THE MOONSTONE

ONE : City of Myths

Lunar Realm City, MT

I am Anastasia Black but I prefer to go by Ana. Short and simple. Pretty much like me. I grew up here in Lunar Realm with my father. It's a small town. Every one who lives here knows pretty much everything about every families. There are the ancient families who have lived here since as long as their family tree goes, like the Dashwoods, Richardsons, Vastilles, etc. and the new ones like me i.e. the Blacks or just Black since I'm the only remaining Black. I'll take you to my pity party later.

There are stories and myths about this place; stories every child who grew up here has heard about. It's about all the spooky things that used to happen here. There are abandoned mansions here that they say belonged to the massacred and extinct families that lived here with the forefathers of Dashwoods and the other ancient family names. The most famous myth is that those extinct families were doing 'bad stuffs' (to scare us as children) ; they tried to channel demons so that they could be powerful and rule everyone. So the moon, which was the sole witness of all the 'bad stuffs' they did in the night, sent its worshippers to destroy them and bring an end to their works. Hence, the name "Lunar Realm".

It's just a myth though, exaggerated a bit more every time a person retold the story. It was a story told to children to teach them to be good and to never do "bad stuffs". My father never told me any of these stories though. It was probably because he was the first one of Blacks to reside here. He told me that we lost my mother after she gave birth to me. He never called her dead. He never could talk about her without getting watery eyes, and he loved me so much. He used to tell me that I was very precious to him because I was the last sign, the last proof of his and my mother's undying love. They weren't married. I was conceived out of wedlock and she died before they could speak their vows in front of everyone. My father said that he moved here because he couldn't stand to live in the place where he lost the love of his life. He wanted to move somewhere far and this place was as good as any.

I lost my father last year when I was a senior in my college. I am an English major student and I've always wanted to write. So, I came back here last year for his funeral and haven't moved back since. I thought I could start writing my novel here. I live in a small house, probably the smallest one in Lunar Realm, which belonged to my father. It wasn't because we were poor. I have inherited a lot of money from my father: it was because we didn't need much space and my father needed nothing more than the wooden box with two initials painted on it. C.A. My father was a great painter but these initials, he had painted so delicately, with little flowers blooming from the letters. My mother's name was Callie Adams. He had kept all her stuffs, although very little they were, in the box. I don't think he wanted to share it with anyone, so I never asked to see it either. I tried to look for it while my father was asleep when I was small but I never found it. He always hid it and all I could see was a glimpse of it's wooden lid with the initials while my father gazed into the contents of the box with nostalgia and sorrow. I tried to look for it after his funeral but it's like the box with my mother's memories were gone with my father. They were nowhere to be found.

So here I am, sitting on the grass beside my father's grave. It has been a week since I last visited him.

"Hey Dad," I  murmur while touching the cool stone that has 'A loving Father' written on it. My father pretty much gave up his life to be the 'loving father'. He didn't have any close friends, never dated anyone. He painted when he was free, which was a lot of the time and sold his paintings every once in a while. He had apparently inherited a lot from my grandparents, whom I have never met.

"I miss you. I always will. I've never told you this but I never missed my mother. You never let me. You were always enough for me. But now, I miss you and I miss the mother that I never had. I tried to find her box but I couldn't. It's like you took it with you. Or maybe she took you with her," I say wiping my tears, "I hope that you're with her now and have the life you wanted to have with her. I love you."

I put the white lillies I brought with me on his grave and turn around. I see a man standing beside the single Aspen tree in the entrance of the cemetery.

"Hello there,"  the man says as I reached the tree, "Great weather, isn't it?"

It was a great weather. It was pretty cool for summer but the sun was shining too.

"Uh hey," I say and take a good look of the man. He was standing by leaning slightly into the tree, with his arms folded on his chest. See the good thing about being a writer or an aspiring writer in my case, is that you are very articulatory but he kind of had me lost for words. The man standing in front of me was the epitome of gorgeousness. He was tall. Probably six feet two inches. When I said I prefer the name 'Ana' because it was short and simple like me, I meant it. My height is only five feet two, which means I am a good foot shorter than him which might explain why he was leaning so much while looking at me. He had blond hair almost touching the base of his ears, and perfect shadow of golden beard on his jaw. He had gray eyes, the color of ash. It was beautiful. He had a thin white line of scar on his left cheekbone that added ruggedness to his otherwise perfect face.

"Uhh Yeah. Great weather," I say hoping that I didn't take a lot of time to reply.

He smiled a little. A crooked smile. He pushes himself away from the tree and bows his neck a little, probably to reduce our height difference.

"I'm Dan," he says and extends his hand towards me.

"Ana," I say and I put my hand in his. He closes his hands on mine and a jolt of electricity-like feeling passes through me. He shakes my hand as if he was totally oblivious to that. Maybe I just imagined it. Get it together! Ana

"I'm sorry if I looked like a creep when I was looking at you when you were coming this way. It's just that you're really beautiful," he says and smiles at me.

I am not the girl who thinks that she's ugly but is actually really beautiful. I know I don't look bad. I have red hair and green eyes. I have the not curvy but not petite either kind of body. Altogether, I'm not drop dead gorgeous but I've had my share of admirers.

"Thanks, Dan," I say and roll my eyes, "that doesn't make you less creepy at all."

"I swear I can convince you I'm not a creepy person if you agree to have dinner with me tonight."

"I haven't ever seen you in Lunar", I say by effectively changing the topic and wondering who this new face is in this overly familiar place, "here to find the blood drainer?"

Lunar Realm has lately been in headlines for the murder of an eighteen year old boy whose body was found outside an abandoned mansion which apparently belonged to The Ivanoviches. What was weird about the body was that it looked very pale. Post mortem reported that the body was drained of almost half his blood. To make it worse, there were two puncture marks on his body that a "Vampire" supposedly gives while drinking someone's blood. And that was all the fodder needed to feed the rumors of vampires and what not mythical creatures of Lunar Realm. So many people, especially in their early twenties, have been visiting this town for stupid adventures.

"Not really. I'd been here many years ago. I just felt like reliving the memories. So, here I am," he says, "Although this place has changed in so many ways but is also exactly the same."

He gestures his hand towards the gates and starts walking. I walk with him and say, "I've spent my whole life here except for some years in college. But this place feels exactly the same to me with the same old occasional monster rumors."

He chuckles a little at that.

"So, have you seen any vampires here?" he asks me.

I roll my eyes and say, "Not yet but if I ever get suspicious of someone with raven black hair, chalk white skin and bloodied lips, I'll let you know."

He laughs loudly at that and gives me a boyish grin.

"You'll need my number to let me know, won't you?" he says and takes out a pen from his pocket. Do people even carry around a pen with them? He takes my hand and writes down his number on my palm.

"If you find the white skinned vampire or feel okay with having dinner with me tonight, give me call," he smiles at me and says, "It was great meeting you, Ana. I hope to see you tonight."

With that, he walks away from me. He in fact turns around and goes opposite to the way we were just walking. I look at the numbers in my palm once again before walking home.

•••
PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT AND FAN