Never Make A Wish During A Full Moon

“Screw it…", said Celeste, as she held up the black tinted Champagne glass with gold finish around the rim filled topped with bubbling pink champagne, the condensation slowly running down her matte purple painted fingernails.

“Let’s Celebrate your Bright Future and my Misfortune”, Celeste murmured bitterly into the round glass while waving the Waiter over for another.

Round after round, Celeste swallowed down another glass of liquid darkness, mixed with her own bitterness. The more she drank, the heavier her thoughts, the darker the room, the more obscure the clouds.

The celebration went on along with the night, as did the drinks and sent Celeste into a daze. Each sip warming her throat, blurring the lines of her mind and reality to the point where fantasy and real life married into one. A rare realm yet nonetheless experienced by many.

The only time Celeste’s eyes would look up from her tinted champagne glass, and dart across the room through the smokey fluorescent Night Bar, was to lock eyes with her friends, whom she was here with to celebrate Sunny’s successful short story submission to Moleskin.

Of course, Sunny won that Competition…along with the $20,000 that came with it. Celeste did not think of herself as jealous, yet could not even pretend to be happy for Sunny’s success. Celeste needed that money. If it were not for her, Sunny wouldn’t have even known about the competition.

Celeste was the one who put in hours and hours of work, working intricacies and fine details into the story and Sunny!?!

Sunny typed up a story in 15 minutes on her Mobile and still wins it? Not fair.

Little after midnight she found herself outside her apartment, sitting on the bottom set of the stairs having taken her heels off, breathing clouds into the cold night sky, with only her self-pity for company and her rage for warmth.

“It’s not fair! Every time, everything, she ruins it! As if taking Derick was not enough, now this? I wish she just died! I deserve her life more than she ever will!”

“It should be a Full Moon tonight.” A silky, smooth voice uttered, startling Celeste.

Celeste frightenedly turned her head.

A tall, pale skinned woman standing behind her. Bright red lips, long, black lashes ,dark smooth shiny long hair with ebony eyes glistening right at her - or rather through her. She was mesmerizing.

“Yeah, I thought so too. That’s kinda why I’m out here.” Celeste lied.

Celeste had no clue, as to who this woman with the perfect hair and glistening eyes was. “Probably someone’s one night stand or she just moved in.”, Celeste thought to herself.

“I like Nights like this. Dark…quiet…eerie” the stranger chuckled.

“Want a hit?” the woman asked Celeste, holding what appeared to be a hand rolled cigarette to her face.

“Don’t smoke.” She replied, as the stranger withdrew the cigarette clenched in her shiny, black pointy fingernails blowing smoke into the cold night breeze.

“Look at us, two dreamers stargazing at this time of the night. You could be my soul mate.”

“I don’t think we have that much in common” Celeste replied jokingly, as she admired the strangers glamorous black dress, complimented by her elegant manners.

“Oh, I think, we do Celeste. You want a new life and so do I!”

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name, what was it again?” Celeste uttered, slurring her speech.

“I’m Luna. Do you believe in coincidences Celeste?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Good, the Full Moon was always a great tool to be used by the hunters, illuminating the fields and forests. The absence of the Full Moon however, has been a blessing for the hunted. It’s a good omen. Humor me, Celeste” the mysterious woman flicked the cigarette into the dark night, with a thousand sparks cascading through the air, then falling onto the ground as ash, while Luna pulled a little black book from her purse.

“Think of what you want the most, then think of a person you know, who has exactly that” “Easy. Done!” Celeste exhaled sarcastically.

“Great, I will do the same. Now, write the name into the first page of this book and I will write mine into the last page and we will let this moonless night work its magic.”

This seemed stupid, childish and like a waste of time. However, this woman was so charismatic and elegant, Celeste did not want to disagree with her. She kind of wanted this stranger’s approval. Besides, if it means that she can finally go back inside, then why the hell not? Sunny has so much she wouldn’t miss a thing.

“I've definitely done stranger things on a tipsy Sunday morning”, Celeste joked to the Elegant Stranger, as she wrote Sunny’s Name into the Black Book. The irony of the fact that this Notebook happened to be a Moleskin, was not lost on Celeste.

“So is this what you do for a living? Appear to random strangers and tell them tales about the moon?” Celeste slurred.

“No, I am in Sales…Collection if you will. Anyway, I best get going, not long til Morning” the woman replied, slowly walking towards the obscure alleyway leading into a badly light street. Before evaporating into the darkness, she turns around one last time.

“Hey Celeste. “

“Yes?”

“See you around.”

Followed by the loud sound of her clicking heels slowly fading into nothing, blending into the loud silence of the night.

“Oh my God! I am dying!” Celeste thought to herself blinded by the violent radiating light of the sun crashing through her bedroom window that following morning. Her vision was still blurry from last night, her head pounding and vibrating so hard felt paralyzed.

“Am I glad I split from the girls before getting too tipsy... Who knows what I would’ve said.” Celeste thinks to herself in an attempt to retrace the bits and pieces that she does remember from last night.

That Woman…that stunning, yet eerie woman. Celeste could have sworn that she dreamt that meeting. “I mean, I barely remember even getting home let alon-“ Celeste’s train of thought was interrupted as she spotted that little black Notebook from last night.

“So, it was not a dream” she affirmed, as she wiped the little bits of grey ash that sat on top of the cover. She opened the book and there it is, Sunny’s Name written in big black letters, right there on the first page. She went to open the second page as the loud ringing and vibrating of her Cell Phone startled her, so she dropped the book and grabbed the phone. Anything to stop that ringing.

“Hello, my name is Stephanie Orfono, I am an official Representative of Vocal and am contacting you to inform you that you are the winner of the Short Story Competition!”

“I thought someone else won it.”

“Yes, correct and for full disclosure we could not get into contact with the original winner, that meant we had to re-draw so congratulations!”

“No way! $20,000!”

Celeste was in disbelief. After this fateful night Celest’s journey took a lot more sequence fortunate events.

She immediately went to pay off a few of her many debts, and used the rest to start publishing her own novels along with short stories which gained immediate attention. Not to mention a lot of success.

Celeste also reunited with her old flame Derick. He ran into her during a book signing and the two bonded over the sudden disappearance of Sunny.

No one ever figured out what happened - she had just vanished, leaving no trace behind.

That was the distant past now, however. The two later on had two sons and moved into a spacious apartment near the inner city. Life was perfect.

Now Celeste would spend Saturday nights out with her family and friends, dining in some of the most desired spots, wanting for nothing.

“Good Night, Mom!”

Her two children chant, as they rush downstairs, bringing Celeste out of her submerging herself into the deep trenches of her memories that once were and back into the life she has created for herself.

“Good Night.” She replied, smiling at them proudly as they disappeared.

Another successful Saturday night. Derick got assigned another 3 year contract, along with the rest of his marketing team ,so it was even more of a celebration than usual. The kids must be exhausted.

Celeste went to turn the lights off, as the kids had failed to do, before getting into their rooms. Even the terrace light shone, which was odd because she didnt’t remember the kids being out there at all tonight.

As she walked towards the dimly lit terrace her eyes caught something on the floor. A little black Notebook.

Could it be? The book from that night? Celeste had not seen it since that day. And there it was lying on the floor of her balcony.

After all these years. Odd.

Celeste opened the book. Strange. Sunny's name was no longer written into the page. It must have faded after all these years. As she flipped to the next page, she almost dropped the notebook in horror. Horrible, disfigured, dark drawings conveying obvious pain and suffering were staring her in the face, page after page, after page.

From what Celeste could recall, the beautiful stranger did not seem like she would possess anything like this. Not at all, she seemed so well put together. Even after all these years Celeste remembered that hypnotic beauty.

It must have been some strange Art Scene she was into, she thought to herself, as she flicked through the pages of this obscure notebook. Suddenly , the lights to the balcony turned themselves off, startling her. Derick must have turned them off - the electricity never fails here. But in a way it didn’t matter. The night sky was so bright, it was illuminating the pages making them clearly visible and more sinister.

“Looks like the Full Moon is out tonight” an all too familiar voice whispered, shooting Celeste’s heart beat into her head. That Voice.

“Hello? “

“Hello, soulmate. Did you miss me?”

A tall dark-haired woman steps out of the dark, onto the terrace to greet Celeste.

Luna.

She had not changed, still looking as hauntingly beautiful as Celeste remembered, not a day older. As always in a beautiful black dress however this one was sparkling, reflecting the moonlight, along with her black hair and pale skin.

“What is going on? Where did you just come from? What are you doing here?"

“It's so good to see you. You look great and I heard you are doing even better. I’m glad.”

“What are you doi- “

“Do you remember our little run-in a few years ago and what I told you about a full moon? And do you remember this?” Luna interrupted Celeste, as she dangled the notebook in front of her, she had just been holding. How did she just get that?

“I also got to write down a name. Remember I also wanted a new life?" Luna said to Celeste, as she handed her back the notebook.

“Open the last page.” Luna directed her with a huge flirtatious smile on her face.

Celeste Tide. Her name, written in big, bold, black letters.

No one knows what happened to Celeste that night. It was like she had vanished. Her husband Derek was under heavy suspicion by the investigating officers, however was cleared due to lack of solid evidence.

Some say, it was a publicity stunt to increase her publishing brand. Some of her friends suspect that she had enough of her home life and made a new path for herself elsewhere.

Others suspect, however, that Celeste had disappeared into a page of a little black notebook sitting in the black, leather purse with the gold finish belonging to the well-known, yet mysterious artist, Luna Skies.

What a beautiful starry night