"My Love, the Moon" by Gabrielle N

 

Long before I was born, the moon disappeared. No one knows how or why, but we’ve all come to accept it.

            As of me writing this, I graduated from college a few years ago. I didn’t know what the moon really looked like. Nobody in this century did. We just relied on blurry pictures and stories from the ones long ago.

            On the first day of my junior year of college, I stepped into my English class and scanned the room for any familiar faces to no avail. There was an empty seat in the back so I gladly took it. A few minutes later, someone seemingly glided into the classroom. They had this aura that made them look as though they were glowing and you couldn’t help but look at them in wonder and awe. The way they carried themselves with such poise and grace made me think they were royalty. They had dark skin and even darker eyes that wildly contrasted their wavy white hair. They were, in every sense of the word, enchanting.

            After a few seconds of admiring them, I quickly turned my attention to my phone so as to not seem like I was weirdly staring at them. “Hello,” a voice said. I looked up in the direction of the voice and, lo and behold, it was them. Their silky smooth voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. A small “hi” was all I could muster up. They gently smiled and asked if they could sit in the seat next to me. I simply nodded and that one fateful interaction changed my life.

            Once we graduated college, we were officially dating and decided to move into an apartment together. It was a small two bedroom apartment but the second bedroom eventually stopped being used. We had those cheesy pet names for each other, but our favorite to call each other was “my love.” We were excited about our future and constantly talked about all the things we could do. We were never able to do the one we wanted most though.

            One night, I was bored, so I decided to humor myself and watch conspiracy theories about “where the moon really went.” The theories ranged from aliens taking it for themselves to the moon being an illusion the entire time. My personal favorite was “the moon was made of cheese so space rats ate it.” Anyway, after an hour or so, my love walked in and laughed at what I was watching. “Those idiots are all wrong,” they said. “I believe the moon decided to find a new life.”

            I softly laughed at their statement. “Careful now, you’re starting to sound like those idiots.” I joked. They merely smiled and walked away as if they didn’t leave me questioning their stance on the moon. I was done watching conspiracy theories, so I decided to join them in the living room where I found them looking longingly at the night sky.

            “Do you believe in fate, my love?”

            Their question surprised me. “Uh…yeah I guess,” I said hesitantly. “Why?”

            Without moving their gaze, they replied, “Well I do. I believe fate brought us together for a reason.”

            At this point, I was extremely confused and a little concerned if I’m being honest. “Why are you saying all this?”

            They finally looked at me and smiled that sweet smile I fell in love with. “My life has been full of experiences, but none could ever compare to you,” They then walked over to me and gently took my hands. “You, I will cherish forever.”

I was speechless. My immediate thought was that they were breaking up with me in the kindest way possible, but it felt like it was something deeper than that. Before I could even make a sound, they placed a kiss on my forehead and started for the door.

“Wait,” I began. “Where are you going? Why are you leaving?” I could feel tears forming in my eyes.

With the door now wide open, they turned back to me and said, “I wanted to live a full life, and now I have.”

That was the last time I ever saw my love. For a few seconds, I was motionless, unable to even breathe as my whole world came crashing down. My legs worked faster than my brain and I bolted after them, hoping I could catch them before they left for good.

I wasn’t fast enough.

That’s it.

My love was gone.

My world was gone.

I cried the hardest I’ve ever cried that day. My legs finally gave out from beneath me and I collapsed to the ground. At this point, I was sobbing hysterically and my mind was racing with questions. A flood of memories washed over me, causing me to cry even harder. I don’t remember how long I was on the ground for.

Suddenly, a beacon of light was shining above me. Through my tears, I could make out a bright circle in the sky. It wasn’t the sun, but I knew immediately what it was.

The moon…it returned. It illuminated the dark night sky with a light no one has seen in a very long time. It was so beautiful, I couldn’t look away. People began to stir and realized what was happening. Some were scared and paranoid that it was the end times, while others were like me, taken aback by its sheer beauty. No one really knew how it came back, not even to this day. It’s still a mystery that I believe scientists will never solve. But I know why it returned to the sky.

The moon has finally lived a full life.