Work Text:
"3, 2, 1, BLAST OFF!"
"SWOOOOOOOSH!"
A little teenager with short hair picks up her precious rocket ship toy that's been painted with emerald green and white and lifts it to the air, imitating a spaceship takeoff. She takes control of the ship and flies it in every direction, still taking care of the sound effects that people are supposed to hear if it's actually happening.
She slowly lowers it and bangs it to the ground.
"BAAAAM!"
Then, she imitates the voice of an astronaut making an announcement to the people back on Earth.
"The Seraphim has successfully landed on the Moon."
A laughter filled the girl's ear.
"Hahahaha! You're so funny, Joan, do you know that?"
"Hey, Kierra, I'm not finished yet!"
Kierra, the one who laughed at her antics, closes her mouth with her hands, stifling another hearty laugh.
Joan pats her school uniform to brush off any dirt that's stuck and she stands up straight. She takes a deep breath and smiles widely. She also takes a single slow step.
"One small step for man."
She looks at Kierra’s direction who's shaking because she's holding back her laugh. Joan laughs at her and looks straight at the front. She starts to run and prepares to jump as she shouts,
"ONE GIANT LEAP FOR JOAN HUH!"
"WOO HOO!!! THAT'S MY BEST FRIEND YOU GUYS!!! THE HOT GIRL, JOAN HUH, THE FIRST KOREAN-AMERICAN TO LAND ON THE MOON!"
Kierra cheered loudly for her friend and they laughed as they hugged each other.
Joan’s dream ever since she was a child is to be an astronaut. She watched the movie, "Interstellar," with her family and fell in love with space. She wanted to know more about it, to explore it, and witness it with her own eyes, most especially, the moon.
Joan first acknowledged the Moon's presence when she ran away from home when she was a child and went to the neighborhood's playground as if she wouldn't be found there right away. Upon coming to the playground, she was crying buckets because her parents were fighting so bad again that day. Feeling tired, she laid down on the grass and stared at the night sky. That night, the sky wasn't empty. It was rather filled with lots of sparkling stars. Pilots were also working hard that day to drive airplanes that could be seen clearly from the sky and the wind breeze perfectly touching her skin. However, what caught her eyes the most, is that one massive object, that's even shining brighter than the stars, that could even possibly light up the whole neighborhood, the Moon.
There's just something about the Moon that makes it so special. Or maybe it's because what came next wasn't something that Joan expected.
A girl older than her by a few years blocked her sight of the Moon. She had her head tilted, looking down at Joan who was lying above the grass.
"What are you doing there, all alone, and with tears?"
"..."
Joan didn't answer her but instead gave her a glare as a threat because she interrupted her peaceful moment. The other girl just chuckled and her eyes almost couldn't be seen but not that much that Joan swears she saw the Moon inside her black orbs.
"I'm Kierra."
Joan was mesmerized.
“I’m Huh Joan.”
Since that day, the moon never left Joan’s mind, alongside her future best friend, Kierra.
But they do say that change is inevitable. It is the only constant in the world.
Even Joan's perspective of the moon couldn't escape her change as she grew older.
The moon was so pretty the night that her parents divorced.
It was like that as well when she failed her college entrance examinations.
And the night when Kierra left for the city to move forward with her dreams.
Joan has nothing but herself and the moon.
And so, she goes to an area near the playground where she first met Kierra.
She comes across this abandoned building and goes inside of it.
She goes to the top where she can feel the breeze of the wind touch her skin and see the empty night sky.
Just like Joan, the moon was all alone.
She stared at it for a long time as she contemplated calling someone, but she'll do it anyway because it's her.
It's her.
“Joan?”
“Hello?”
“Did you make a wrong ca-”
“Hey.”
“Hey, Joan. Why'd you call?”
“Nothing, I just.”
“I guess I just missed you.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Well, I missed you too, Joan.”
“For real?”
“Of course, I do. We've been through tough and good times.”
“Right hahaha.”
“So?”
“Kierra…”
“Yes?”
"Do you want to run away?"
“Joan…”
“Please.”
"And where would you run away?"
"To the Moon."
"Joan…”
“We're not kids anymore. I'm afraid that I can't. I'm sorry."
“It's alright. I understand.”
“Also, I know that we're not kids anymore.”
“We're grown ups now.”
“Though it doesn't mean that the kid in me already died.”
“I'm sorry, Joan. I know you've been through a lot as a kid.”
“Doesn't matter anymore, Kierra.”
“I don't hold grudges and I can't simply get angry at you.”
“Not anymore.”
“Plus, I can do it myself, you know?”
“I can finally do things on my own.”
“That's good to know then.”
“Kierra.”
“Hm?”
“The moon is beautiful, isn't it?”
“It is. It always has been.”
Kierra hears a loud bang on the other side of the call and she gets disconnected.
She became so nervous and tries to contact her friend again but to her disappointment, the call was never connected again…
Because on the other side, Joan dropped her phone onto the ground and moved forward to where her feet led her.
She takes a step above and glances at the moon.
“It's so endearing.”
Joan closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she took all of the courage inside her.
And then, she takes her one giant leap.
To the moon.