Can you hear me, Moon?
The shadows of the night slip out, like woodland creatures, from behind my wardrobe and
gather around my bed. They watch as I perform my nightly ritual, rolling to my side to stare
out the window – between the curtain that never could cover the whole pane, and the wall.
Moon is nowhere to be seen, but I know she’s watching me. Her glowing face is hidden
somewhere behind the clouds, percolating through their fluffy exterior to my watchful eyes. I
lie like this every night, mind heavy with thoughts, eyes heavy with moonlight. I let Moon’s
glow embrace me as my eyes glaze over and my soul sinks into my mind. Can you hear me,
Moon? Can you hear me as my thoughts lull me to sleep?
---
The trees outside are waving at me. The light from arching street lamps paint the leaves
golden. The leaves become faces, crinkled golden faces swaying in the wind. They’re
laughing, their bodies rocking back and forth like old friends.
---
The bluish-grey sky, almost black, cloaks my corner of Earth. I’ve always found it
strange that at night we can only see monochrome. Like an old black-and-white film,
where the scenes appear in grainy shades of grey, where eyes would say ‘I love you’
more profusely than lips could ever. I think of Sabrina Fairchild whose dark eyes glitter
as she says, “No father, the moon’s reaching for me”. A beam on her face so brilliant it
almost outshines Moon, herself.
---
Sun and Moon love each other, in a tragic forbidden way. Sun kisses Moon’s face with
his golden rays, especially on the rabbit-shaped scar on her cheek. Moon beams golden
in return. I feel her heart beat fast. Sun slips into the horizon. He’ll sleep until Moon is
too tired to hold herself up. Then, he’ll rise and his fingers will barely brush her cheek
as he passes her. They live for these impossible touches. A stroke of the cheek. The
blush of the sky. It’s only when they meet above Earth at the same time that they look
into each other’s eyes and soak in the image of each other.
---
Moon is a shy being. When she and Sun meet in the sky, she turns away from Earth and
darkness cloaks our world. Sun’s burning lips meet hers. Only for a couple of minutes.
And then they’ll separate, Sun’s rays still reaching for Moon. He tries to call out to her
in a language we cannot understand: Can you hear me, Moon?
---
Sun is Moon’s opposite. He would rather embrace her and let the whole world see. See
them basking in each other’s light. But really, it’s only Sun’s light. He shares it with
Moon because he loves her. He lets his rays comfort the crescent of her face when she’d
rather the world didn’t see her. He yearns to cup her face in his warm hands but knows
it’ll only happen in months to come. It’ll only happen when they meet in the sky.
---
I turn away from the window. Sleep wields its spell over me. The woodland creatures yawn in
unison and stumble back into the shadows, where they’ll sleep for the night. It’s almost as if
they’re little children and I just read them a bedtime story. Or sang them a lullaby.
Somewhere beyond the clouds, Moon will sit and watch me. I hope she’s smiling, her whole
face a golden orb of glory, as somewhere further beyond the stars, her fiery lover reaches his
rays towards hers.
Written by Serina Welikala.
‘Enamoured by words and poetry, I have always thought of the Sun and Moon as lovers, in a literary rather than literal sense, their hearts intertwined in a loom of forbidden love. Infused by the pages of gothic literature, this piece, I hope, will speak to your heart as well.’