Night Moon

1. Him

The light had been sucked back yet again and the omnious darkness had taken it's place spreading around and covering everything in view under it's veil. The dark creatures had started nurturing the silence and eeriness of their oblivious mother , the night. It was strange how they could never see nor feel the presence of this mother which gave them the unmistakable relief of hiding their existence, their secrets.

The creatures of the land however had jumped back into their safe heaven , with their loved ones completely aware of the shadows this black darkness brought with it . How ironic !

All except a ball of happiness, pure and innocent.

Wether she was oblivious of these shadows or she never bothered to acknowledge them , night somehow was her safe heaven , the thick silence was her sweet melody and the silver light from the moon that fell upon her multiplying her already bewitching beauty manifold was like the feathery touch of a mother.

Even though her father laid inside the house ,from which, like always she had just snuck out , this touch and feeling was different, somehow safer , somehow filled with more love and this was what had brought her out for the first time years ago. She had always snuck out since that first night when she couldn't control herself to stay in her room once she had seen the full moon through the window on the second floor. It was just so beautiful and it seemed to be calling her towards it .

It wasn't just the sight , she was sure of that by now . It was just this special connection she felt with the moon as if it wasn't just a heavenly body but something much more than that . What ? She couldn't understand till date. But it was just there for her to cherish.

Just like every night, Adrianna slowly walked down the path with flowers adorning both the sides of the dirt patch that led the way from the door on the back side of the house to the forest behind . Her soft hands grazing the swaying petals , setting them in the same direction as the soft whispering winds which was blowing her long brunette curls as her footsteps took her to the all too familiar path inside the forest . Her white gown flowing around her legs tickling her lightly making her small smile grow.

With her smile the moonlight's soft touch glowed as if it was cherishing the purity and innocence behind the smile that adorned the face of this 20 year old. Her face lifted, letting the moon caress her face just like a mother ,as the wind whispered intangible songs in her ears . She just loved it . The beauty , the love , the complexity of the simple calm nature. The sight her baby blue eyes took in was unlike anything in the world. She was sure of it .

She moved forward glancing around in a relaxed manner taking in the familiar bark where she had scratched her intials long ago and the broken tree which laid there making the perfect bench for her to relax on. The feel of something soft brought her attention to her bare feet . Just like many days she had abandoned her comfortable slippers on the threshold of their small garden back at home which was now visible in the form of a small light in the far background, it's view blocked by the trees as if they wanted to lock her near them , never letting her go.

The rustle near her feet brought her attention back as she saw a small furry rabbit gazing at her with red ruby eyes . Cautiously she brought her hand down slowly . The rabbit took a step back , unsure but didn't move further. Her smile brightened and her eyes took a gentle stance as if telling it that everything is fine. She was about to touch it when it suddenly scurried away.

She instantly frowned and straightened back.

" I was about to touch it today. It had been three days I had been trying and you had to come and scare it off ." She scowled .

She had sensed him near . She always did. There was always this change in the surroundings or maybe in her body whenever she sensed him near. It wasn't that the winds changed it's murmur , it wasn't as . No , nothing would change but nothing would remain the same either. It was just him, just his presence was enough.

She still hadn't turned to greet him , clearly showing her disapproval towards his acts. Suddenly her bare neck felt the familiar breath and nuzzle. Her body protested to relax back but she held on. It was difficult not to melt into it but she had to show her defiance. She couldn't always fall for it . He wasn't making it easier too.

Rounding the fallen tree where she was sitting , he came in front of her, his black midnight eyes staring into her baby blue . It was as if the darkness was meeting the light with a familiarity of years.  .

He strutted closer connecting his nose with hers , poking it . Adrianna couldn't help the smile that slipped . He always did this . He would always droop his ears , let his stern eyes soften and put on a sad face , that is , if wolves could do that.

He was too big for her , his jet black body towering so much so that his head was almost in level with her's who herself was 5'5 if not taller. Adrianna ran her hand through his soft fur to hear the now familiar purr making her repeat her actions. Just like always , he put his head in her lap , lying down and letting his body relax . He let out a growl which Adrianna had finally decided was something close to a satisfactory grunt.

She lovingly pat the head of the large black wolf who was now a familiar friend since all these years . She had first met him when he was smaller , much smaller , somewhere near the size of a dog. That's what her 17 year self had thought when she had first confronted him , that he was a lost black dog , a bit more sturdier but could pass for one.

Very reluctantly , while clutching her white floral dress , she had slowly made her way towards him that fine evening when her parents had gone for a small walk. She would stop every time he would move , even a bit. But his eyes never wavered from hers and it gave her a weird sense of calmness . As if she was just meeting her old friend after a long time , nervous for the meeting but yet safe and relaxed. She had finally touched his head slightly to which he had leaned into instantly. She had expected her body to draw back from shock but surprisingly it didn't and she felt at ease , running her hand on his head in circles, feeling his soft clean fur in her hands.

She would have stayed longer if it wasn't for her parents returning back. She was sad at the thought of leaving this stranger friend. She turned towards her house when she heard the unmistakable sound of the door opening. Frantically when she turned back to wave a goodbye to her friend , she found he was no more there. The disappointment that she felt then was unlike any other time and that too for an animal she met for the first time! But it was there and it dampened her mood altogether.

She , the next day kept glancing from her window all day long , just to catch a sight of the stranger with whom she felt a weird connection since she had gazed into that midnight Black eyes . But he didn't come . She was on the brink of letting free the captor tears that silent evening when suddenly she saw something whizz past her window and there he was looking at her with his head tilted.

Without caring much her 17 year old version had darted down as quickly as her feet could without stumbling down and opened the back door. She had this weird fear inside that he might just vanish off into the unmistakable yet invisible air even before meeting her and this mere thought was enough to let the traitor tears fall down her eyes. Till date she was confused that even after seeing him standing there , why she had cried her eyes out.

She was never the one to do something as stupid as that but that day when she was hugging him tight by his neck, she heard him whimper as if sharing her pain. He had licked her tears off and as disgusting as she had found it later , that particular moment she couldn't help but let the nature adore her sweet laughter , let the creatures around stop for a second as if experiencing peace and calmness and let the wind carry the message that she had found a friend , a true friend that day.