June Writing Competition Winner: The Guiding Light – L.M. Bolton

Each month, SAIAA members are encouraged to partake in our Short Story Competition. April’s runner-up winner was Johann van Molendorff, a fantasy author from Gauteng. If writing short stories and connecting with other writers sounds like something you’d love to do, but you’re not a member of SAIAA, consider joining one of our Writing Room Chapters. It’s a space for all kinds of writers, whether you’re a poet, a journaler or simply someone who enjoys putting words on the page, this space is for you. It’s free to join!

There’s a legend in my village. 

Okay, so maybe there are several legends. But there’s one particular one my nana used to tell me when I was just a little girl. One most travellers still remember with the utmost respect. 

Once upon a time the world had been nothing but harsh. The people who lived there were cruel and brutal, just like their high lord who ruled over them with his judgemental light.

Unlike the sun who was harsh and brutal, the moon was soft and gentle. One day, she turned her face to the lands and its harsh people, and her heart couldn’t take the sight. 

When the sun shone, the people did not curse him for he was the high lord of the skies, yet he did not shine at night like she did. They wouldn’t dare disrespect him. They needed him to survive. He made sure the people remembered it.

The people however did curse her even if she was there to watch over them night and day. They felt her calming touch and shied away from her. They did not care for her gentle love as she tried to soothe away the sun’s brutality.

The high lord laughed at her and mocked her attempts at being a kind ruler. He never saw her worth. While he rested at night, she’d be awake to watch over the people who did not want her either.

On one such nights, the moon hovered in the sky, observing at a distance but did not attempt to touch the world with her light again. She had been about to turn away when something caught her eye.

As curious as the moon was, she leaned in closer and watched a strange old man try and climb a steep mountain. The shadows of the night made it impossible for him to see, and he’d often lose his grip. Fascinated by this old man’s perseverance, she leaned in even closer.

She had not meant to reach out with her light, but there her rays were and it lit the man’s way. The old man paused, blinking at the faint light then turned his head up and smiled at her. Startled and not wanting to hear his cruel words, the moon moved back.

“Please,” the old man had begged. The moon paused, surprised by his plea. “Please don’t shy away. Lean in closer once more, my lady, and let your light guide me.”

The moon hesitated, glancing around in case this was a trick the sun had somehow orchestrated to make her feel even smaller than she did. “Why do you seek my light, when the sun is so much brighter than I am?” she asked, hesitantly leaning forward again.

“It is because of the sun that I am here. He will not help me so I must complete my quest on my own. I must admit, my lady, that I can’t do this without you,” the old man explained. 

“Then I shall borrow you my light for as long as you may need,” the moon offered. 

And so, the man continued climbing up the mountain, his progress a whole lot easier with the moon’s guidance. Soon he reached the top and sat down and stared up at the stars. 

“I don’t understand,” the moon said, frowning at the old man. “I thought you said you were on a quest that you needed to complete.”

The man tilted his head back and stared up at the dark sky. Instead of answering her, he asked, “do you see them?” 

The moon turned her own gaze up. She had been so focused on looking down that she had not noticed the beautiful canvas above her. 

“They are beautiful, are they not?” the old man continued quietly. “The sun might shine the brightest, but his light is blinding. The stars might not light the world, but without them, we can not find our way,” the old man continued.

The moon inhaled a shuddering breath. Her heart ached, but for the first time, she welcomed the pain. Like her, the stars shone the brightest during the night. Unlike the stars, she was forced to stand by the sun’s side when it suited him best when they were free to shine when they pleased. The stars were happy to see her and they welcomed her with their blinking beauty.

“Your light has been dimmed, my lady. Without you, we lose all sense of time,” the old man said, his voice soft and almost sad. 

A tear slipped from her cheek and fell on the man’s head. It soaked into him causing him to glow with a faint blue light. “What is happening?” the moon asked, frightened that she had done something terrible. 

The man stood up, opening his arms wide and smiled at her. “My quest is complete. I have lived a long life and at last I can rest among the stars,” the man explained. 

“I don’t understand,” the moon cried. “Why did you need me to help you in this quest? Surely you could have climbed this mountain in the light of the sun.”

“I could have,” the man agreed. “The sun is brutal and he would have exhausted me. His cruelty would have discouraged me. It was only by your kind light that I could find my way home. My people need your light as well. The sun might reveal the world by day, but it is you we follow at night.” With that as his parting words, the old man shone brighter and faded away. Joining the stars that had always been by her side when she thought she had been alone at night.

Nana said that ever since that day the moon shone with a bright blue glow for an entire day and night in honour of the man who had shown her that there was still beauty in a world of cruelty. The blue moon reminds us that we’re never alone.