Part Eight

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Eight

It was Wednesday afternoon. I was ungrounded, and Joanna was showing me how she lived. I thought it was good training. It was cool how she survived. She had slept in a hollowed out tree, and she kept her stuff stored under a root. It was amazing.

"And that's how you make a fire." Joanna finished. I smiled at her. She grinned back, and stamped out the fire she and made with two twigs.

"Hey, I was wondering, you want to come over for dinner tonight? My parents said you could. They don't know that you don't have parents or anything. It'll be fun." I invited. I wanted her to come over. I wanted her to have a real meal. She smiled at me, and nodded.

"Sure. What time?" She asked me.

"At about 6." I proclaimed. "See you then."

"See you then." She replied. I walked back across the street and I went into the house. I was hoping to keep her inside long enough to keep her from seeing it, but I wasn't sure it would work. And I didn't know how she would react if she did see it.

At 6 o'clock, she was on the door step. I dragged her inside and sat her down on the table next to me. We had dinner. it wasn't a fancy dinner, but Joanna looked at every cooked slice of meat with awe. I nudged her when it got to be to much. At around 8, my Mom turned to look at her.

"You should be getting home now, shouldn't you?" She asked her.

"Yes. Thank you for the wonderful meal." Joanna replied. She stood up. I
followed her to the door. Inwardly, I winced. It wasn't dark out yet, and tonight was the full moon.

"See you tomorrow, Joanna." I said.

"See you." She replied as she walked out the door. I ran upstairs. I looked out my window. She was playing in the park, disguising herself until the last person left. Then I saw her go over to her tree and fish out some soap. There was a pond in the park. She took a towel and disappeared behind some trees, and then she slipped into the far end of the pond where no one could see her. I knew she was washing. After a while, I saw the sky begin to darken. The moon was disappearing.

I saw Joanna slip out of the shadows wrapped in a towel, when she stood still and looked up. The sky was black. The moon was hidden. I saw Joanna's hands slip from her towel to her throat. She screamed. It was a heart breaking scream. I saw her fall to her knees. She was screaming, and crying, I could tell. I slipped on my shoes, when I heard the screaming suddenly stop. I got scared. I ran downstairs, gave my parents some lame excuse of forgetting something in the park as I ran outside. I ran across the park to where Joanna lay. I felt for her pulse, just as in hospital movies. I felt something small. Joanna was lying on her back. The moon was still gone from sky. Her face was as white as a sheet. Her eyes were fixed on the sky where the moon should be. Her pulse was slow beneath my fingers.

"Joanna. Joanna. Joanna! Listen to me! The moon will come back! Listen to me! Joanna!" I said, my voice increasing every time I said her name. Her face turned to me.

"If the moon died, I would have no reason to live." She said faintly. Her pulse slowed, and slowed, until I could no longer feel it. I tried to do the breathing thing, where you breathe for the injured, but she didn't respond. I stood up, shaking. I walked across the street, but just as I got ready to open the front door, I looked back. I saw the sky. I saw the moon. All that had happened was a Lunar Eclipse. I realized that I would never see the sky the same way. It had seemed such a peaceful place, but now, not anymore. It had killed an innocent girl. A girl who had suffered beyond all others. I realized that I had just seen someone die. I turned, and walked back to the park. I slowly lowered myself besides Joanna's body. I looked at her face. Her eyes were open, and her face seemed peaceful. I realized that her eyes were fixed on the moon, which was shining so brightly in the sky, so innocently. Her face seemed peaceful, even in death. I took the towel she had used and I placed it over her naked body. I gently took her face and held it between my hands. Then I closed her eyes for the last time. She would never see the moon again, I thought.

I walked back home, grateful that I had one to go to. I told my parents everything, even about the dead girl in the park. They called the police, who determined that she had died from a shock too great to measure. I told the police her story. I shook with the wind. As they picked her up, I touched her hand. It was cold with death. I placed it between mine for a split second, and then I let go. I held my mother tightly.

When I went to bed that night, I lay in bed with my eyes open. I couldn't sleep. But I knew what I had to do.