The people who brought the Moon

A long time ago, there was a small village hidden among mountains forgotten by now. The Moon, bigger and closer to land than it is now, rested behind these mountains. There wasn’t any stars either, so by night, when the sun was gone, the rest of the world was dangerous and pitch-black, but the moon-lit village remained clear and peaceful at all times.

People in this village were happy, with the Moon as their guide and leader. There were no conflicts or hate, for every time anyone got upset, they looked up at the Moon and asked her for peace of mind and reconciliation. She sang them a lullaby and everything was pardoned and forgotten, everyone was happy again.

One day a child was born and her mother died in labor, so she never saw her mother’s face. Instead, the first thing she saw was the Moon, and from that moment on she took the Moon for her mother. The Moon, who loved all villagers as her children, fell especially in love with this creature, whose tender gaze got to the deepest corners of the her spirit.

The girl was raised by all the villagers, who named her Moonie and loved her deeply. One day, when Moonie was ten years old, she ran into a cave to hide from the Moon and cry. But the Moon saw it all and quickly discovered the mourning child.

“What’s wrong, my child?” asked the Moon “Are you unhappy?”

“Yes, mother” sniffled Moonie, “I suffer for you, for myself and for our people”

“And why is that, dearest one? Do you not have everything you need? Does my light not give you comfort by night?” inquired the Moon.

“No, mother, I do not, and by night I often feel miserable, even under your light” replied Moonie, closing her eyes, ashamed of her ungratefulness.

“Why do you say that, little one?” asked the Moon, her heart about to break.

“Well, you see… I suffer for you, for myself and for our people, trapped in here for eternity” said Moonie, looking at the Moon again.

“But I’m happy here, are you and yours not?” – The Moon was moved by Moonie’s words.

“Yes, mother Moon, but sometimes we wish we could see the world outside these mountains, don’t you?” asked glittery-eyed Moonie.

“But I have, my love, long ago, and the world outside is a dark and dangerous place, filled with vileness everywhere” replied the Moon, remembering her early days upon the earth. “That’s why I stayed with you”

“If it is so dark outside, won’t your light help people there more than it does us here?” said kind-hearted Moonie.

“Maybe, but then I would be with you no longer, and bad things might befall you” said the Moon, concerned but proud of her child.

“But you have taught us well, mother. Nothing bad will befall us. Also, if we go outside together, you could protect us all” replied Moonie, convincingly.

“You make a good point and I have no more words to contradict you with. If this is what your heart truly desires, we will go outside then. But there is only one problem – I have forgotten how to move. If you can figure out how to move me, we can get on our way” finished the Moon, worried but a little excited.

Moonie was really happy with her mother’s resolution, so she wiped the tears off her face and ran down to the village. After thinking for a while, Moonie gathered the villagers and spoke to them.

“Brothers and sisters. You know I love you dearly and always listen to your desires. And I know there is one desire we share – That of seeing the world outside these mountains. I have spoken with our mother, the Moon, to let her know of this. She has agreed to accompany us on our journey outside if we figure out how to move her. So I say to you, dearest neighbors, let us go up the mountains with our strongest ropes and take our mother as we go explore the world outside.”

Not everyone was convinced by this plan and not everyone shared Moonie’s desire, but their love for her was so, that they all said “Yes, beloved Moonie, we will happily join you”.

Moonie smiled and hugged all villagers one by one.

A few days later, all preparations were made ready and the entire village went up the tallest mountain, with ropes at hand. After days of walking, they finally arrived at the top, where Moonie spoke to her mother.

“We are finally here, mother, and I must say you are far more beautiful up close than from down there.”

The Moon was enchanted by Moonie’s words and thanked her – “I say the same about you and yours, beloved one.”

Then Moonie spoke again – “Now, dearest mother, we will put our ropes around you and take you with us to the world outside.”

“If you are still sure this is what your heart desires, then by all means go ahead, my child.” Replied the Moon.

“Oh, mother, I am! And I am also most happy.” – said Moonie, grinning. Then she went to the villagers and told them to throw their ropes around the Moon. They did so and then started pulling, going down the outer side of the mountains. With not little effort, they managed to slowly move the Moon, meter by meter.

They had trouble when the Moon crashed on the peaks of the mountains. The villagers who were not entirely convinced quickly complained – “Look at how we hurt our mountains and our mother! We must turn back at once.” But the Moon replied “I am not hurt, and we are almost out. Let us continue.”

The complaining villagers were offended and enraged by this rejection and went back down to the village. But still a great deal remained, and Moonie encouraged them to keep pulling. After a while the peaks shattered, also taking portions of the Moon. The dust from the collision formed the stars in the sky, and the now peak-less mountains became the first plateaus. The villagers kept on pulling the now smaller Moon.

After walking for a while, they arrived to a forest. It was the first one they saw, so they were marveled by it. Some even went inside to take a closer look at the trees, and never came back. The remaining villagers called for days, but as the others did not came, they mourned the lost and continued their journey.

Then, they arrived to another set of mountains. Many felt nostalgic for their village and said “We will stay here.” There was no convincing them otherwise, so the rest of the villagers carried on, putting ever greater efforts into moving the Moon around.

Next they got to a desert. The golden light shining from the sand attracted some of the villagers, so they said “Here is where our journey ends.” They went deep into the desert, and the few left continued, sadder and more tired with every step.

Then it was a city, with its many pleasures and variety of people, which lured more of the villagers. Then a river, in which they could always clench their thirst. Then a storm broke out and many more scattered, afraid of the thunder. Only a handful remained with Moonie, and finally they arrived to the sea and could no longer continue.

The few left said “There is nowhere else to walk to from here, Moonie. Here is where we stay.” Some went away walking across the beach and some swam off into the sea and the islands.

Then Moonie and the Moon were alone, and Moonie mourned the loss of the villagers. She had finally seen the world, but it had cost her almost all the friends she had, all except for the Moon, her mother.

Seeing this, the Moon had an idea to relieve Moonie’s heart from her suffering. She said “My child. As you see, sometimes what we desire for the future takes away what we love in the present. Nothing is won when nothing is lost. Our people is scattered all over the world, and we will come across each one no more. But there’s still something I can do for you. I can move on my own now, so climb onto me with your rope and we can go see your friends again.”

Hearing this, joy came back to Moonie, who did as her mother said. Then the Moon went high up, higher than the clouds, and started going around the planet, always showing the same face, so Moonie and her could always see their friends, and bring them the soothing light of their mother, the Moon.

amirani