The hook here is very strong, the concept is really good. I don't really like that it comes from a black magic book, but that's a personal preference — I just like the anomalous occurrences that are completely unexplainable. Like, if a little girl wants to explore space, why shouldn't she just go and explore space, y'know? That feels more SCP to me than that they read a little magic book and cast a spell. But oh well, flavor is flavor.
I think the interviews go well at first, but don't feel like they lead anywhere. You reuse the fakeout reveals of the dad being dead, and Belgrave being sad about the whole thing remains the center of two of them. In fact, it's the third interview that is truly superfluous. In the first, Belgrave is sad. In the second, Belgrave almost reveals the dad is dead. In the third, Belgrave is sad and almost reveals the dad is dead. And then in the fourth, none of that seems to come into play? Belgrave just messes up a spell and dies(?), and then we get left off with a pretty weak ending line by Kali. And much like my nitpick with the little black book, I liked this story better before it had "aliens." I feel a relevant essay might be the Conservation of WTF.
I was invested in a little girl that goes to space to fulfill her little girl dreams and the scientist who has to try to get her to "grow up" and lose her whimsy so she can come back to earth. Magic and aliens didn't really add to that, in my opinion.
Woof. Would you look at that. Two paragraphs of gripes… for an article that I actually overall enjoy. This is an upvote from me! Your idea is cute, your CSS is gorgeous (I won't apologize when I say that such touches count), your prose is pretty tight, the pacing works! I am just not taken with a couple details and the ending is all. +1~!
