Hey, Moon

I’ve watched him for years. He’s always been so radiant, making a small part of me burn with envy. I want to be like him, but I think of myself as the moon. Despite knowing that I’m luminous, I will never be as bright as the sun. I can only watch him rise as I am lowered more than I am willing to be.

After watching him for a while, I realized this admiration went deeper. I approached him one day when I was feeling a little blue and used that feeling to bring myself confidence to open my mouth and speak.

“You don’t know me, and I’m sure you’ve never taken a glance my way, but I’ve had a bit of a blue day, see, and I would like to know if you’d like to join me for some tea?” I asked the Sun. He looked at me, seeming astonished.

“’Come and join me for tea?’” He repeated. I nodded my head. If he turned me down, then at least I’d be able to move on and get on with my dead-end life. He broke out into a small fit of laughter, causing my permanent frown to deepen. Great. He’s a prick. He probably knew what I was thinking, because he quickly waved his hands in front of him in a dismissive manner.

“No, no, I’m not laughing at you. I’m just relieved, because I’ve finally found someone with class. Or, more like, you found me.” His smile was even brighter, bringing about a small feel of fear in the pit of my stomach. Darkness is my only friend, the only one I could trust, I didn’t want to leave my ever-faithful comfort, but his world was so welcoming.

“What time do you get off?” He asked as he glanced at what I’m guessing was the clock behind me and waited for my answer. I looked at my watch. 3:30 pm.

“Half an hour,” I replied. His smile grew bigger, showing off his teeth and causing my eyes to slightly squint.

“Perfect. I’ll just wander around the books until you’re out. I’ll probably be in the comic book section,” he laughed. My heart nearly stopped; it was such a beautiful sound now that I know he isn’t laughing at me. I nodded my head and refrained from telling him that I knew exactly where he would be since he was a frequent visitor. I was able to see him every time I worked for hours at a time. This was my first time talking to him, but, because of my frequent depression, I figured I’d try and find something or someone to care about. It’ll backfire once I grow to care too much, but I’ll deal with that once I get there.

The thirty minutes went by surprisingly fast and by the time I was clocked out, he was waiting by the counter, leaning against a wall and smiling at me. He was always smiling. What was there to smile so big about?

“So where are we getting this tea?” He asked as I held the door open for him. He paused for a moment, genuinely surprised by the act before smiling sweetly at me as he walked through the door, me following him.

“You’re very polite, aren’t you?” He asked. I tiled my head to the side, confused.

“I think it’s very strange how that isn’t a common thing to do anymore, regardless of whether you’re a man or not. The world has seemed to have lost its class,” I explained. He gave a thoughtful look.

“You’re one of those deep guys, aren’t you?” I nearly cracked a smile, amused, before answering.

“Hardly. I’ve not much depth to me.”

“I beg to differ,” he responded.

“I suppose you’ll see in time today that I’m just your average dull fellow.”

“Your earlier statement says otherwise. People don’t really talk how you do anymore,” he said softly.

“And how is that?” I asked curiously.

“Beautifully. Like you put so much thought into your words and truly mean what you’re saying.”

“Doesn’t everyone?” He shook his head and gave no verbal response.

“I assure you they’re thinking that way,” I explained, which I believed to be true. No matter how shallow the person seemed to be, they have a complex way of thinking despite it being a different way of a philosopher. Every single person has a moment where their smile fades and they become aware of being. They become aware of their existence for a brief moment before brushing it away. I led him to my car and opened the door for him, He got in and I waited until he buckled himself in to close the door. I felt his eyes on me as I started the car.

“I know this charming little tea shop about ten minutes over in the next town. Are you comfortable with that?” I asked.

“Of course. Just keep talking, please,” he requested. I raised my brow a little, but didn’t question him on it.

“All right. About what?” I asked.

“Hm,” he thought, “What are your thoughts on nature?” I thought for a moment. It wasn’t something I found was on my mind too often. It was just always there, and everyone took it for granted, even me. But, thinking back on the time I needed space from people or maybe I was upset and needed to cool off, I always took a walk to a distant field and took a nap or just thought about nothing. It helped me.

“I am indebted to nature. It has always been there for me and I’ve only just realized that once you brought up the question to me. Nature is calming and it has no need to ask you if you’re okay or pressure you about things, it will only lend its ear and beautiful scenery for aesthetic,” I explained. Gerard stayed silent for a while, and after taking a glance at him, I concluded that he was mulling my words over.

“How about the night and day?”

Well. How relevant to my situation.

“I think it’s a tragic love story.” He raised his brow at me, clearly muddled.

“I believe the moon is in love with the sun, but because the sun is always cheerfully waiting for the next day to approach, it never stops or slows down to look behind and see the moon trying so desperately to catch up to it. So, for eternity, the moon will forever chase the sun in hopes that maybe, one day, it will look back and reach its hand out to pull the moon forward with it,” I explained. It was a bit difficult to describe exactly how I felt about it.

“Wow,” he let out a shaky breath, causing me to look over and notice the unshed tear in his eyes. “I never thought of it that way. That’s so sad and yet beautiful,” he sighed, looking up at the sky through the window. We were quiet for a moment before he spoke once again. “What made you think this way?” He asked.

“I find that question rather confusing. Nothing really made me think this way, I was just always really aware. Always asking questions: “Why do the birds sing or are they actually singing?”, “Why are the clouds so close and yet so far?”, “Why is the moon so sad despite being beautiful?”, and “Why do the trees sing in the perfect harmony as they do when you listen closely?” They’ve just been questions I’ve outspokenly wanted to know the answers to,” I explained with a small shrug of my shoulders.

“Where have you been all my life?” He asked, laughing softly. I bit my lip nervously, taking a deep breath before opening my mouth to answer.

“I promise you I’ve been in front of you the entire time,” I said. I felt his eyes on me, but I kept my own eyes on the road. We came to the little shop I enjoyed spending my free time at and I held the door open for him again. He smiled, a small dust of pink on his cheeks as he walked into the tea shop. I paid for our drinks and we took a seat at the window when we received our beverages. I’d always enjoyed this shop for its simplicity. It was very small and easy to miss. I discovered by accident when I was given the wrong address by an old friend who’d just moved into a new apartment. The last two digits of the address he sent me had been switched and I’d found myself staring at this little tea shop. I decided to come in and I’ve been coming here since. There were only five round tables, each with three chairs, in the entire lobby. I thought it was the most adorable little shop I’d ever seen.

“The entire time?” He asked after what felt like an eternity. I was beginning to think it’d crossed a line. Glad to see I hadn’t.

“Well, yes. I work at what seems to be your second home,” I explained. He chuckled, clearly agreeing with my statement.

“I don’t really see you all that often, though.”

“That’s because I am not a comic book,” I answered. He threw his head back, giving a loud laugh and I allowed myself to smile a little.

“Okay. Fair enough. I’m glad you asked me out for tea though.” I felt myself tense at his words, and I was confused as to why, but when I looked up at him from across the small table, I was suddenly reminded. He was absolutely beautiful and his bright world was much more welcoming than before. He was smiling at me, talking with me, and laughing with me.

“I’m glad that you accepted my offer.” He nodded, taking a sip of his tea.

“Oh, hey, you said you were feeling sad earlier when you asked me out. Why is that?” He asked. I gave a shrug.

“I don’t think I can explain it. I feel… empty, I suppose. I feel like nothing is wrong, but everything is wrong at the same time. I feel not unhappy, but not exactly happy either. Have you ever felt that way?” I asked, resting my chin in the palm of my hand, tilting my head at him.

“Yes, actually. You feel like crying, but you have no reason to so you don’t and that feeling of emptiness is just stuck inside of you,” he explained. I nodded.

“Exactly. I’ve been feeling that way lately. I thought maybe making a new friend would help this,” I said, looking out the window once more and watching as a couple a cars pass by every few minutes. It was a small town and I liked that. The city was too cluttered and that wasn’t good for me in the least, so I was thinking about relocating myself to the countryside.

“Well, maybe we can help one another,” he offered, taking another drink of his tea. I felt my lip twitch with a true smile. I held my hand out.

“Frank,” I said, revealing my name. He smiled bright, and this time I wasn’t scared but excited.

“Gerard,” and then he shook my hand firmly.

“Hey, Sun,” I smiled. He looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened and he realized what I was saying.

He smiled after a moment. “Hey, Moon.” He looked out the window for a second before turning back to me.” A tragic love story, huh?” He asked. I nodded my head, my smile dropping a little.

“Yes.”

“I beg to differ,” he answered, a light blush on his cheeks. I felt my heart thump and I knew that was me entering his world.

Notes

A short, fluff filled one-shot. Honestly, I've spent a few months on this short thing, but I think it came out well. I'm really excited to see how this comes out! Let me know what you think.

Much love,
-OAIF <3