"Luna" by Tyler L. Abbott

The day had just awoken, the darkest part of the night having passed by sweetly, softly. Now, the sun’s distant rays were plucking holes through the ridge of trees that dotted the top of the mountain. The trees seemed alive, the light going through their branches and leaves made them look like they were dancing in flames, purifying themselves. Soon, the sun would reach the height where it’s fiery mass could be seen just peaking over the top of the mountain, saying it’s morning greetings to the world.

From the mountain peak, things were so much different. On a cliff, high in an opposite mountain, that faced east, was Tyler. He had awoken a good time before to see the sunrise, in all it’s glory. From the spot high in the mountain, you could see things you’d never think existed. From the elevation, you could see the sun’s rays mixing with the morning clouds, with the foggy hazy in the early skies. It was like this moment was when the heavens were showing what beauty really could show up on the Earth.

This wasn’t the beauty, however, this was just the show before the show. The show that warmed the crowd up for what was to come. The day was now just breaking, and Tyler would soon have to get up and waste the day away. Waste wasn’t the word, however, for nothing was wasted in preparation for the moment, nor was anything wasted when the time was spent with Tegan. She was still asleep, near the fireplace, still in the sleeping bag, and curled lightly to fit about the sitting Tyler. He had his legs pulled up slightly, his arms wrapped about his legs whilst he rested his chin in the crook between his knees and watched the sun. When it was rising, you could watch it, before it grew to high and mighty and burned the eyes of those who looked to it.

The fireplace itself held little to now warmth anymore, but it wasn’t needed. It was an early fall day, which made for the best days, the best nights that the seasons could ever give. They were both breezy warm, which left you feeling the air was truly clean, and there was so much of it, you could breathe in forever and constantly fill your lungs. It was the most beautiful time for everyone. However, Tyler was at the peak of his time, this was the best day and night he’d ever have, for sure.

Tegan began to stir among the blankets, and would soon stretch out, waking slowly. The rays of the sun had gone through the thin covering of her eyes lids, that hid the world from her while she dreamt in sleep. Now, the sun was showing red, scaring the dreams and sleep away, and leaving her to wake. He slowly sat up, propping herself up with one arm, and took a squinted glance around. She soon came from the sleepy haze, much like the fog that was still lingering about, the sun not high enough to burn through them.

“How’d you sleep?” Tyler said to her, glancing with a smile and placing his hand out to brush her hair back a little bit. He had a thing about combing his fingers through her hair idly.

“Great,” Tegan responded with a smile on her lips, before she glanced over towards the sun, which was now over the peak of the mountain and begin to remember he was the ruler of this solar system. Without him the planets were doomed to be icy balls, inhabitable and ugly. So, since he knew he had this power again, he was shunning those puny ones who tried to look upon his great form, by stinging there eyes. “How about you?”

“I slept great, as well.” he had lost his interesting in the rising sun, which held no contest to Tegan, to him. In juxtapose, in his mind, nothing would compare to Tegan, not even the silky smooth goddess or the twinkling dust they were there to see. “Are you ready?”

“Of course.” Whoever wasn’t ready for what was to come, was ignorant to the world itself, to everything around them. It wasn’t something they displayed on the news for all to hear, for all to know about it, it was just something you knew was coming. It was in the heart of all those open enough to care, to see, to hear the call.

They would both get up, and wake themselves more so, shaking the sleeping quarters from them. The rolled them up and neatly placed them with the rest of their stuff. No breakfast was had, for they would not need it today. They made sure to pack up their stuff and stack it up against some trees away from the cliff. By the time they set off into the woods once more, the sun was halfway between it’s rising point and it’s noontime radiance, where it was heating itself up, getting ready to rain the heat of midday down on the people. He was going to blaze them with his heat, for none tried to look at him anymore, they had learned to not look to him, but now he wanted his attention.

Tegan and Tyler had set off through the woods, where there was no trail made by humans. They were on a mountain left along by those trekkers, who made their paths in the woods. The only trails in here were the small ones made by deer, who roamed the mountain side, their home. Where Tegan and Tyler were going, was a mystery to them as much as it was to anyone else. They weren’t heading to a destination, their walk was a journey. Perhaps they wanted to see the bests the day could offer in all it’s radiance. The fog had been sizzled off into the air by the sun, who was trying to get the air to rise to him, to bring him the fruits of his shine. They saw the woods, nature in it’s lighted splendor, which wasn’t near half as beautiful as the other part of it’s splendor. The brilliant greens of the woods, the living color, was the dominate color, being second by the light and dark browns of the trees and branches that fed those leaves and pines the energy they needed to keep the color of life amongst their veins. The sun filtered through the tree tops, much like during it’s rising moments, but now it looked like it was plunging daggers through the leaves and branches, trying to see what was happening under the canopy of leaves and trees. The shadows it cast were twisted and strange, so many layered on top of one another to create impression on the ground. What light of the suns that did get through was stolen away by the hungry plants down there, that only deserved as much from the unforgiving sun.

Their hike through the living land brought them higher up, higher towards the sun and farther from the masses of people who were going about their lives. There was no blame placed on them for doing what they did, they had to, or they thought they did. Though, in their search for greater happiness in month, materials, they had lost that inner instinct, the one that called to them all this day, to search out what was to come soon, to see it in it’s greatness.

They never found where they were going that day, but instead just walked around. They took a break at some point, and would seat themselves on some rocks in a clearly. Butterflies were floating around, flitting here and there. Birds chirped in the trees like it was any other day in the forest, though even they knew it wasn’t. It was the day before.

“Do you feel it getting closer?” the question was posed by Tyler, as he looked up towards the sky. The sun was at it’s hottest point now, searing those who stayed under it’s radiance. It was past it’s highest spot, when they were all supposed to admire him, but no one did, and now he was sinking and he was mad about it. He was now unleashing all the power he had, trying to burn those away that were disobeying him.

“Yeah…” Tegan’s response was a little hesitant. It wasn’t because she didn’t feel it coming, but perhaps because she didn’t know what to think of it’s presence about them. It was something she had thought would never come, or at least no so soon. The mere fact they were around to witness it was something she had never thought would be her honor, their honor. What made them so special as to be the one to see it? Or, perhaps it was just a random coincident that they were going to be the ones to see it. Surely it had happened before, but it had been a long, long time since then.

Tyler moved from his seat and went over to hers. He lowered himself onto the ground near her and would rest his side against her legs gently, whilst he looked about the place. “It’s such a beautiful place, and being here all only is so serene.” he would lower his head to rest on her knees.

“I know. We should head back.” She was right, too, it had taken them a good half the day to get there, so now was the time to get back. They got themselves up again, and would begin to make their wake back down the mountain side. They hadn’t gone much other then straight, so if they just followed back down the incline, they’d find themselves on the cliff soon again.

On their walk back, the sun had lost it’s vigor. Giving up the fight was a hard, or honorable thing to do, and now it was sinking down into it’s rest with it’s defeated hues. Red and orange was streaming down the side of the mountain, casting it’s apologetic tones down on the world, saying it’s good byes for the day, and the apologize for his mood. However, the sun was an amnesiac, and would awake the next day and repeat the same mood. They got back to the cliff, and their untouched packs just as the sun was casting these colors on the ground below. The stood near the fireplace, and looked over the land below, at the mountain in the distance. They both looked drenched in the sea of red and orange, dripping over with the feelings and emotions set by the fading sun. As the sun dropped down over the side of the mountain, the rays would slowly climb up over the other mountain, opposite the one they were on, until they were just cascading into the sky.

They sat down on the rocky cliff, near the fireplace. The rocks were still warm from the heat of the raging sun. As night began to materialize in the sky above them, a breeze would begin to cluster near them, in the mountain they were on, and the land below. The breeze was a sweet calm breeze, that held the cooling smell that brought a swift passive mood about those it touched.

“Are you still ready?” Tegan asked, looking from the sky and down to Tyler, who sat looking up at the sky as well. Off in the far corners of the horizon, a darkness was piling. The night cloaked whatever was that far off, and out couldn’t rightly see what it was.

“Of course.” he responded, taking his eyes from the horizon and to her. He gave her a gentle smile and would move closer to where she sat. They both moved their eyes back to the sky and sat in silence. The silence, however, was not a cold one, nor an awkward one. The breeze was whistling through the trees, and the birds were saying their goodnights to one another. The darkness that was hovering on the horizon in every direction, was now climbing in closer and closer. You could now see what it was; clouds. It didn’t even seem to be different clouds, for never was their a seam in the huge ring of clouds. It was, however, closing around them, over them. Slowly, they were moving now, but the wind was picking up. Soon, the clouds would be spinning over head, around in a giant circle while they still closed inwards towards their center point. The night grew darker and darker, and wind picked up more and more. Soon, the birds were no longer heard, and the breeze lost the calmness it had before.

They both stood and the wind whipped about them, as if it was trying pick both of them up, and carry them along after them. The wind was just a slave to nature, it did what it was told, and when it couldn’t get what it was asked to do, done, it would try and try again. With their clothed whipping around behind them, their hair ruffling and flitting behind them, they both approached the cliff hang and looked at the sky. The sky, the overhanging protector of the world, that kept them safe from the outsider, and supplied them with what they needed. It housed the sun, and held the tracks it moved along. The cloud circled faster, closing in on the center point more and more. Wisps of the cloud snaked out and tried to reach into the center of the circle, but were blown into oblivion for their disobedience.

The command was given, and the wind suddenly faded into the gently breeze it was before. The cloud above gently filled that center point, now taking over the whole entire sky and leaving it a dull unwanted gray. For moments, nearly everything sat still and silent. No sound from the wind, and no sound from any birds or animals of the woods. They too, like Tegan and Tyler, were entranced by the happenings around them. This was the show, and it was starting now.

From beyond the clouds, an illumination came, something that was nothing like the sun. It’s rays were softer and milkier, like a soft pale silk that graced those who it touched and left them in an awe, to be stunned by what had happened. The light came from where that center point had been and after it was there for a moment or two, it would begin to break through those clouds, revealing it’s form. A sweet milky figure filled the center of the clouds, curled into a ball. The moon casting it’s pale light down on the world below. It wasn’t done, however, the breeze began again, slowly and sweetly, complimenting the feel of the moon around them. The moon itself cleared the clouds away the same way it had the others, slicing swift and painless holes into the clouds and eventually abolishing them from their hazy existence in the sky. Their disappearance gave way to the stars of the sky, that crowded into the night to see the gather was well. The twinkled to each other, and some even shot through the sky in attempts to find a better view. The sky was alive, now, waiting for the climax.

Tegan and Tyler stood in awe next each other, their eyes searching the skies. Their time was here and now, they had heard the call and their hearts were wild enough to still follow what it was they were after, what they knew was more important then anything they could find in the world. It was something between them and something that was between the stars and moon and between them all in a connection of infinite bounds. As they looked to the sky with their eyes that were not filled with lust, they would gather upon the moon again. The stars themselves seemed to stand still, as they all knew what was to come now and Tegan and Tyler both knew was they were about to do, what was to come.

The Moon began to shine brighter and would eventually begin to swirl about a bit, like it was becoming hazy like the fog that morning, and the clouds just before. However, the blur was just the light wavering as the moon began to unfurl. The twirling portrait of a woman in the sky was left in the center of all those stars. With the same milky skin as she had in her curled spot, she was now the splendid beauty of her true form, Luna. She was not seen by everyone in the world, however, only those who knew how to look, and why they were looking like that. The breeze began to pick up and blow from behind Tegan and Tyler, throwing their hair forward, and their clothes whipping forward as well. They stood on the edge of the cliff, looking up at the moon, Luna, in the form of beauty.

Moths and butterflies from the depths of the forest and the land below, and everywhere it seemed, would well up from under the moon, and begin to join together and spiral upwards, towards the Moon. They went in lines, each line swirling around, between, through the other ones. They twisted upwards, all of them flying towards the moon above them.

At this time, Tyler took hold of Tegan’s hand, that was still limb in her awed state. He took a good grip of it, and would tear his eyes from Luna, to look to Tegan, smile on his lips. He had a look in his eyes that twinkled like a star, complete.

We crumble down to everything.