Amaris

Birth Of The Moon

   It was on the coldest day of winter when an alarmed, filthy, foul smelling, badly polished old man ran through town shouting from the top of his lungs and almost out of breath that he saw a piece of the sky falling. When a middle aged man stopped him to calm him down the man, shaking and repeating the words "It's here." could not seem to catch his breath. He seemed to have great fear as his eyes were pierced into the night sky. The people of the town were very overwhelmed and soon a profound crowd gathered around him. They did all they could to stop the man from going over the edge of insanity. He was shaking like a hairless dog in the coldest day of winter. The middle aged man who had stopped him, better known as Asgot took the frightened man into his home to look after him for the night. Asgot's wife, Astrid gave him warm goat milk and a peace of bread to feed the poor startled man whom could not stop shaking. When asked about what he had seen he began to scream almost as if he had seen a monster coming out from the darkness.

   Asgot and his wife Astrid nursed the man back to peace and sanity. As the married couple nursed the man they also learned about what he had experienced. The man who's name was revealed to be Gardi, which means overseer, could not tame his tears while feeling frighten as he spoke of the event. He told Asgot that he saw a bright cluster of stars coming together almost as if they were trying to tell him something and then as the stars lured him to a beautiful open field of lilacs that seem to unify with the mystical, dark, starry, night sky he saw as the moon illuminated the field minutes before shooting out a bright ray that seemed to kiss the earth and along a cloud came falling down from the sky. He also told Asgot that he was so overly frightened that for a few seconds he felt as if his feet were glued to the ground. Asgot asked him why did he not yell for help and he replied that he had gone mute for a couple of second, but as soon as he regain power over his body he ran as quick as possible without looking back and screaming as loud as he could in hopes that someone could come to his aid. Astrid thought that Gardi was insane and she requested Asgot to remove him from their home. But given that Gardi had just surpassed a traumatic experience and had no place to go. Asgot refused to release him and kept him in their home until he felt it was time to lt him go.

   One morning as Astrid went to the market to buy a couple of groceries she heard three men speculating about a bright light that lured one of the men into a forest where the man saw a cluster of stars shinning down at a river which moments later started to bubble and boil just like the hot springs in the outskirts of town. Astrid who was terrified and thought that there were loose demons in the town did not wait a second before she went back to her home to alert Asgot and Gardi. Asgot whom was building a small home for Gardi and the family's dog, Grim, in his backyard was alerted when he saw his wife out of breath and pale without the groceries that she went to get. He took her inside the house where he sat her on a chair and went back out to the terrace to get some water from their well. As Asgot was getting the water Gardi fanned her with a piece of dried corn stalk.

   Asgot came running in the house with bits of water dripping on the wooden floor from the cup that he was rushing over to Astrid. He lifted her head and gave her the water, he asked Astrid what was wrong and she looked at Gardi and began to apologize for thinking that he was crazy. Gardi looked at her with wide eyes in paralyzed silent and from the quiet, he burst out laughing while he slapped his knee a couple of times and jumped up into the air in a ridiculous dance. Asgot did not know why she asked for Gardi's forgiveness and confused asked her what was going on. She turned to her husband as Gardi kept jumping in the air and told him what she had over heard the men speaking of in the market. When Gardi heard Astrid's confession he went into complete silence and sat in a corner of the house crawling into a ball as his past experience replayed in his mind. Astrid threw herself on her knees and taking Asgot by the hands asked him to leave the land for their own good as tears began to roll down her rosy cheeks. Gardi looked over to Asgot and told him that he should pay mind to Astrid's words. Asgot laughed and sat down on the ground lifting Astrid's face up.