| Lunatic I lay there on the bed, my eyes straining to see through the screen into the dark night. �Coward,� I whispered quietly into the stillness. �You hide behind the clouds and won�t venture to come out into the open. �Coward,� I said more loudly until a ring like a rainbow appeared in the sky. �So you do get challenged after all.� I opened the window wider and felt the cold wind kiss my cheeks. In a moment, he came out, full and glorious. I felt my heart burn with humble longing. The tears gathered in my eyes and I felt them scorch my skin where they traveled like little streams towards an uncaring river of loneliness. �Why do you tease me?� I asked silently. �Why do you shine upon me one minute and withhold your light the next?� I reached up a hand and felt only the invisible rays coursing like fairy dust through my fingers. I rose up from the bed and raced out the door. �Do you love me, David, you cowardly beloved moon? Why do you shine brighter? As though you long to tease me again�,� I sighed. �I know I sound stupid, crazy, obsessed�with a floating rock no less. But I love you, loved you for so long it feels like centuries� I have loved you since I was born and even before that� And now that I am of age, I want you too�� I saw the clouds moving once more. �You hide! Why do you hide in the face of my desire? Coward.� I felt the sobs overtake my beating heart and I bowed down, in the waiting night, controlling my pain as though someone might come along and catch me bathing in my agony. I sat on the steps and gazed up at the dark sky. Not even the stars would dare to come and speak with me. I must have dozed. I thought I felt cold hands caressing my hair and so I awoke. I was cold. I shivered and felt my teeth chatter a bit. I looked up at the sky and felt a bitter smile tug at my near-frozen lips. �David, my moon, you are a coward.� -o- I went about my duties in the office, answering calls politely, entertaining guests until my supervisor took them from my hands. I performed each task as though I was working on autopilot. But my heart was in the night sky with a distant beloved (pardon the pun), who would not love me in return. Which would be more painful, to love or be loved? Or not at all�Foolish rhetorical questions� If only the moon were not the moon, and yet if he weren�t, would I love him at all? He shines with borrowed light, but what is that to me? I suppose if he were just an ugly rock to be found at the side of a road, I�d still love him. I would know it was he, I am sure, no matter what form he would take. It would still be he� I�ve been pining away for him like a lone wolf in the wilderness. I�ve watched him wax and wane, wax and wane, and I�ve known how �constantly inconstant� he truly is, was, will be. I know I must eat some time. Especially since it�s way past seven in the evening. I didn�t notice my feet taking me to McDonald�s. Junk food. It was better than nothing� Quarter pounder with cheese and lots of ketchup. A tall root beer with no ice. Funny how the mind works even when one is not thinking. The floor was full. There was a vacant seat, with a man, all alone, beside the window. �Do you mind if I sit with you?� I asked. �Not at all,� he answered. And he stared at me as I fixed my tray on the tiny table. �Don�t you know it�s quite rude to stare?� I asked him coldly. �I�m sorry, miss, but it�s the queerest thing.� �What is?� �I dreamt of you last night.� �That�s the worst line I�ve ever heard. Can�t you think of anything better?� �No, sorry. It�s just that I don�t usually remember my dreams, but last night, it was like I was watching a movie.� Curious. �So what happened?� I softened the sharp edges in my voice. I�ve got to admit he had piqued my interest. His face was pleasant. His nose was straight, his hair waved a bit, and his eyes were downright beautiful. I unwrapped my sandwich and bit off the top of the ketchup sachet. I put some of the red stuff on the side of the burger then I started to eat. �I dreamt a man came to me and handed me the moon,� he stopped, �Are you okay? You suddenly seem a bit pale.� I nodded, feeling flustered. He had dreams about the moon? My moon? �Please continue,� I managed to say. I watched him. He could be making this up. �Well as I was saying, he handed me the moon and then he led me to you. You were crying. I gave you the moon, but then it wasn�t the moon anymore but this.� He brought out a stone from his pocket. �What is that?� �It�s a moonstone. It�s been with my family for ages.� He handed it to me. �It�s yours.� I looked at his dark, somber, and beautiful eyes and felt my heart trip. There was something peculiar about his gaze. It was deep and wise�and timeless. �Why would you give a complete stranger something precious?� �After last night, you�re no longer a stranger.� His voice had deepened into quiet conviction. That sounded so intimate to me that I felt my skin flush. He looked away as though to spare me further embarrassment. �And if it would make you stop crying, it�s worth it.� For a moment, I wondered if my eyes were still puffy from crying last night, but I remembered that the last time I checked, they weren�t. I swallowed. �My name is Luna.� �I should have known.� �Known what?� �That everything would be so connected. Like a puzzle. The moon, moonstone, Luna, the man in the moon�� �What�s your name?� I asked curiously, feeling the fine hairs at the back of my neck rising in anticipation. �Huh? Oh. It�s Dave, David.� He said it as though it were alien to his tongue. I felt my heart drop to the floor and I had the curious urge to look for it under the table. I smiled but my smile wobbled. �Hey, I didn�t mean to make you cry again.� Again? I raised my hand to stop him, then I felt for the paper napkin, my eyes already blinded by my foolish tears. But instead I touched his hand, and it was cold. Despite that, it warmed me clear to my ears, then to my toes. I could swear that when we touched there was a glow that surrounded our fingers. �David,� I whispered aloud like I did last night. He smiled and I melted. �I love the name you gave me,� he said. Then the stars came down and sang. -o- |
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