Writing: The Sun and the Moon — Pt. 2

***This is part 2 of the story I am writing currently. I haven’t been posting other content because I have been working on this so often but I will try to do a mix of both if I can. I hope you enjoy this installment and if you have any notes, comments, ideas, or anything else please reach out! I am happy to hear what you have to say:) Just email or DM

The rain drizzled on but people bustled along the cobblestone walkways of the University, bright umbrellas peppered against a gray canvas. They walked with purpose to the astronomy building, which was the place she spent the most time in due to her major being astronomy and astrophysics. She was incredibly intelligent and had already graduated with a bachelors in Women’s Studies, Mathematics, and a Foreign Language. She loved to learn and they loved to watch her succeed. What an ethereal being she was. Her ability to understand even the most obscure and niche topics never ceased to amaze the people around her. God, what a wonderful soul.

They reached the building as someone was walking out, so they caught the door and slipped inside. They had gone to the same University, studying English Education, and they planned on being a professor someday. Being able to teach like-minded individuals about the wonders that books and stories could hold was enough to make them cry out with joy. The prospect of that dream becoming reality made their stomach do a somersault. Being in these halls again made them feel more peace than they had in a while. The people mixed with the smell of wood and book pages mixed with the rows of classrooms lining the hall made them think that maybe they could go back; back to school and finish their masters. Maybe they could even teach here. The thoughts washed over them and they felt sure that they could do this, whatever this was. 

They knew where Professor Armando taught and headed down the long hallway. The classroom he taught in was empty of people, but bookbags and notebooks hung on the back of chairs and sat on desks. He must be teaching in the building but not in the classroom they thought. An idea struck them and they took off running down the hall. They caught the door just as the last student walked in. The familiarity of the space was not lost on them. They saw the professor and called to him.

”Professor Armando! Can I speak with you?” They exclaimed hurriedly as they walked toward him. 

“You can talk to me after the presentation,” he replied in a posh British accent. “Now please have a seat, it is about to begin.”

Before they could argue the door closed and the lights turned off. They slowly felt around for the theatre seat to pull down. They slid down into their seat and looked up at the inky black sky. 

“Hello everyone,” the professor's deep voice bounced around the void. “Welcome to the galaxy, I will be your guide. Looking up you will see the starry night sky. There are at least 100 stars up there, maybe more.”

Everyone laughed as he narrated on, doing bits and telling jokes to keep his students awake and engaged. The room changed from stars to planets to galaxies to black holes. The information he spoke into the void was fascinating and surprisingly understandable for an advanced astronomy demonstration. They watched as the planets rotated around the sun, spinning as they went. It had a beautiful simplicity about it. The planets had a blind faith in the sun to keep them safe and warm. It all worked so perfectly. They zoned in on the earth spinning slowly. They were on that planet right now. The sun was gone from the sky but it was still out there protecting the world(s). What a massive responsibility it must be to provide that level of safety for something that must take it for granted. They pondered for a long moment about the greater inner workings of the Universe™ which led them to her, as always. Did she ever think about this type of stuff while she studied or was she more technical, more black and white? They hoped that she had a similar realization that brought her comfort as it seemed to be doing for them. Maybe she had noticed how much the sun did for the planets that revolved around it. Maybe she even noticed how much the earth needed the sun’s pull and warmth. But how did she feel about it all? Had she felt as if she was the one at the center? Or one of the planets? Who was her sun? How did she feel about them, her person? It was a scary thought and it made them seriously wonder how she felt about their dynamic. Were they grateful for her? Of course, but did they show it? Maybe she felt the responsibilities of the sun. Maybe it was too much to handle. What if, what if, what if….

”Thank you for tuning in to this demonstration, there will be class next week for everyone who hoped they could go home early. Learning never ends!” The professor said with finality and a little glee. There were some groans from the seats around them as the lights powered on once more. Everyone rose from their seats and made their way back to the classroom, but the professor continued to stand by the desk. It had a projector and microphone mounted to it, and he was working to turn off all the working pieces of a soundboard. 

“Professor?” They spoke out.

“Hm?” He turned slowly, “Oh yes, hello! How are you? It's been too long.” He smiled at them and reached a hand out for a handshake. They took his hand and shook firmly. Professor Armando was the head of the astronomy department. He was her favorite, partially because he was wildly intelligent, but also because he had that sweet disposition older people tend to have. He was a wonderful professor, and she was taking three of his classes this semester; one for the joy of being in his class and two to further her major. They were introduced to him when they came along to his office hours. He had excitedly explained how ardently he had wanted to meet them after hearing so much about them from all of her stories. His recollection of these stories made it sound like they were this amazing person and partner who made people’s lives better just by interacting with them. It was a glowing recommendation and it seemed that she really did love them, truly and ardently. The thought warmed them from the inside out. 

“I have a question for you,” they said, “have you seen my partner Ayla lately?” Her name felt soft on their lips, almost like a whispered prayer.

“Well, I saw her at my office the other day but not since then. Is everything okay?” 

“Oh yes, it’s fine. I was just curious. Thank you for your time.”

Before they could turn away he spoke out. “When I am struggling, I find that new information often leads to discovery.” They gave their head a quick shake. He seemed very sure of this proclamation, but they couldn’t make much sense of it. He was so wise but sometimes his old age shone through. 

They gave him a confused nod and bid him farewell. They made their way out of the building, grabbing a pamphlet with information about the planetarium. As they paged through it they pondered what Professor Armando had said. Looking through the windows they saw that the rain had stopped entirely, leaving a silent night. They walked along the path back to the car. Where would they find new information? They had no information to go on, what did he mean? They got in the car and pulled out the sticky note and looked wearily at the third place to look. Maybe they weren’t meant to find her, she didn’t seem to be anywhere. They took a deep breath…1….2…3… and pulled out of the campus parking lot. As they drove down main they watched the various buildings pass by. They suddenly saw bright colors splashed on a wall and abruptly flipped and pulled around into a small parking lot. The building was adorned with bright posters and paintings. Public SkyBourne Library, the words the double doors read. Why hadn’t they thought of it before? She loved the library, she went every week.Staring up at the building through the windshield hit them with a sense of nostalgia. They would often come with her and talk to Phoebe, the librarian. She was also the head of the Department of Libraries for the state which they found quite impressive. She looked like your typical librarian except she didn't mind talking in her space; she actually encouraged it. She was probably mid-60s, and always wore her hair in a low bun with two crochet needles secured in it. They found this feature. Deeann, it was such an old person thing to do, and yet she was very current and with the times. She always had a book in ear hand, and you could always count on it being made within the last ten years. She claims that newer books have more relevance to the ever changing circumstances of life. 

They got out of the car and walked in the quiet night up to the doors and headed inside. Phoebe sat behind the desk reading a book. She looked up slowly and a smile spread across her face as recognition spread across her face. “Hello dear! How are you? it’s been too long.” She walked out from behind the desk and spread her arms wide. “Come here and give this old broad a hug.”

They accepted the hug gratefully. She smelled of flowers, gardenias and roses. They pulled away and grasped her hands. “It's good to see you too. How have you been?”

”Oh, you know me. Never a dull day in paradise,” she said with a short laugh and shuffled back to her desk. “What can I do for you darling?”

”I was wondering if you’ve seen Ayla recently?” They asked nervously, her name reverent on their lips. It was strange to say her name as they realized they hardly ever had the opportunity to say it. She was always with them and they had enough pet names that given names became obsolete.

“Well yes I have. She was here just yesterday. She actually left something, could you give it to her?” She rustled behind her for a moment and pulled out a book and handed it to them. It was a copy of Ayla’s favorite book. It looked worn and had a myriad of colorful sticky tabs.

 They reached out and took it from her. “And you're sure this was yesterday?”

“Yes, I remember she had brought that book in to read by the bay window. Then she checked out four more books on her way out. She’s my best customer!” She laughed at the notion. They smiled and turned the book over in their hands. It was blue with pastel colored notes adorning the front. There was a singular finch and inlet in their respective corners of the book. It was first and foremost a romance novel tied in with mental health, and it just made sense that this would be her favorite book. Everyone she knew had some sort of mental health struggle and being able to relate to such things made the book very personable to her. The great love of her life made the book that much more meaningful, and her worn and well-loved copy was an indication of that fact.

“Thank you Phoebe,” they said, “I really appreciate it.” They turned to leave the way they had come. 

“Why don’t you stay a moment and look over the book? It might bring you clarity.” 

They thought for a long moment and finally agreed. “Okay, maybe you're right. I’ll stay, but just for a little while. I’m trying to find something.”

Phoebe nodded excitedly and gestured toward the shelves. “I’ll make some coffee,” she replied.

They wandered between the shelves and found the large bay window with plush forest green cushions and pillows embroidered with clouds and suns. They sat and took off their boots to put their stocking feet onto the windowsill. The book was definitely well loved. They opened to the first page and saw a color coordinated key to show what each color of sticky note meant. There was romance, mental health, good plot, foreshadowing, and favorite quotes. They opened up to a page with a yellow tab in it. The page was highlighted, and reading it struck a chord with them. It spoke about how wonderful it was to love someone who makes you feel loved. It reminded them that she was lovely as well, and a part of that loveliness must have been from the love they gave her. She was every bright color, so easy to look at and adore. 

The next pages talked about the effects of mental health on the love people have to give. If you are not mentally ready you cannot give as much as you can take. This rang true in their mind and they began to ponder this. Were they ready and able to give the love back in the way she gave it?

“Here darling,” Phoebe came over and handed them a large red mug of coffee. “I guessed on the cream and sugar, hopefully it tastes okay.”

They took a sip. “It’s great, thank you.”

“Of course.” She looked out and marveled at something out the window. “The weather is so bizarre isn't it? One minute it's rain and hail and sleet and the next it's quiet and gray.”

“Gray?” The last they saw it was nearly black. They turned and saw a gray colored sky, the world no longer cloaked in darkness. “Huh. You’re right.”

“Well anyway,” she replied, “I'll leave you to it.” She walked away and they took another sip. It filled them with warmth and the smell woke them up. The sky’s change gave them a sense of comfort that told them things could be better. They looked down at the open pages of the book and thought about her again. They felt her in the pages of this book when she would read aloud to them in her sunroom, and her voice washed over them as they listened to her words. She was so amazing, so well adjusted for someone in their twenties. She had a well laid out routine that made her seem so healthy and put together. She had even influenced them to start some good habits. She was an extremely influential person. Their life was just better with her in it. They told everyone about her so they could feel a little bit of her warmth, and she filled them with warmth even now in the library — they felt warm again. They knew who they needed to talk to about this. 

They hurriedly put their boots and coat on then grabbed the book. They set the mug on Phoebe’s empty desk and yelled goodbye into the shelves.

“By hon! Come back soon”, she hollered.

They got in the car and immediately took their coat off. It was getting too hot and it made them uncomfortable. Throwing it in the backseat, they made their way out of the parking lot.

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