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Dancing under the shattered moon, the moonlight that once reflected the glorious light from father sun, has diminished into emptiness. Into total darkness where the shadows have decorated his outfit and the cold becomes his skin. He embraces such changes, tiptoeing along the trails of glaciers, and lifts his head to the glowing stars in the sky. The faint light from the sky is all he sees, yet he feels no sorrow of the loss of the sunlight that embraced him warmly.
He spins without a care, knowing nothing is stopping him. Knowing no life will ever recover, knowing all those that ever step foot on this planet vanished so soon, knowing no existing eyes will remember the life that once thrived in this celestial body they called home.
That is..
Until a loud sound from the distant disturbed his peaceful dance.
Ever so curious on the quiet planet, the being turns his head to the sound.
"An alien?" The moon thought.
No visitor has ever come to him. He has been dancing on the graves for so long that the moon shattered, and pieces fell to where his feet stood. No light will ever reflect the beauty the planet holds, for it is too dark and no passing stars would accept the lonely planet.
He observes the spaceship, a term he learned from humans many years ago, and opens up to reveal a young man in a robotic suit. His eyes widen at the sudden appearance of this alien.
But a whisper echoes, "Is it really an alien if they appear so much like the life that once wondered here?"
The moon can feel his curiosity growing larger by the second, but his feet remain still from the distant. Should he approach the species with caution? What if they fled in panic?
He is used to the loneliness, but it's always nice to have someone to share memories with.
Ignoring his excitement and the growing smile on his facial features, the moon walks over ever so lightly. From the glaciers to ice, and then to snow where he can see light.
Artificial light from the spaceship.
His eyes widened at how close he could see the light.
"⍙⊑⍜'⌇ ⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒?!" Yells a voice.
("Who's there?")
The moon skips over to the alien and firmly walks over until he feels he is in their range of sight. He sees the flashlight is pointed to him. The moon smiles ever more.
For the first time in a long time, the moon sees the alien as a human. Those soft, fragile fleshy bipedal creatures that once dominated this planet… yet the moon sees a clone standing in front of him.
The alien gasps before saying, "⍙-⍙⊑⍜ ⏃⍀⟒ ⊬⍜⎍? ⊑⍜⍙ ⏃⍀⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏃⌰⟟⎐⟒?"
("Who are you? How are you alive?")
Ah. He forgot about language barriers. He was so hell bent to learn about them from humans that he forgot about the others.
Exo-languages, he calls them. Languages that form and fall throughout space, yet he never fails to learn them. All because he comes curious and devoted to acquiring said communication.
The moon opens his mouth before closing. Was it the best way to speak to the alien with the ancient human language? Would they understand?
He understands the alien clearly. After all, there is a planet somewhere from the distant that rings with the same pronunciations…
Upon closer inspection, the moon finally has a clear view of the alien. So human-like, with their form and figure, and the mechanical parts on their body. A male human , the moon observes, with many, many machinery parts on their body. The moon can see the still burning cloth underneath them.
Pointing.
The moon decides to point.
His fingers point to himself and then to the sky. He watches the alien look up, signaling he could understand his body language. His finger points to the blackened shadow of the scattered moon, a part of himself. He sees the alien looking back at him and that's when he points to himself again.
"The moon is me. I am the moon that broke."
Does he understand? The moon hopes so, but within seconds, that hope gets crushed. He sees the alien making a confused expression, much to his dismay. The moon looks down with a frown, but it is swiped away when he sees his own body with the flashlight.
His hands are so skinny, and his skin is too pale. His whole outfit is so white, he could be considered a ghost. Perhaps, a ghost from a forgotten past?
He clenches his hand into a fist. Ah, such a grim reminder. The haunting thoughts loom close to him, but he refuses to give them room.
Moreover…
"⋔⍜⍜⋏? ⍙⊑⏃⏁ ⎅⍜ ⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⟒⏃⋏?"
("Moon? What do you mean?")
Quite a brave alien. To meet an unknown species of a dead planet, and not appear cautious nearly at all. The moon makes a noise close to a chuckle and extends his hand. The alien in front of him immediately bounced back from the sudden movement, making the moon slightly stunned.
He is wrong. The alien is very cautious of him. Was it wrong for him to treat him as if he was an old friend?
The destructive desire to cling begins coiling.
The moon forms an orb of light on his hand before it glows down to what appears to be a mini body of the actual moon. He sees the alien watching in awe.
Just like a human.
"⏃⋔⏃⋉⟟⋏☌! ⟟ ⋔⎍⌇⏁ ⍀⟒⌿⍜⍀⏁ ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⏚⏃☊☍ ⏁⍜ ⍜⎍⍀ ⌰⏃⏚⍜⍀⏃⏁⍜⍀⊬!"
("Amazing! I must report this back to our laboratory!")
The moon sees the alien take out an advanced looking technology and sees him scribbling stuff in the air. The words appear glowing back slipping down to his tablet-like device. Then, he stops abruptly and turns to face him.
"⍙⏃⟟⏁.. ⎅⍜ ⊬⍜⎍.. ⎍⋏⎅⟒⍀⌇⏁⏃⋏⎅ ⋔⟒?"
(Wait.. do you.. understand me?")
The moon does not make any movement and smiles. He looks down at the mini floating moon in his hand before letting it go up into the permanent night sky.
Should he try to communicate? There's only one way to find out.
"Yes." The moon says, "I know what you are saying, alien."
He watches the alien make a shock expression. His eyes are wide, and jaws are dropped. Speaking of eyes, the moon notices how beautiful they are. He sees the alien continue to scribble down some alien language on his technology stuff before clearing his throat.
And he says, "M-Moon, yes? To think a being still existing on this planet has a knowledge of ancient human languages."
The moon smiles at the alien. "Indeed. Time has passed far too long. I nearly forgot how to talk until now."
He sees the alien stiffens before relaxing. "An ancient being…"
"Would you like a tour, dear alien? I can show you any aspects of this planet."
"Sagittarius. My name is Sagittarius." The moon looks over to the alien with wide eyes. Even if his own golden mask doesn't portray his eyes, he has a sense the alien could feel his shock.
"As in-?"
"Yes."
"...Interesting."
"In that case," the moon turns around, "call me Lunar Phase."
----
In the end, Sagittarius accepted Lunar Phase's offer. Lunar would often watch over the bodied human (at least that's what the moon fools himself to think) in case the latter would step into melted snow (water).
"How do you know all the routes? It's too large to recall accurately."
"Well, when you sit on this planet for too long, you'll get bored." The moon tilts his head to Sagittarius. "I walked on this planet 121514051225 times. Still counting by the way."
"A-Amazing.." He hears the alien mutters. "I can't believe a being is even alive."
"Me too." The moon wishes to add.
But the rest remain quiet as their footsteps echo in the dark night. Shortly after, the moon helps the alien learn about the abandoned planet, from the soil to the tips of the mountains, the past, the bitter aftermath of everything.
The alien is so curious, it warms the moon's heart. These topics were downright depressing, but the alien doesn't seem to mind and is always interested in whatever words come out from the moon.
"Why are you here alone?" Sagittarius asks.
"I don't know. I have no other moons here to speak to."
"But there are so many on other planets, like the planet next to us! Mair, Maori, Mars..?"
The moon sighs. "Mars. Plus, It's different."
"Hm?"
"I was created during the existence of a certain species that once roamed this planet. The other moons don't have embodiments such as me, so they're just as dead."
"Created from them? So then, how are you alive? Wouldn't that make you some god?"
"..Close." The moon says. "A demi-god, you can say. I thought I merely exist until they stop praying to my existence…, but how wrong I am." He chuckles darkly. "How wrong."
He can feel the alien beside him a bit startled.
"...These species you keep speaking of. What are they called, if you don't mind me asking?"
The moon looks at the alien. He says slowly, "Humans. They are called humans."
The alien drops his flashlight.
The moon blinks to see the alien shaking before his trembling lips could utter, "I am.. also a human."
As if time has stopped, as if the whole galaxy has stopped rotating, the moon could not grasp the information the alien gave him. "Pardon?" Whispers the moon. He closes the gap between them closer, causing the fearful human to fall to his bottom.
"Do not fear, young one." The moon crouches down to eye level with Sagittarius. "You said.. you are a human..?"
The human breathes out a warm air as if he has been holding his breath. "Yes. I did.."
Lunar Phase smiles widely. He can feel his cheeks stretching close to his eyes. He extends his hand to Sagittarius.
It makes all sense now. The daunting horror of living forever on this lonely planet with no one to speak to and his continuing existence, were not in the hands of misfortune, but through the groups of humans that left this planet.
Sagittarius carefully grabs his hand and Lunar Phase pulls him up gently.
"How..?" The curious moon asks. "How are you alive?"
That wasn't the question Lunar meant to ask, but Sagittarius knew what he was trying to say. "If I recall anything from the history our ancestors told us, they left in a massive spaceship to travel through space. Earth was getting too crowded, so they just left. Blah, blah, technology, found a suitable planet to live on... years later, here I am."
Even though that wasn't the explanation, Lunar Phase laughs. After all this time, he could've been traveling instead of moping on this ice dessert of a planet!
But it holds memories.
Memories that cut so deep in his mind that his own celestial body shattered.
He notices Sagittarius still hasn't let go of his hand. When he tries to slip away, the human only tightens his grip, causing Lunar to be surprised. However, it's due to the fact that the moon is trembling.
"When.. when are you leaving, Sagittarius?"
"When I have enough samples, but.. it seems that all of my lists of to do stuff has been filled."
He tightens his grip more.
"Lunar Phase."
The moon looks at the human. No, his name is Sagittarius. The moon looks at Sagittarius.
"Yes, Sagittarius?"
"Do you wish to come to my home?"
Lunar Phase can feel his own body warmth rising. Warmth? How foreign.
"I.."
This planet they stand on. His playground. His home. The dirt that carries centuries of lives and ashes of death, all forgotten in due time. Even under the light snow, Lunar can feel each snowflake weighing on his own fragile body.
"Let go, Lunar."
The moon looks up. "Huh?"
"Let go."
No, no. That's not Sagittarius talking to him. It's him. Sagittarius never moved his lips.
But the warmth grip on his thin hand eased him back to reality.
"Lunar, is.. everything okay?"
"A-Ah, yes. Sorry.. I.."
The moon takes a look around his surroundings. Everything he once saw, is now covered in a heavy pile of snow and ice. There's nothing else to see. There's nothing else to do other than prolonging the suffering of memories of a thriving past. There's nothing left to hold onto.
Let go, Lunar. You're dying.
"Yes," Lunar whispers. "Yes, I will."
He watches Sagittarius smile. It makes Lunar's own heart skip a beat, a feeling he hasn't felt for so long.
"That's great news." Sagittarius says. "Even our own planet needs a moon as gorgeous as you, to guide us in the dark."
Lunar widens his eyes. "So, you're saying is--"
"We've been trying to find you for generations. However, our ancestors failed to recognize this planet due to the drastic appearances."
How could this be? After all this time..!
He was never alone. There were still people thinking about him.
"Surprised, are you? I don't know what you went through, but.." Sagittarius pulls Lunar closer, where the moon can feel the warmth radiating from the machinery parts. "You won't be alone. Ever."
Lunar wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. He doesn't know what emotion to express, so he just smiles.
"That.." Lunar says as Sagittarius begins taking him back to his spaceship, "..would be lovely."
Sagittarius turns to him one final time. "Are you ready to leave, Lunar? You won't be able to come back."
Lunar freezes on his spot.
"Let go." A voice echoes.
He smiles and takes Sagittarius extending hand.
"I'm ready as you are."
The human smirks.
"Let's go home, Lunar. To the place that you are more well deserved."
They hop in the spaceship with Sagittarius controlling it. Then, at the speed of light, it disappears just as it appeared hours ago.
A glowing blue gem is left behind on top of a nearby grave. The gravestone has flowers sculpted with a butterfly. And on the text of the gravestone says,
"R.I.P.
Clarity
An excellent being.
To the one human
That made me fall in love with this planet.
You have showed me the beauty of life,
Of love,
And of warmth.
Not a single day have I forgotten you,
And your presence is what I longed to have again.
40XX - 41XX"
And the blue gem explodes the grave into tiny pieces.
A voice echoes through the snowflakes, one that no one will hear except for the dead.
.
.
.
"I found you again, Clarity."
The end.