Caught by the Moon

I wrote this as an entry for the monthly competition run by the Australian Writers’ Centre. One day, I might develop it into something longer.

Stella wound the necklace round her fingers, admiring its delicately chained links as it slipped over her skin. In the gauzy moonlight, the fluid movement reminded her of mercury and the chain grew heavy in her hands. Stella lay the necklace gently upon the rock, arranging it in as near perfect a circle as she could, the star charm winking to the moon.

She gazed at the stars and traced elaborate patterns between them, creating sparkler pictures in her head. There, in the vast black space where none twinkled, Stella marked a spot in the centre with her thumb. That’s where I’ll reside, once this is all over, she thought.

At the ocean’s edge, tiny waves broke in a whisper on the pale sand. The freckled moon cast her reflected gleam in a liquid band across the water from where she sat on the inky horizon. Stella felt the pull, wiggled her toes in the cool sand, trying to resist. Not that she would object to being entangled in the moon’s clutches. Wasn’t that her reason for these nightly solo visits to the beach? To commune with her, to get lost in her soft light, to turn her back on the world which had grown too complicated? It would be so easy to step into the water where the moon’s path bubbled on the shore. Stella pushed herself from the rock, aware of how many paces she must take to reach the foamy edge.

Each night Stella sat on the same rock, her toes buried in the sand. From there she watched the moon sink below the horizon, pull up her silver path and force Stella to face another day. She took a step.

Under her feet, the sand was firm. She took another. Murmurs of gentle persuasion hummed along the waterline. She quickened. Bubbles of water over her toes shocked her for a moment. But the caress of liquid silver about her ankles soothed away the shock. Another step. Her toes sunk into the creamy sand under the waves. Another step. Stella’s feet warmed as the chill of surface water undulated against her knees. Another step. And another. Stella held her breath. The moon’s temptation rippled into her. Acclimatised, Stella strode deeper, the currents swirling and pressing against her. Instinctively, she raised her chin above the water as her heels struggled to remain planted on the seabed. Another step.

***

An empty beach.  At the ocean’s edge, tiny waves break in a whisper on the pale sand. The freckled moon casts her reflected gleam in a liquid band across the water from where she sits on the inky horizon. On a rock, a necklace with a star charm waits to be found. And they will know. She was caught by the moon.