Dance of the Moonlight Jellies // Stardew Valley One Shot

Dance of the Moonlight Jellies

Glowing bursts of blue lights lit up the cool ocean waters, and as a slight breeze passed us on the docks, a quick shiver ran up my spine. It was the last of the warm, hushed summer nights, and there seemed to be a solemn silence lingering in the salty air. The townspeople of Pelican Town knew this, that destiny was tying its end to fall's new beginning; yet still, pictures of displeased faces filled the aging wooden docks.

Tonight was the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies Festival, the last few moments of grace and youth and warmth until summer hit again. Gathered around the brushing waves were the nostalgic faces of our family, of this small town we like to call home. Leah, with her porcelain cheeks, shivered numbly towards the sky; Sebastian stared to not the surface of the magic waters, but the darkness and the depths beneath them.

Amidst the quiet mourning I was trailing around the docks, observing the long faces of my friends. I suddenly felt a tired set of eyes on my back and swung around with my lips gently parted to see Shane. My best friend. My greatest heartache. My worst fear.

I looked at him with wide brown eyes, and he matched me with his. Gazing into them I saw a glow, a warm, gentle glow in his troubled and soft eyes, tilting his head and glowing more.

We stood there for a moment, staring at each other in the pale moonlight, until I reached down and sat on the aging dock and dipped my feet in. I peered into the deep blue waters as the stars traveled through the sky, stroking my hair until I was pulled to the moon. It was milky and full, rich and deep. I wondered what it would be like to reach it– to touch it. I wondered if the moon even could be touched.

Shane, sitting next to me, peered at it too.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" he murmured.

I gazed at him, noting the way the light hit his hair, how it made it each delicate strand look soft, silky, and I almost wanted to touch it. His eyes were warm and gentle, tired, with a sincerity that wounded my heart. The bluish glows of the nearing jelly fish had lit up the left side of his face, and his sweater was worn but looked soft and like home.

After a moment, I thrusted my eyes away at last. The waters below me began swirling with giddiness as a million blurred creatures swarmed through deep coastal night. One began to tickle me, and I smiled and thrashed with glee, tilting my head up to the sky with a laugh that filled the night with hope.

I looked back to Shane, who was observing with me with joy. As we made contact again, he looked down with a smile on his face, playing with one of the more playful jellyfish in the waters. He looked pure, and happy, and it was refreshing to see his warmth again.

The night went on, and our fingers inched closer. Maybe it was us, or maybe it was the stars – a million twinkling lights shining only for us. Maybe it was the moon, whose gentle face had guided us through the stress of the summer. Or maybe it was the water, who held us and bonded us together.

And so with cupped hands, I observed my fingers, wary of the closing gap between mine and his. I peered up to him, observing his glow for the ten thousandth time.

Maybe this was a sad night. The birds were sleeping, and the breeze was shaking. Summer's promise was following the star's north.

But tonight was a new promise. A new promise of warmth, a new promise of hope, a new promise of love. And we may not be young, or beauty, or grace. But we, sitting here, under the glowing stars and moon, with our feet dipped in the water, are together.