Arti Rathore

She had seen her just once, on the night of the eclipse,
When the stars had aligned and placed her right in between the Sun and the Earth.

And just once was enough.

Just once was enough to know that she would forever long to feel her warmth.
Just once was enough to know that she would never again be content with shining alone in the night sky.

The Moon longed to light up the sky in shades of blue, red, pinks and gold
just as her counterpart did.
The Moon longed to chase after the Sun and bask in her rays, never again losing out to the pretentious Earth.
The Moon longed—no, yearned—to feel the Sun’s glow cascade across every inch of her cratered surface.

And so she fought against gravity, drawn to the freedom of the Sun like Icarus from myths of old.

Like Icarus she flew closer and closer to her beloved
Like Icarus she was filled with anticipation
Like Icarus she soared, right until the moment she was face to face with the Sun

BUT OH! like Icarus did she burn

singed by the same fire she loved.

Like Daedalus the Moon watched as her world melted into a puddle beneath her feet,
for to be in the Sun’s shine meant that the Moon could no longer glow, no longer breathe.
The two stared at one another, praying that if they held on for an extra hour or two, the truth would change—but it wouldn’t.

The truth was that the Sun was much too bright.
The truth was that if the Moon held on for too long, the Sun would render her breathless, killing her slowly.
The truth was that Moon was okay with the inevitable death that would follow their union.

And so she did.

She suffocated under the brilliance of the Sun
Until they were one.
Until the stars in the night sky were left to their own devices
And until every last bit of the Moon melted into the light of the Sun and ceased to exist.

Because the truth was the Sun never looked back at the Moon.
The truth was the Sun never loved the Moon back.
The truth was that the Sun, well she didn’t even know the Moon was there.

That’s the story of the second eclipse.
That’s the story of the last eclipse.