Chapter Text
On the celestial body that was the moon one would imagine nobody lived. That was a wrong assumption.
A man was looking out into the Ether. Wherever he looked, he was met with a vastness of infinite stars and galaxies and nebulas. Some event or another was always occurring some place or another. Although, that wasn't all. There was also darkness, an all-consuming dead-silent darkness. He has tried listening to it many times but each and every time the silence slowly became deafening. At those times he would gaze at something else.
His favorite and honestly the best view of all is that of this impossibly blue planet. It’s dotted with white clouds, the planet just hanging there in that impossibly black of space. It is constantly moving and changing and he could spend all eternity looking at it and never get tired of it. It is entrancing.
This planet is very dynamic, with things changing with its seasons. There are always lightning storms going on somewhere on the surface at night. He could never fail to see these lightning flashes. Whole sections of clouds would get illuminated and that would set another one. And right after that someplace else another one would light up.
He wondered what that would feel like if he was down there. He wondered what that would sound like. Space had many noises and space had no noises at all.
He could almost hear the flashes.
There are also the greenish lights that dance and twist and turn on the top of the clouds and form mesmerizing views. Each and every scenery is unique and different and always breathtaking.
He’s seen another thing as well – more lights. Those lights were not so natural and they meant the gathering of Earth’s smartest inhabitants. He could argue there. So they have evolved enough already to be able to alter the face of the planet to such an extent that it was visible from space.
Over time he’d seen more and more of these bright dots scatter on the surface and grow bigger and brighter. It was very striking. How far would they go? Did any of them realize how insignificant they were? How insignificant their whole species are? They had lives and conflicts and pain and suffering, he was sure of that. But he wished they realized the need to set those aside and do what they can to preserve this beautiful planet.
But who was he to preach morale on the residents of this planet? He was a mere deity born from their believe that there was a man on the celestial body that they called The Moon. Was he a god in the sense of what they believed a god to be?
What is a god? Is it an almighty being capable of impossible for the humans’ feats? Does it know all and can it do all? Is it omnipotent then? Could this omnipotent being create a stone, that is so heavy that it cannot lift it? If it can create a stone it cannot lift, then there is a limit to its power to lift. This would mean the being is not omnipotent. If it cannot create a stone it can lift, then there is a limit to his abilities. The being would once again not be omnipotent. Or in other words, it would not be a God.
On another hand, the idea of what is possible on the Moon and what is possible on Earth might be different in their definitions. Did omnipotence and in turn gods exist in the first place? Could he create such a stone? He didn’t have answers for all these questions. Yet, more questions were all he had. He didn’t feel particularly omnipotent. Maybe he wasn’t a god at all.
If he was a god however, there were perks to it. He could sense other gods on the surface on planet Earth. Even on the northern islands in the midst of the all blue. There, one time, he felt someone appear for the first time - a new god that was not there before. But gods were born and died constantly all over the place. He’s seen it many times. Very much like the inhabitants of the planet.
Be it curiosity or boredom but he kept an eye on this new god. At first it was a scrawny pathetic thing, very confused by everything. With time it grew. It looked like it was an earth or forest or hill god of some sort. Even gods couldn’t have it all. It had control over the mountain it resided in. The more humans settled on the mountain, the more powerful and sentient it became. The new god chose the form of a human man of all things possible. “We all must start from someplace”, he thought to himself and considered his own form.
The moon still kept an eye on the new deity. One day he looked up at the moon and started talking. He talked about his day and how he hasn’t met others like himself yet. He talked about how there are humans around and villages but he’s not sure he’s supposed to interact with them. Probably not is what he had concluded and left it at that.
Some nights this new god would gaze out at the night sky and he would be silent. The moon would listen to that silence and it would not feel silent at all. Other nights he won’t be able to see him at all. Then he would get on about his business and try to forget about him. Until he gets a passing glimpse of Earth.
He’s uncertain why this new god picked his interest. He’s seen other gods rise and fall. It’s just that this one seams lonelier than most and he knows loneliness like no other. He’s familiar with it. Too familiar even, if he’s finding himself feeling sympathetic for a random deity on Earth.
When he sees him again, after some time, the moon thinks not much has changed. But he seems more chipper somehow. He guesses since gods have all eternity on their hands change doesn’t come naturally to them. Not like with humans. They have such short lifespans and manage to destroy so much in them. It’s jarring.
The population of people grows too and so do their believes and so does the number of gods and other beings. Things change a bit when this god finds his courage and manages to make new acquaintances. He’s not so alone now but old habits die hard.
The new god has made it a habit of speaking to the moon and the moon has made it a habit of listening to him. So now and then again when the moon is full and he’s feeling lonely, he looks up and shares his thoughts. The moon listens.