The Moon and the Window

She stared up at the small window and saw nothing but black, not even a star to twinkle in her eye shown, the only light coming from the sliver of moon as the days passed on. The glow from the small light in the night sky shown only her pale face, matching that of the moon, looking out onto the vast dark void.

She couldn't remember her name, her age or where she was from, only the small concrete room she was locked in, an eternity of darkness except for the beautiful moon. As a cloud passed in front of it and was barely illuminated with what little light it could have, a tear fell down her cheek as her lips trembled "Please, don't go Moon, my only friend," as she waited for it to give her back her moon.

During the day, her window was blocked off as some sort of covering was placed over it, she knew she wasn't alone. She never saw their face or heard their voice, only the placement of the covering and her small meal of bread, eggs and a glass of water every night, as she woke, told her that there was someone else. She continued to gaze out the lonely window, through the grimy glass as she laid down on the concrete floor and held on to her dirty green blanket, the color of it always comforted her for some reason she wish she knew.

This was the only life she remembered ever having. She began to feel strangely exhausted as she always had after being awake for what felt like a mere 4 hours. The air becoming thick and hard to breathe always tasted funny, it made her stomach roll as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift into sleep, to dream of her beautiful bright friend that she so loved to see, especially when it was large and round like a ball.

Even when the moon shown bright and curious to her, she was able to make out little of what lay just beyond her window. The window was at least a foot higher than she was tall and she had no furniture in her room with which to stand on. She did not know where she was and she felt as though she was being punished for a harsh crime that she never even knew she committed.

As she slept, the only thing she dreamt of was the moon and it's lonely face. She reached out to hug the moon and to tell it the lovely things she thought about it, "You're a beautiful moon," she imagined saying to it, " You are the light in my darkness, the holder of my secrets, my love and my only friend." Crying in her sleep, her dream went on as her moon friend held her and put out a shaft of light that brushed the tears from her face as it cried with her, as if it held all of life's depressing moments with no one but her to turn to.

Awaking with a start, her meal on the floor at her feet as it always was when she came back to the conscious world. A lonely world. If only she was able to stay awake during the foggy nights, to be able to see who was behind the wall. The only colored wall in the tiny concrete room. Not even a door existed here, only the red wall and window. everything else in the room was pure grey, she imagined it as if she were encased in brain matter, except for the red wall.

She thought of the wall as if it were the color of blood, blood from those who were here long before she had been, those who had slept on the floor as she did and clutched at the same green blanket. Those who had stared at the same moon as her and thought the same thoughts, she often found herself wondering what they were like and why they had been here and whether or not they had such a fondness for the moon as she did. 'They might have even known her and her name, maybe they were the reason she was there,' letting the thought sink into her head as she stared at the Blood Wall, the name she had given to it.

The one thing she hated to contemplate was what had been done to those people on that wall and if she would contribute to it unwillingly as they had. Again, she stood under the window and looked out at what she was able to see. The moon was asleep tonight. It never slept often, she counted only some 20 times since she had been there that it slept, her almost constant companion.

Looking across the room, she noticed a chair that had never been there before. She surveyed it with glossy eyes. She walked over to the chair slowly and silently, afraid that it might be alive and attack her and then she would never see her friend again. The chair was ordinary, no different than other chairs she imagined, completely white with the normal amount of legs and a solid back. When she grabbed it, she jumped out of surprise as she believed the chair had to be as cold as ice. She turned around and sat in the chair, bracing for the shiver of winter chill that would run down her spine.

As she began to sit, she soon noticed that the chair was not cold at all, it was quite warm against her bare flesh. She looked up and saw the lonely window and decided that she would stand on the seat of the chair and gaze out at everything below. Lifting up and carrying the chair was easy since it was so light, as she walked to place the chair underneath the window, she tripped over her small toilet, completely forgetting it had even existed in the middle of the room. Nearly jumping out of her skin, she calmed herself.

Directly below the window is where she placed the chair. She carefully put a foot on the seat to test out the sturdiness of it and make sure it could hold her weight, it was solid. She thankfully sighed as she lifted herself up onto the chair and stood straight up as she had her first glance out of the window.

As she peered out, her friend awoke and shone brighter than it ever had, making the sky glow. It was as if it were a gift so that she would see everything laid out before her. She saw thick trees filled with lush amounts of leaves, fascination coursed through her as she watched the greens of the grass dance as a wind crept between each individual blade. Fluttering chaos consumed the tops of the trees as they swayed back and forth, she even thought that maybe the trees were waving to her, to invite her into their world away from the room.

A shimmer caught the corner of her eye as she looked to her left to see a huge beautiful lake that never ended. She was filled with joy as her moon friend stared and smiled at her from it's place in the sky.

Staring for what felt like hours, she began to notice something small on the top of the lake moving, a boat with a man standing in it waving his arms at her. She watched as he pulled up on the sandy shore and jumped from his boat, leaving it for the dark waters to have. He ran to a ladder that had just appeared to be laying on the ground. The next thing she knew, the ladder had swung and hit the side of the house, the top of it right next to her window.

The man had climbed up the ladder and planted his face against the glass, his smile glowing as brightly as the moon. He had been the most handsome thing she had ever seen, that she could remember seeing at least. His green eyes, familiar, were clouded with bits of brown and his smile was large and toothy, boyish even. He appeared to be a man i his very early twenties, perhaps still a teenager. He may have been older thought she couldn't tell, the only show of age she had seen was her own reflection that could barely be seen in the window's glass.

Watching as he looked to the side of the window, he began to fidget with something. at that moment, the window burst open as fresh air swirled all around her, taking deep breaths filled with the scents of newly wet soil and grass overjoyed her as she cried in happiness. The man reached a hand through the window smiling the biggest smile he had, grabbing a hold of it as tears raced down his cherub face. At that moment, she was the moon, beautiful and glowing for everyone to see.

Fear quickly slid down her face and into her stomach, she let go of the man's hand and stepped backwards, quicker. Closing her eyes as tight as possible, she slid down the wall and cried her eyes red. "Please, don't," the man said, "Come back to me, I love you." She shook her head violently, "No, leave me be," she screamed out. The man, hand still reaching for her, "Please, anything. I'd give anything for you to wake up," he cried out to the woman against the red wall.

Johnathan stared at his almost lifeless wife in the hospital bed. The bright white lights seemed harsh against the sound of machines beeping loudly in his ear. The open window did nothing to give him the fresh breath he so longed for, the small room his beloved had laid in for almost two years was hers and hers alone, to give her peace while her family had hoped that she would miraculously awake from her coma. The whirring of her breathing machine did little except to give her a life which could not live, closed off from the rest of the world but her own. "Please, my love, wake up," Johnathan stammered out as he held her hand and caressed her rosy cheek.

She sat against the wall, face covered by her clammy hands. Her thoughts lingered on what the man had said, "Wake up," she was awake. Fright had consumed her and taken her back for itself, she would never leave that room, she knew she would eventually die there. It was the only thing she could remember.

"I know she's still there, alive, in her mind," Johnathan cried, "You can't do this Doctor, and you, her own parents, cannot do this either, I beg you to give her more time, she is still with us she knows we are here," he pointed at the sad, older couple standing in the room, the woman's mother weeping softly as her father held her close. The doctor walked over to Johnathan and told him "It's too late, there is nothing more that we can do for her except to make her as comfortable as possible during this time," he walked over to the machines as they hummed the rhythm of what life she had and one by one, the doctor and his nurse withdrew her life support, bringing her closer to her final moment.

The clock on the wall read midnight as she was declared officially deceased. Johnatha bent and kissed her still warm lips one last time, "My beautiful Rose, always, I will be with you my love, I promise," was all he could say as he whispered into her ear, his emotions overcoming him as he walked out of the hospital door and through the corridors to the outside world. In the room, Rose's parents cried and said their last good byes to their only daughter, whose life had been so short but filled with love. In the distance, a loud crack was heard as people ran outside to Johnathan's car.

She decided to finally open her eyes and saw that the man was no longer there, an emptiness spread through her as she stared at the moon. She noticed that the moon looked closer to her, not larger than it had been, it was as if a glowing orb had traveled down to her room. It came through the window and filled her, and surrounded her in it's brightness, "My beautiful Rose, always," it had spoken. The moon consumed her. As they became one, she realized it had always been there for her, it had even told her what her name is, Rose. A flash of memories ran through her mind as she remembered her life, the accident, being in the hospital, her marriage and the man. The man was her husband, whom she felt tremendous love for.

She was the moon as she heard the words, "I love you, Rose." She closed her celestial eyes and reopened them to nothing but blackness, no room, no red wall, no fear. She was the only person there for a moment and then she saw him. Johnathan and Rose. He embraced her passionately and kissed her as she felt them both falling into the darkness. Johnathan pulled his wife tighter to him and whispered in her ear, "I always keep my promises, my lovely Rose, always."