Moonsland (EN)

Emily (V)

  I feel myself getting nervous. I know it's not James' mother, but it could be his grandmother or a relative. She's cleaning the kitchen sink when she notices us. I feel paralyzed, but I relax when I see her smile.
- James? I didn't know you'd arrived earlier than me, okay?" he says. You can see the tiredness dominating her slightly wrinkled features and the dark circles under her eyes. However, she seems to be trying to hide it, showing some energy in her dark brown eyes.
- I came early, Betty. I took the opportunity to show Emily around. - she says, with a big smile.
- Hello," I say.
- Hello, darling! - She greets me and turns to James. - She's cute!
I feel myself blushing, which makes me blush even more.
  James tells Betty that he's going to have lunch with me, that he doesn't know when he'll be back and says goodbye with a kiss on the forehead. I give him a hug and wish him well.
  In the elevator, I told James that his grandmother was nice and he replied that, in theory, she was his maid, but that he preferred to call her his best friend. We still had time to take a photo in the elevator mirror. I had to insist a little, but I managed to convince him. He opened the car door for me to get in. After posting the photo on the stories, I remembered that I had to let my mother know that she didn't need to pick me up after all. She answered straight away, and I noticed in her tone of voice, after saying that she was going to have lunch with James, that for her we were already dating, not least because she told me to invite James to eat at the house 'sometime'. She's never proposed that to any of my boyfriends. I don't know why it's different with James; he's my friend and he's just more handsome, intelligent, polite and perfect on so many levels than the other guys I've dated or am friends with. But she doesn't know all that.
- Okay, I've told my mom. - I say, looking at James after hanging up the call. - She said you could come over for dinner sometime.
- Really? I've never been asked like that. -he says, looking at me and putting his eyes on the road again. - I accept. - he replies, after a little thought.
- We'll see you one day, then. - I say.
  There was silence until we left the city. We were on a long road surrounded by forests, further and further away from the city, when James asked me if I wanted to put on some music. After putting my playlist of mostly pop songs on the radio, James started singing them in a low tone. Soon we were both singing along. It was like a movie, except that in movies the characters know the words, and James and I were looking at the lyrics on the GPS/radio screen. It was like karaoke. It was incredible! With how in tune we were, it felt like we'd been singing together for a long time. James seemed to be opening up at last, without shame or problems. Sometimes, we'd look at each other and we'd get flustered and blush, but let's face it.

  We arrived in a small town where once only farmers lived, but now thousands of people pass through its streets every year, and even more so on its beach. My father has already told me the story that this town and Moonsland share. A long, long time ago, there was a town in a valley, surrounded by mountains and a huge lake to the east. The problem was that the division between rich and poor families became clear. As it became clear that the rich had a vested interest in exploiting the poor, who mostly lived off livestock and agriculture, the farmers asked for independence and, consequently, separation from the cities, which was eventually accepted by the rich families. Later, for political reasons, the two cities had to equalize the money in their coffers, which clearly did not please the population of the previously richer city. In that city, later officially called Moonsland, all the money was spent on modernizing the city, making it possible for us to be one of the most developed cities in the world, despite the apparent distance from the rest of the world. Our tourism comes mainly from the ski resorts and hotels in the mountains and also from the planetarium, as our city is the only one where you can see any lunar phenomenon that happens, hence its name. The other town, as Moonsland's rival, has spent all its tourism money creating a huge beach on the lake, lots of hotels and resorts. The population then lives off agriculture in the center and tourism on the 'coast'.