Issue 077: All of the Stars

All of the Stars is the title of the 77th issue of the Italian comics series W.I.T.C.H. came out in August 2007.

Synopsis
The girls split up for summer vacation. Irma goes on a trip to the beach with Hay Lin and her family, and they get more than they imagined. Will goes on a trip with her pregnant mother and her stepdad but they end up missing their flight and they improvise a way to get to the Coral Sea. Taranee is forced to go to a foreign ski camp all by herself but things brighten up when she meets a boy. Cornelia is left at home with her grandmother but she spends most of her time with Peter. What could a good forecast and clear, starry night skies bring to the girls and a certain enemy?

The start of summer

 * "Make a wish!"

The streets of Heartherfield were abuzz with people enjoying the start of summer. People of all ages were enjoying ice-cream and the nearby waterpark.

As people lined up for ice-cream, a boy, named Calvin, chased his girlfriend, Suzy, on his skateboard, with a water balloon in hand. Suzy screamed for him to stop but he sent the balloon flying her way.

Calvin laughed at his apparent victory but quickly noticed that Suzy had sent the water balloon flying back towards him. Knocked off his board and soaked, Calvin asked how Suzy was able to do it. Suzy smiled and smugly joked that she had many secrets beneath her sweet appearance.

As Calvin layed on the ground in defeat, several drops of water entered the earth. Deep below the surface, Dark Mother was in a deep slumber, absorbing every little drop of water she could get. Her servants hoped that she wouldn’t stir so soon…

Irma and Hay Lin's week at the beach

 * "Isn't that what you say when you see a star fall?"


 * "And sometimes, the wish comes true.."

Will's family vacation

 * "And sometimes it doesn't, but maybe it's not what we want..."

At the Vandom household, Dean paced back and forth, worried about his family missing their flight to the Coral Sea. He quickly pulled out a checklist while he called for the girls to hurry up. Will and her mother teasingly chastised him for rushing them and packing more bags than they did. Not long after, they hopped in their car and drove off towards the airport.

However, after a few miles, their car broke down. Seeing no other way to reach the airport, Dean suggested that they cancel their vacation and get their money back. Not one to give up, Will persuaded Dean and her mother to find another way to the airport. Inspired, Dean flagged down a car to hitchhike.

Upon reaching the airport, they found that their flight check-in was closed. Instead, the trio boarded a small and packed cargo plane that didn’t look well built. Susan was the most upset about the situation as she hadn’t eaten in two hours. Once the plane landed they ended up in a desolate area and they had to take a taxi to a shore with a boat.

After a day out on rocky waters, the three of them ended up at a rundown train station, in an unknown area with no cell reception. Luckily, a kind woman named Maisha invited them to stay in her house. Dean and Susan were astounded by the style of her house, and said that this was as good as a stay at the Coral Sea. Not as appreciative, Will stormed out the house, with Dean following shortly behind her.

Together, the two looked up at the stars, with Will wishing for a vacation that one would see in a movie. Dean told her that even though she didn’t get the vacation she wanted, she should still be appreciative of the fact that the three (and a half) of them were together. She agreed, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed anyways.

Taranee's stay at a camp

 * "Sometimes we are afraid to wish for something..."

At the Cook household, Taranee angrily packed her bags for a trip that she did not want to go on. Her mother told her that there was no use in being upset as she had booked the trip several weeks prior. Taranee, frustrated, walked away and began to wish she was with Irma and Hay Lin.

Taranee arrived at the ski camp, Broken Castle, on a bus with her snowboard in one hand and her suitcase in the other. As she approached the camp, she noted that the camp looked like a really ugly school, and tried her best to reassure herself that she’d be back in Heatherfield in no time.

As she entered the main building, she was surrounded by a multitude of kids her age that spoke several different languages. As she was about to sign in, two girls that spoke English started to harass her, making fun of her appearance, her hometown of Sesamo and Heatherfield.

That night, Taranee, upset about her current situation, snuck out of her dormitory. She ran into the snow without shoes or a jacket, instead using her powers to keep her warm. A boy approached and greeted her from behind, causing her to be startled and fall into the snow (with him following suit as well). Taranee looked to see that it was just another boy from camp.

Embarrassed, Taranee sprung up and introduced herself before helping him. She asked for his name and he replied, in broken English, that it was Hamza. Taranee noticed the language barrier between them but said it didn’t matter and smiled at him.

Just then, a supervisor noticed the pair. Taranee and Hamza made a dash for it and hid behind a cabin. As the two laughed, they decided to call it a night before they got into any real trouble.

A few days passed by without Taranee meeting up with Hamza. Taranee knew that if she didn’t get to see him before she left the camp, she would never get to see him again. As she thought about it, she got ready to go downhill on her snowboard. However, the two girls from earlier approached her and started to harass her again.

The two bullies pushed Taranee to the ground and laughed. Taranee was about to set their uniforms on fire using her powers when Hamza came to her rescue on his board, by throwing snow onto the two girls.

Not wanting to get into trouble, Taranee grabbed Hamza’s hand and they jetted off to a more secluded place, with the two bullies behind them. Using her powers, Taranee melted the snow beneath the girls’ feet, causing them to trip and fall into a large snow bank. Before returning to the lodge, the bullies swore revenge against Taranee.

Sitting on a fallen tree, Taranee and Hamza laughed at the bullies' misfortune. As they did, Hamza placed his hand on Taranee's face, causing her to blush. Taranee began to imagine all the moments that the two could share if he was with her in Heatherfield. However, she knew it could it never happen and she accepted that this would be the last time she would see him.

Later, the two bullies snuck a large bucket of snow into their dormitory to place in Taranee’s bed. Unfortunately for them, Taranee was waiting for them. The girls did their best to intimidate her but Taranee didn’t back down and melted the snow with her powers, causing the bullies to give up.

Later that night, Taranee and Hamza, hand in hand, attended the farewell party together. As she walked to the dance hall, Taranee thought about telling her friends about everything that happened to her during that week and how sad it would be for her never to see Hamza again, even though she only knew him for a short while.

She also thought about wishing for Hamza to move to Heatherfield, something that she knew was impossible. However, because she didn’t have the courage to wish for something like that, she decided to allow things to stay the same since she would have wonderful memories to remember him by.

Cornelia: Home alone with Grandma

 * "Sometimes a wish just isn't enough for us..."

Will's
____ Will: "Okay, I guess I should be happy when everything goes well and just wear it out when things go wrong... after all it's just a holiday, but still... but still..."
 * Will: (Contemplating her ruined vacation) "I'm gonna transform and go back in time and use all my powers and ..."
 * Dean: "I'm sorry, Will, but you have to accept that wishes do not always come true..."

Irma & Hay Lin's
Irma: "Hay Lin, pinch me, I'm dreaming...No, nevermind, just give me a cake." Hay Lin: (Smiling) "Coming right up!" Irma: (Gets hit by a cake) "Thanks..." ____
 * Hay Lin: (On the food fight with cakes) "C-cake mashing?"
 * Hay Lin: (On the end of their vacation) "You never get enough, and once it's over, you still don't realize how fortunate you are for even experiencing it."

Taranee's
____ Blonde Bully: "Yeah, now is the time for you to start crying!" Taranee: "I don't need anyone to stand up for me." ____
 * Taranee: (To Hamza) "Why is it that we have to run every time I see you?"
 * Brunette Bully: "Bad move, cupcake! You're all alone and don't have your little friend to stand up for you!"
 * Taranee: "If I dared, here, beneath the star shaped lights, I would wish for something impossible! But since I'm not that brave, I'll just let things be the way they are, because I'll have wonderful memories!"

Cornelia's
Cornelia: (Smiling) "Ugly? I'll never look ugly! You'll see!" ____ ____
 * Peter: (Taking pictures with Cornelia) "Let's do our worst, to make us really look ugly, okay?"
 * Cornelia: (On her relationship with Peter) "Even if there is one thing that scares me, and I dont know how to handle it... the fear that all of this will end."
 * Cornelia: (On her relationship with Peter) "I wish that...everything between us will go well! That our love will last forever! I wish time would stop in this moment! Too many wishes, right?"

Others'
Cornelia: "Absolutely not! Have you seen my hair? I'm not so sure if I want to enternalize this moment!" Peter: "But that's a good reason why we should remember it...Now come on..." ____
 * Peter: "Come on, we need a picture to remember this day."
 * Dark Mother: (With a sinister smile) "A falling star? I wish... I wish..."

Trivia & Goofs

 * Will was the most excited and optimistic about her vacation but she ended up as the most disappointed one by the end.
 * Each of the girls' stories seem to contrast each other in some way. For example, Irma and Hay Lin's extraordinary vacation contrasts Will's awry family retreat. While Cornelia's entire week with Peter contrasts Taranee's few moments with Hamza.
 * Taranee was the only one to actually use her powers in this issue.
 * During the food fight, Craig breaks the fourth wall, asking the reader "How come you have a clean face?" before throwing a pie in their direction.
 * The numbers on Peter's shirt that he wears during his date with Cornelia change every few panels. The numbers change between 02, 12, & 82.