’ve got good improvisation skills, making something up every single day right on the spot.” Which was not true. He had usually made it up when he woke up in the morning. 

But today he had actually been going to catch a star.

When he told the townspeople, they had mocked him. Soon the entire town knew the Sorcerer was going to “catch a star.” So the Sorcerer had to prove it. When the night descended, he was ready. He had the cool robes on and everything. He followed the instructions he had gotten with his “Catch a Star! Easy for Everyone! 10+” kit.

But, as his hands were raised to the sky, he saw an animal. Even though he was a cool sorcerer and whatnot, he was still a bit scared of animals. But the spell was in place. Cool shimmery stuff was coming out of his hands. There was no turning back now. So he hopped to the side with a squeal, and continued his spell. Surprisingly, it worked! All his nonsensical stuff had sent a star coming down to him. It slowly came toward his hands, and, the instructions on the kit said “Grasp the star firmly.” He outstretched his hands, and, in a quick and concise motion, he snatched the star from its floating spot. The shimmery stuff disappeared. The sorcerer stared at the star for a moment. It didn’t look like it was about to explode. Was it possible that he had miscalculated?

Oh well. At least he had a star. Not for long.

The star was like a thousand coals straight from an inferno. He hopped from place to place. Through the process, he dropped the star. “NO!” It fell down the hill he was on, and into the thicket. Because the sorcerer was not very, ah, how you say, brave, he did not go into the creepy, dark and all-around horrifying forest. Though he did feel a bit sad about it. The star was how he was going to not be so humored by the people of the town. Oh well. He trudged home, wondering how he was going to deal with the townspeople in the morning. 

Evelyn 

As Evelyn comforted the star, she felt a bit strange. After all, who comforts a star?

But the star felt alive . She couldn’t shake that feeling that it was itching to tell her something. Evelyn didn’t know what it was yet, but she was determined to find out. Standing there with the star in her hands felt like eternity, and yet no time at all. Evelyn didn’t notice when the sun came up, went down, and soon there were brothers of the star in the sky.

“Wow,” she said, looking up, “we’ve been here forever.” 

The Star was pulsing and humming urgently. And finally, she understood. The Star was trying to go home. And strangely, Evelyn felt like it would be her home too.

Raising her hand with the Star to the sky, she joined the Star’s ancestors in the heavens above, a whole new world. 

Author Bio

Ariella Liang is a 12 year old storyteller, reader and theater fanatic.

She first practiced her storytelling as bedtime stories for her younger sister, and soon was writing them on paper, scrawling down short stories, poems, and eventually a novel!

She resides in Atlanta, Georgia with her family.

"I wonder - if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?" - Alice Oseman (Radio Silence)