Myth

Many years ago, there was a young girl by the name of Annabella. She lived alone with her widowed mother, Starla, in a small cottage by the sea. Her father had died when she was only fourteen. For this reason her mother had to take care of her alone. Their home country of Poptropica had been at war with Bottlecapsia for many years. Annabella and her mother had managed to stay safe in their small home but often feared that one day Bottlecapsian soldiers would come and disrupt the peace they had finally found.

When Annabella was young, her father often took her with him when he would go fishing. She loved everything about it: the salty water drenching her hair, the creaky noises the boat made as it was rocked back and forth by the waves, and the excitement that flowed through her as she reeled in a fish. But after her father died out at sea, her mother forbade her from fishing. Instead, they tried to make a living by making jewelry from the seashells that washed up on shore and selling them at the closest market. But their jewelry-selling business was failing and they were in desperate need for money. 

One cold, rainy morning Annabella snuck out through her bedroom window while her mother was still asleep. She walked to the dock by the shore where her father’s boat had been sitting untouched for three years. She used all of her strength to push it out to ocean. When it had reached the water, she hopped in and rowed out to sea. 

After an hour of fishing, she had had caught enough fish to last the two of them for months to come. She knew her mother would be angry at her, but she hoped that seeing all the fish would change her mind. As she got closer to shore, she couldn’t help but feel that something wasn’t right. She squinted and looked towards the cottage. And that was when she saw it - fire. The cottage was in flames. Instead of rowing the boat to shore, she jumped out and swam - forgetting about the fish she left behind. 

But by the time she got there, it was too late. There were Bottlecapsian soldiers searching every inch of her house. They were going through her belongings; drawers, shelves, closets. She screamed for her mother and scrambled through the house to try and find her, but before she could she was seized by two large men who were much stronger than she. “You’re coming with us young lady,” one of them said. “I’m sure the King will be quite pleased.” Annabella let out another cry as they pulled her away from the house and feared she would never see her mother again. 

She gave into to the soldiers as they dragged her to Bottlecapsia’s fort. There, she happily embraced her mother as she was thrown into a cell with her. 

“Wait here. The king will be with you momentarily,” the larger of the two guards spat to the two women. They marched out of the chamber without a second glance.

“What did they do to you mother?” Annabella whispered as she looked over her mother. She was covered in bruises and scrapes; one eye was swollen shut. Annabella could see the many burn marks left on her body from the house fire.

“They took me from the kitchen; the pot I was tending fell over, and burned me badly. Not worse than the fire they started. They covered everything in dry grass and set it to flames. they took all of the jewelry we made along with the gold rings from your father.”

Annabella stared at her mother, speechless. How could someone be so heartless? Those rings were the only things the family had left from their father.

She turned to the chamber. There had to be a way out: a key, a hole in the door, a loose board. Nothing seemed to stand out. She stomped on the floor, but nothing would budge. 

“Sweetie, I need to warn you of something,” her mother said quietly. “The things they do to prisoners are terrible. They tear men limb from limb, just to hear them cry. They burn families pets in front of them just to see them squirm. I won’t even tell you what they do to the poor women who come into this chamber.”

“Listen to me Annabella,” her mother pleaded. “Drink this. it’s poison. I’ve overheard what the king has been saying. He’s going to turn you into a house slave. He’s going to mangle you and make sure you can’t escape. This is your only way to get out.”

“You really think it’s the only way? There’s no trap door or anything?” she asked.

“Please do it. They’ll come for you any minute. Just drink it while you have the time,” she begged, holding out the small vial of poison.
Annabella looked at her mother, grabbed the vile, and downed it in one swallow. “Mom,” she whispered. “I love-” the words didn’t even make it out of her mouth before she collapsed in her mother’s arms. 

When the guards returned they were furious. “The King planned on taking Annabella in as his wife! What have you done?” 
“Annabella decided to take her own life,” Starla said. “I knew she’d be happier that way. She didn’t deserve to be tortured and forced to marry a man as cruel as the King.”
The guards snickered. “Well, times are tough and the King needs a wife. None of the women from the kingdom can produce heirs for him. I’m sure you’d make a fine back-up.” They yanked her from the cell and pulled her to the castle. 
After the King approved of her, he scheduled the wedding for first thing the following morning. That night, Starla stayed awake in her tower looking out at the sky missing her daughter. “Oh Annabella, I know you’re in a better place but I miss you so much.” As she looked up, she saw something twinkling in the sky. You see, before this time there was nothing in the sky at night except for the moon. She looked out and squinted, trying to figure out what it could be. Then suddenly, she had the feeling that she was not alone. She felt that Annabella was with her. And then…she knew. That twinkling light was Annabella. Annabella remained in the sky every night to watch over her mother. 
Over the course of the next 10 years, the King constantly tried to produce a male heir with Starla. But every time she would give birth, the King would get angry. “That baby is too weak to be my heir,” or, “I will not have a female heir.” Every time this would happen the King would beat Starla and threaten to hurt the baby the following morning. So every night Starla would sneak to the highest tower of the castle. She would kiss the baby on the forehead and release it to the sky where it would turn into a star to watch over Starla. 
Every morning the King would ask where the baby went. “I got rid of it myself,” Starla would say. The King would get angry at first and considered hurting Starla, but the stars in the sky protected her and he was unable to bring himself to hurt her.
After many years of trying and failing to produce an acceptable heir, Starla awoke one night to the sound of a baby crying. There, in the crib next the bed, was a healthy, strong, beautiful baby boy. 
The baby grew up to be a fine young man Starla named Talin. He was caring and kind-hearted unlike his father, and when the King died Talin took over the Kingdom and renamed it “Annabellion” in memory of his older sister.
That is the story of how stars (named after Starla) came to be. Every time a mother loses her child, they are sent to the sky to watch over their parents and give them the comfort that they are still there.