Moonlight

        It was a quiet night. The only sound that pierced through Tom's reveries was the hushed breathing of the tide as he slowly walked along the beach. With only the beach to his left and a steep cliff a few feet to his right he was alone, a normal occurence within his lonesome life. His shoulder's slumped, his face oddly aged for one so young, he often came to the beach for a bit of reflection. It was one of his only moments of solitude, a simple time to relax by the light of the moon.
     
        His life was miserable. He was supporting a dead-end job with no promotion or raise in sight, he was a bachelor with no family near enough to visit, and he normally scared off any potential friends with his depressing, somber demeanor. He had no idea why he even bothered to keep living. He supposed it might be because of his grand dreams, the ones where he became a valued addition to Hollywood's brightest as a manuscript writer. Lately however, he had less and less time to write, compounded with an awful writer's block whenever he actually sat down with pen in hand. His dream had absolutely no chance at coming to fruition.
     
        He sighed, long and almost painful to the ears. The ocean sighed with him, bringing its light, salty mist and adding it to Tom's heavy breath. Its pearly water cascaded around his feet, adding warmth and cover to his skin. Tom thought of the ocean. He thought of it's splendor and majesty and how it had always and would always endure. It had been along throughout all of mankind's history, witnessing and listening to many, a silent counselor to the human masses.
   
        And then he thought of the moon. It's breathtaking beauty magnifying the ocean's shimmering waves. A large, pale orb, never faltering in granting light, and as free as the air itself. He wondered about the countless places the moon's light had touched, the hidden secrets it had discovered, the normally mundane turned extraordinary under it's glowing gaze.
     
        With a gasp Tom started to cry. He fell to his knees as bitter sobs threatened to overwhelm him and he suddenly wailed, "Why!? Why does it have to be this way!? I don't want it be like this! I don't want it to be like this at all... I wish I could be free..." His cry echoed around, carrying off the glittering ocean as he sank low again, the tears coming at a slower pace.
     
        Eventually he managed to stand, finding the strength in his legs to carry on. He resumed his pace up the beach, although a sniffle or two still interrupted his slow, steady walk. He would probably just go home and get ready for the next day's work, hopefully forgetting his lonely and sad life.
     
        Suddenly, a bright and eery light stabbed through the air behind him. He whirled around and saw a slight crevice in the rocky cliff behind the beach. The light poured out of it, steadily pulsing and brighter than any he had ever seen. It lit up the entire section of beach, revealing the water that was slowly eating away his footsteps in the sand. Feeling oddly compelled, he stepped towards the light tentativally, until he was sure there was no danger. With a sharp breath, he dropped himself to the ground and pulled himself bodily through the crevice, which was only a few feet in diameter. It was quite a struggle, but he finally managed to plop himself onto the ground in a strange, nearly symmetrical cavern.
     
        The extraterrestrial light that filled the cavern was as bright as ever, but strangely didn't affect Tom's ability to see. He saw the alien markings on the wall and the odd perfectly formed rock in the middle of the cavern, but none of it seemed to make any sense at all. Suddenly, the rock started to pulse brighter and faster and a voice spoke out.

        "ARE YOU THE ONE WHO CALLED?" The voice was majestic, echoing as though sung by a thousand varying voices.       
     
      At first Tom didn't respond and the voice repeated. "ARE YOU THE ONE WHO CALLED?"

        Finally, Tom seemed to find his voice. "I don't think so," he hesitantly replied. "I just stumbled in." The voice was silent for a time, but then spoke again.

"BUT DID YOU NOT APPEAL TO THE MOON?"

        For a second, Tom's brain locked up, unable to comprehend the question. Then he thought back to when he had cried out. "Yes, I suppose I did. But who are you?" The voice was silent yet again before answering.

"WE ARE THE MOON. BUT THIS IS OF LITTLE CONCERN. YOU APPEALED TO THE MOON AND WE HAVE ANSWERED. WE ACCEPT YOUR WISH. DO YOU STILL WISH FOR FREEDOM?"
       
        Tom's head was filled with all sorts of fears and cautions as he contemplated the question. The hidden voices spoke of aliens and spirits and gods, and his crucial need to just run away now. But he ignored them, thinking on his life. Why not take this chance? Why go back to his miserable, pathetic, lonely life and regret this opportunity until his dying day? No. He would not push away a chance for something new, a chance to escape, just because of his fear of the unknown. He stepped foward confidently.

          "Of course. I accept your offer."

          "GOOD. THEN IT IS DONE."

          Suddenly Tom fell to the floor, the room spinning with a bright myriad of colors and sounds. His eyes were suddenly blinded by the previously held back light and he started to lose all feeling in his body. With the last, fleeting thought in his head asking himself if he had made a mistake, he slipped into unconsciousness.

          **********

          Tom would have opened his eyes, except for the fact that he didn't seem to have any. He could see, but had no physical feeling anywhere. It was the oddest feeling...
        With an inner, silent gasp he looked down and noticed he was missing his body. It was just... gone... and he was hovering above the glittering, sparkling waves of the ocean that he had earlier been looking out upon. He looked up and there was the moon, full and noble in all it's majesty. Then the voice spoke again.

          "YOU ARE NOW COMPLETELY FREE. WE HAVE ALLOWED YOU TO JOIN WITH US, WE WHO CAN GO ANYWHERE ON THE EARTH, PROBING AND EXPLORING WHERE WE PLEASE. WE SHARE THAT WITH YOU."

            Tom looked around. He was suspended in the moonlight, apart of it, but separate in feeling. With a thought he bounced off the ocean and then shot back to the sky. He was free! So completely free! He began to race around the world. First, he flew through the streets of New York City, dancing under taxis and through the shadowy alleys, quicker than the words on people's lips. His path raced him up the side of a grand skyscraper and he brushed the tip of it's red radio antenna as he flung himself back out into the open sky. From there, he went to Egypt, flowing over the tranquil Nile River and out into the slumbering, quiet streets of Cairo, all the while ectasy flashing through his entire being. A silver flash later, he flew on to Tokyo, circling the flashing, ever awake city and looked upon the people, who were as tiny as ants as they scurried about their lives. Then it was to a more quiet, suburban neighborhood in Texas. He saw the silent, empty houses and was about to leave when he heard whispers in the night.
       
          A gleeful swoop later, he saw a couple embracing in the warm, night air as they shared a brief kiss. His heart felt warm, but then they turned and went inside when their baby awoke, startled by a noise in the night. He followed, but could only go to the screen door. He looked inside and saw both proud, happy parents tending to the baby, the love obvious in their eyes even from his vantage point.
       
        He suddenly felt cold again. Wasn't he free? Why was he sad? He swooped around the world some more, to Shangai, to Sydney, back to New York, but it suddenly just wasn't as exciting. His heart felt empty and he was as lonely as ever. What was the matter with him? Why couldn't he just be happy?
       
        "WE FEEL YOUR PAIN. DO YOU NOT ENJOY OUR GIFT?"

        Tom replied, yearning for eyes that could weep, "I don't know what I feel!" He turned away from the moon's bright light for a second and fell silent. Finally he spoke again, "I just want to be happy like they are." He stared at the house of the happy couple, still hovering a thousand feet above the ground. "They seem so content just holding each other, like nothing else in the world matters." The moon was quiet.

          "PERHAPS YOU ARE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACES FOR CONTENTMENT. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE RETURNED TO THE WORLD?"

          Tom was confused for a second. He hadn't even considered it possible for him to return to his old life, but as he considered, he immediately rejected it. Why leave this paradise to go back to his old life? But then he considered the people in the house. They were happy. And he wanted that so badly. Maybe he could change his life... Maybe he could step up and be happy if he really tried. Suddenly he was excited. What was stopping him? His life was his alone! He turned back to the ever radiant moon and said, "Would you really let me go back?"

          "IT IS WITHIN OUR POWER. DO YOU WISH IT?"

          Tom considered once more and then quietly said, "More than anything in this entire universe..."

            "THEN IT IS DONE. JUST REMEMBER US WHEN YOUR LIFE IS WHAT YOU WANTED IT TO BE."

            And then again, Tom started the gradual slide back into unconsciousness...

                     
            *********

          He opened his eyes, his real eyes. With an exclamation of glee he felt the very real, very solid skin on his body. He jumped to his feet, feeling every muscle respond to his will. He was overjoyed.
       
          After his initial rediscovery of his physical body, he looked around. He definently wasn't in the same place he had been when he had left. It seemed to be a large park, with walking paths and parkbenches scattered here and there. Way to his right he could see a baseball field, its stadium lights beacons in the darkness. To the left was the beach, as dark and alive with the rythym of the tide as ever. He started to head that way when he heard a sob.
       
        It was quiet, but very noticeable. He squinted towards the origin of the sound and saw the silhouette of a woman crying, her beautiful, dark hair splayed loosely around her shoulders. The old Tom would have just walked away, sure that he could have done no good, but now he walked towards the park bench where she was sitting.
   
      "Excuse me, but why are you crying?"
 
      She looked up at him, suprise etched through her tear stained face. It was obvious she had no idea where he had come from.

      "Who are you?" she asked, not unkindly.

      "My name is Tom. I was walking by when I noticed you crying. Thought maybe I could try and help."
   
      "Well, I appreciate it Tom, but its really nothing."
   
        She turned and looked back away, her hair blowing in the cool ocean breeze. Tom stood looking at her for a minute, all too aware that it wasn't nothing that was making her cry. But sadly, he understood her self-imposed loneliness and turned to walk away.
 
          He had taken only a few steps away from the rocky path to the beach when he heard her voice suddenly cry out behind him.

        "Wait!"

        He turned around and there she was, walking towards him. A second later, she stood in front of him, looking at him through still teary eyes.

          "I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Linda." She held out her hand and he gently shook it.

          "Sorry I kind of blew you off. I'm just not used to anyone trying to help," she said.

        She stopped talking for second and then looked back up, a bright smile on her face.

          "Thank you for taking the time."

            He smiled back and noticed just how pretty she was when she smiled.

          "Well, I just figured you could use some company, or maybe just a listening ear," Tom said.

            She looked up and wiped the drying tears off her face.

            "That would be very nice. Want to go and get a coffee somewhere and talk?"

            He smiled again. "Sure. How about that place up near the baseball field?"

            She agreed and they started to head in that direction, towards the beckoning lights and towards a less lonely life.

            Suddenly, a bright burst of moonlight, pure and brilliant, cascaded down around them. Linda didn't seem to notice, but Tom knew she wouldn't. This was only for him. He stared up at the starry sky.

            "What are you looking at?" Linda curiously asked.

          "Just the moon," said Tom. "Just the bright, beautiful moon."

          And then as the pearly light finally receded, Tom whispered strangely what sounded like a thank you, still looking up towards the heavens.