The Man on the Moon | Teen Ink

The Man on the Moon

November 9, 2008
By Anonymous

Harley lay in bed, her hands behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling of her small and quiet room.
Her pjs consisted of an over sized t-shirt and a pair of faded green shorts. On of her hands played lazily with a strand of curly jet black hair.
Her day was running through her head like an old movie.
School, lunch, David being an a** and demanding that she act like a real girlfriend should and do what she was told when she was told to do it, more school, riding home on her beat up old peice of crap bike, getting yelled at by her step-father and her mother for being a lazy good-for-nothing little wench, homework, and now... this.
"Why can't it just all go away?" she whispered to the darkness. "I wish it would go away... just go away..."
Shadows danced over the yellowing water stained ceiling over head, a play that only her eyes could make sense of.
As the play dragged on, her dull gray eyes grew heavy and unfocused, until she was falling into the dancing darkness above her.
Such sweet softness the darkness promised her. Such promises of love that she had never known in her daink and dreery little life.
She was tempted, that softness so promising, coaxing, so...
"No dear one."
Harley's eyes flew open.
The darkness was no longer soft. No. It was cold and painful. Her skin was icy, as though the shadows that wrapped around her were sapping the warmth from her flesh, her heart, her soul.
"Come away from the shadows, dear one." the same soft, cooing voice came. "Come into the light and warm your soul."
And she did.
Slipping through the darkness, she walked towards that gentle, safe voice; and towards the light.
She emmerged from the darkness and found herself floating just above the surface of the moon, only instead of the cold gray surface she had seen on T.V., it was soft, and warm, and a lovely golden yellow.
Standing on the surface looking up at her was a man, whose face she couldn't see. Long black hair that lie underneath a tall silken tophat obscured it, refusing to reveal his face.
Yet somehow Harley knew that he was smiling.
Reaching out a white glove clad hand he beckened her to him.
She obliged, floating down with more grace than she had ever thought she posessed.
She settled on the moon's brilliont surface, finding that her feet were no longer bare. Instead they were clad in shiny silver slippers. As she scanned her body, she noticed that her pjs were also gone, and what had replaced them was an incredible silver and white ball gown.
She ran her eyes over her companion to see that he wore a black and white tux, a silver flower unlike any she'd ever seen slipped into the top botton hole of his jacket.
With a sweeping motion he snatched the tophat from his head bowing low to Harley, an elegant arc of his back.
"Welcome to my home, dear one." His voice was melodious and joyful. "I hope that you are happy with your attire?" He straightened, and placing his tophat back on his head, he swept that raven curtain of hair from his face, revealing a face of perfection, and eyes the brightest silver Harley had ever seen.
"Y-yes," she stammered, glancing down at the magnificant dress that hugged her body. "I-it's beautiful."
The man smiled, and Harley relieved that he didn't look any older than nineteen.
"Um," she mumbled.
He tilted his head to the side. "Yes?"
"I-I was wondering... what exactly am I donig here. And where exactly is," she waved her hands around, gesturing to everything. "here?" She looked into his briliant silver eyes. "And, who are you?"
His smile faded, and with a sigh he answered her. "To answer in that order; You are here because they were trying to bring you there and there is not a good plzce to be so I gave you a better choice to go to than there; Here would be the moon and my domain and where you may come any time you wish of it. As for who I am... well now, isn't that a good quetion." He seemed to think seriously about how to answer, and after a while he looked into Harley's eyes and a questioning expression passed over his handsome face. "What would you like to call me?"
Harley blinked and let her eyes wonder over his face. "Well," she mumbled. "I suppose you look like a Cedirc to me." she finished, and suddenly felt stupid for having said it. He would just through it back in her face, saying how idiotic a name Cedric was.
But when she looked into his eyes, she saw pure joy swell in them.
"Cedric!" he laughed heartily. "Cedirc! Yes I quite like that name! Cedric." He continued to say his newly found name, as if testing it.
Harley couldn't help but smile at how marvelous he found a simple name, and tried to remember how long it had been since she had smiled so peacefully.
Hw long had it been since she wasn't laughed at or scorned for her stupid ideals.
Her smile disappeared, and with it, the joy that had settled in her heart.
Cedric saw the sadness fill her eyes and rushed to her. Lifting her chin with a delicacy that had never before been shown to her he stared down into her eyes with such concern, it made her heart ache.
"Why such pain, little one?" Cedric whispered to Harley. "Why such sadness?"
"I can't remember the last time my opinion mattered so much to someone." she whispered back, her voice cracking as her eyes burned with unshed tears. "I can't remeber the last time I was happy."
Tears pored form her eyes like fountains as she callasped into his arms. Sobbing, she let Cedric hold her, whipsering soft words into her ears in a language she had never before heard.
Finally, her crying died to a soft sobbing, and finally she stilled.
In a small obused voice, she whispered, "Can I stay?"
Cedric smiled softly down at her and nodded. "As long as you wish, little one." he cooed to her.
And she did.

"I DON'T KNOW YOU IDIOT! I KNOCKED ON THE DAMN DOOR AND SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING SO I OPEN THE DOOR AND SHE'S JUST LAYIN' THERE STARIN' UP AT THE CEILING PALE AS DEATH!"
"Ma'am please, just calm do-"
"CALM DOWN? HELL NO!!! MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD YOU WORTHLESS MORON! MY USELESS DAUGHTER IS DEAD! NOW WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, HUH?... what am I suppose to do?..."

Shariden couldn't fall asleep that night, thoughts of her daughter running through her head.
She wondered aimlessly through the apartment and without realizing it, walking into Harley's room.
Tears welled in her eyes as she crossed over the clothing scattered floor to her daughters bed.
Lieing heavily onto the bed, she looked up at the ceiling.
"Why can't it just all go away?" she whispered to the darkness. "I wish it would go away... just go away..."


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on Feb. 11 2016 at 11:14 am
WindRunner GOLD, Troy, Michigan
11 articles 0 photos 44 comments

Favorite Quote:
For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will fly on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

That's in between scary and surreal.