Moonlight Love

1

I wasn't sure how I felt about going back to my hometown, Moonveil. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, around ten-years-old. My dad and mom divorced, and my dad brought me with him to a city just a few hours away. My mom wasn't a bad mom, I thought she was just like any other typical mom, she gave me hugs and kisses, she took care of the house, and she cooked. But after they split up, my mom thought my dad would do better at taking care of me. For some reason, she didn't want either of us of anymore. 

Mom would call every few weeks, stop by our new house every few months, but I never went back to Moonveil, until now. I didn't complain too much, dad was the same as mom, though we split the chores, and he's not as good of a cook as mom was. But I was sad, and I think dad was too for a long time. I think that sadness came back when news of my mom's death came to us. 

It was my aunt who called us. She was already preparing the funeral, which is why she didn't visit us in person, but she hoped that we would still come. It would mean a lot her, and my mom, if we could say our last farewell. Dad said he couldn't make it due to work, but I would be able to say goodbye for the both of us. 

I let out a sigh as I entered the town. It was just like I remembered it, small and quant. At the center were the small-town businesses, boutiques, and a restaurant. As you entered you could see the bigger chains, fast food places and grocery stores. Spread all around were small houses, and moms was on the edge of town, one of the few lone houses not surrounded by neighbors. That was still the same, too.

"Haven!" My aunt Margot greeted me with tears in her eyes as I walked up the small porch. 

Her hair was shorter than when I last saw her, but her eyes, like my moms and mine, were a dazzling green. She was wearing all black, a knee length skirt, a cute blouse, and ballet flats. I wondered if I should have been dressed the same, instead of my plain t-shirt and cut-off shorts with my hair tied up in a messy bun. I probably looked like a mess, but to be fair, I was crying off and on. 

We wrapped each other in a hug, a mix of laughter and tears. Sad that we were seeing each other again on such sad terms, but somehow the crazy idea of it bringing us together as almost comical. Aunt Margot was like a second mom to me, if there something my mom couldn't do, Margot was right there to help me with it. Other than my mom, aunt Margot was what I missed most about Moonveil. 

"We missed you, your mom and I," Aunt Margot told me after we released each other. 

"I missed you guys, too," I told her. "I hated that she never let me come to visit here."

"Well, you're here now," she said, not looking me in the eye. "Come on, let's head inside."

She looped her arm through mine and led me inside the house. It was different yet still the same. The smells, the walls, the floors, they were all the same. The couch was different, the kitchen utilities looked like they were upgraded, and when Margot showed me my old room, that had changed, too. 

My toys and bed were gone, anything that resembled that a child had once been there were nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a chair and desk in the corner, and a small chair tucked in another corner with a short bookshelf against the wall. I wondered who the room was meant for, if it was meant for anyone. 

"It took some convincing to have your mom change anything in this room, but I told her if you were ever going to come back, you weren't going to be a little girl anymore," Margot told me.

"So, it's still my room?" I asked her in a tiny voice. 

Margot only laughed, as if that was the silliest question she'd ever heard. "Of course! You're welcome here anytime, Haven."

"Well, not for long, I'm sure. This place will probably go up for sale soon, right?"

"Uh, no," Margot blushed. "Your mom left me her house. I'll be selling my place, it was so tiny anyways, and I've always loved it here."

"Everyone did," I said quietly. 

If I remembered right, anyone who had come inside our house commented my mom on what she done with the place. Apparently, it was run down when her and my mom first bought it, and while my dad restored it, it was my mom who done everything else. What they loved most was that it looked small on the outside, but when you walked inside, it felt larger than life, it felt like home.