The Moon Goddess

It takes exactly fourteen hours on foot to cross the dusty plains from our town to the next. Traders make the trip multiple times a month during the days where the light stays the longest, though many that leave do not return. I pray to the Sun God every night, that they found safe haven within the neighbouring city and decided to continue their lives in Docklands. Father never returned. Father would have tried his hardest to come back to us, to his family. I know in my heart that father is no longer of this world.

Now, however, it is my turn to venture across the plains. Mother has been begging me to find a suitable job, threatening me with the prospects of marriage. As the oldest daughter of three, it is my responsibility, especially with my coming of age a few months ago. I took the first job available, a courier between the cities – I just had to make it to Docklands first, then I would be able to join my ship as a crewmate and merchant. Mother had not expected me to go so soon, though I could tell that she was pleased that our household would have steady income once more, with one less mouth to feed. I packed the bare essentials, knowing that I would be given clothes and food when I arrived at the ship – if I arrived at all. The path across the plains was treacherous and could only be travelled during daylight. The Sun God protects our world from the evils that lurk in the darkness. The Moon Goddess is the only hope for those caught out past twilight. She saves the souls of those who she deems worthy, and leaves the rest to succumb to the madness of the shadows.

“Arelle, it’s almost daybreak.” Mother calls softly from the next room. Gathering my little belongings in a backpack, I tiptoe around my two sisters, staring at their peaceful faces as I attempt to etch them into my memory.

Mother hands me a small sack with bread, cheese, and some cured meat, “Take this for your travel. It will be a long journey and you cannot stop for long.”

“Mother, this is too much. What will you all eat?” I begin to protest, though she silences me with a hand.

“We will manage. Do not worry about us, child. Go to Docklands and work, then you will be able to send us enough money to keep our family healthy.” Mother patted my hand as I nodded at her resolutely. Neither of us wanted to voice the idea that I would not make it there, let alone be able to make enough money to support four people.

I left, no tearful goodbyes, no heartfelt hugs, or words of love, just a closed door and the eerie twilight of the morning to help me on my journey. I looked down at my worn boots and prayed they would get me across the plains as I took my first steps towards Docklands. The journey was long and lonely. I stopped very few times, knowing that the daylight may not last me to my destination, but feeling the aches in my muscles and needing the respite. The path was just as people had described – barren, dusty, and easy to get turned around in. I forged on, willing my feet to continue as the sun peaked in the middle of the day, not knowing whether I was halfway to Docklands, or an early grave. I happened upon the Great River once, that connected all towns together and led to the sea – all towns but my own. My town, The Falls, had its own water source, the large waterfall that we built our town around and is its namesake. Reminiscing, I can remember many times where my sisters and I would run to the waterfall to swim in the middle of the scorching heat, when Father was around and would tell us to sneak out the backdoor while Mother tried to get us to complete our chores. We would all giggle softly – even Father – and the three of us would go for a swim. Mother would find us hours later, soaked to the bone and laying on the back porch, trying to dry ourselves in the sun before she found out – although she always knew. Before I knew it, the nostalgia had taken a hold of me and I wept as I walked, the tears drying fast in the heat and the wind, though not before mixing with the dust of the plains and caking dirt to my cheeks. I wished my father were still with us, so I didn’t have to grow up so fast and I could go back to the days of playing in the waterfall with my sisters. I curse the darkness and the shadows, these plains that I now must walk to feed my family, for taking Father from us, for leaving Mother in despair. I curse the Moon Goddess for not saving Father and his pure soul.

Hours trudged on as my legs grew weary. The heat of the sun was unbearable and if it were not for the constant murmur of the Great River as my company, I would surely have gone mad by now. I looked toward the sky, attempting to calculate the hours of light I had left. Two. I don’t know how far I am from Docklands, but two hours does not feel like nearly enough time for me to reach my destination. I can only see endless expanses of dusty plains from my position, no sign of the sea or its city on the horizon. Panicking, I pick up the pace as much as my legs will allow, stumbling more often but making more ground. The daylight is growing shorter, I can feel my lungs on fire. I’m sweltering with the amount of energy I’m expending – energy I do not have. My shirt clings to my body, sweat sticking dust to my exposed limbs. My necklace, a heart-shaped locket given to each of my Father’s girls, smacks heavily on my chest with the rhythm of my ever-increasing heartbeat.

It is no longer light.

I still. Blood rushes to my head as all I hear is my steadily pumping heart and the ragged breaths I draw. I have never been scared of the darkness, always wondering what it would be like to be surrounded in the blackness of the night. However, this feeling of total immersion had adrenaline coursing through my veins. I am not safe, I am nowhere near my home, and I have no idea how close Docklands is.

A rustle startles me out of my own thoughts. It’s too dark, I can’t see anything. Where is the rustling coming from? There is nothing out here but me, right?

Another rustle. It sounds like limbs dragging across the dirt, dragging their way towards me. Please, please Moon Goddess, save my soul. I do not want to become a creature of the darkness. I do not want to be consumed by the madness of the shadows.

The noise gets closer. I can’t tell which direction it’s coming from. I drop to my knees and squeeze my eyes shut, praying to the Moon Goddess, wishing I would have brought a candle to at least see my impending demise.

The noise stops. I look up and make out several shadows of people. They look darker than the night, where the moon illuminates the plains, these shadows are void of all light. The one in the front reaches toward me and I know it is my time. I tremble as my hand reaches up to clutch at my locket, hoping that I will at least be reunited with Father. The figure pauses, its shadowy hand coming forward to touch my locket instead. I know, then and there, that figure was once Father, and he would not harm me.

A light appears in the distance, coming towards me steadily faster. I look towards it, wondering if this is the Moon Goddess, saving my soul from the shadows, though knowing that my father was one of them, I do not know which way I would rather go. The light is almost here, I can see the smoke rising from the oil-soaked torch held in my goddess’s hands. She has come to save me. I draw a breath to shout out, but pause, looking up toward the shadows. My father reaches his hand toward my face, brushing away the hair that has stuck to it from my travel. He knows I must go, that they must flee into the night once more. A tear slips down my cheek as I watch the shadows retreat into the darkness again.

I send a silent prayer of thanks to the Moon Goddess as the light approaches me and an older woman comes into my vision.

“You dispelled the darkness.” She said in awe, “You are the Moon Goddess.”

I looked up to the woman with the torch, “I am no Goddess. You are mistaken.”

She shook her head and said no more, walking me back to her town, to Docklands. She fed and bathed me before allowing me to sleep in her house on the outskirts of the town.

I was shocked to be greeted by the entire town at the door when I decided to leave the hospitality of the lady behind me for my crewmate position. They had come to see the Moon Goddess in person. I knew I was no Goddess, but they insisted. No one could dispel the shadows, they only retreated with daylight. I could not argue, they would not understand.

Thus, I did find a job that day in Docklands, though not as a courier of goods, no, but a courier of people, travelling from town to town across the plains, escorting people with safe passage through day and night. I made more money than my family knew what to do with, as I was the only service available, the only person able to help. I am the Moon Goddess’s Courier Service. I wear my locket proudly on my chest and greet my father every night. I have my own house in every town, and in the hottest days of the year, I go back to The Falls to swim with my sisters in the waterfall, telling them the tales of my journeys across the world. They will join me one day, but for now, I want them to keep their youth and innocence for as long as they can. Our family will continue the Moon Goddess’s Courier Service for as long as the world will need it, passing our lockets on to the next generations, and joining our Father as a shadow, to help our descendants find safe passage across the plains.