To The Moon And Back

i. Antoinette

// Echo //

I watched her enter the glass doors and I watched her take a seat on one of the benches in front of the full moon replica. I watched her check her phone every once in awhile. I watched her sigh repeatedly. I watched her roam around the planetarium five times and then return to her bench as if she was afraid she'll miss the person she was supposed to meet. And lastly, I watch the last of her hope fall on her cheeks as she cried quietly in surrender.

// Hope //

"Do you know why I love the moon?" A voice rumbled from behind me, startling me.

I looked up to see a guy around my age, with blue eyes, and messy,dirty blonde hair wearing a Planetarium tshirt, holding out a white handkerchief to me.

"Oh. Uhm. Why?" I asked, taking the handkerchief from him and softly brushing the white material on my right cheek. I smiled at him gratefully.

"Well," he said, taking a seat next to me. "You know how it always change? From full to half. From half to crescent. But even if it changes, it's still the moon and that will never change. Like with us humans. Even if you change, even if I change. You'll still be you and I'll still be me." he explained, his eyes shining with stardust.

"Whoops. Am I boring you?" he asked sheepishly.

I smiled softly at him. I like this guy. I like the fact that he didn't hold anything back. He voiced out his thoughts and let it waft through the air, free for people to hear. I mean, yea maybe he's a stranger but not all strangers mean danger.

"No." I assured him. "Haven't thought of the moon like that. Wow. That's deep and beautiful hmm. Now I'm kinda digging the moon."

He laughed. "You should. And I once read a quote once. It goes something like this." he said, clearing my throat. "Whenever you feel sad or lonely, just look at the moon. Someone out there is looking at it too." he paused letting me absorb the quote. "I dunno. It's cool you know that in a way, you know you're not alone."

"Yea." I agreed. "It's comforting."

"Exactly." he said, grinning boyishly at me. "So, are you okay?"

This time, it was my turn to let out a laugh. "You forgot to ask that question 5 minutes ago before you shared your love for the moon?" I asked.

He chuckled. "That was an intro."

"Uh-huh. To answer your question, no. No, I'm not but I'll be okay though." I said, letting the lie easily slip from my mouth and the assuring smile mask the pain.

"Care to share?"

"Mmm." I hummed, pondering whether I should tell him or not.

"C'mon. I shared something, share something back. It's only fair right?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows like a dork.

// Echo //

She took a deep breath and let her smile slip away. "Today's my birthday. I was supposed to meet my dad here today and we were supposed to go out to celebrate but as you can see, he's not here. He didn't show up so happy birthday to me." she sighed.