Moth and Moon

Yellow Orchid

The moon was round and fat, like an overstuffed steamed bun; its light was cold and penetrating, spilling in from the window. The light contrasted, fought with the dancing glow cast by the fire. Grounded to the hearth, the flames almost seemed to be trying to expel the eerie, foreign silver light from the cottage. "In here," it seemed to say with every pulse and crackle, "is safe and warm. Keep away."

Within that safety and warmth was a man, sitting in a creaking rocking chair. A worn white shawl was pulled around his shoulders, and yellowed old book rested on his thigh, closed. He stared into the flames absentmindedly, watching the hints of blue and white within. They painted his pale face in a flickering orange.

There was a snake curled around his right forearm, its snow-colored scales shimmering in the firelight. It was sleeping peacefully, and the man gently stroked its head with one finger. The only sound filling the room was the fire's soft rumbling.

From the farthest reaches of his hearing, Xie Lian heard a rustling noise. It startled him out of his trance, and he instinctively turned towards the window. As the sound continued, he deduced that whatever it was was far away, but huge in size. Curious, he slowly rose to his feet to investigate. The snake around his wrist, Ruoye, stirred and slipped up Xie Lian's arm to wrap around his shoulders and get a better vantage point.

Xie Lian silently crossed the moss floor of his cottage to the window. He cupped his hands and put them on either side of his face to block out the firelight as he pressed his forehead against the cold window pane. Was it merely a large animal out there, or was it a malicious spirit? Small spirits passed by every now and again, but large ones were a rare sight.

He peered out into the blackness, and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. Although the moon was full, the forest was dense and the foliage was thick. The dim moonlight that pierced through touched the tree trunks and tops of the leaves with silver. The rest of the forest was swimming with nebulous shadows, swallowing up details that would be perfectly clear during the day.

Xie Lian's golden eyes scanned for movement, anything that stuck out from the background. He landed on a blurry form far back in the trees. Even with his trained vision, it was difficult to determine exactly what it was. It appeared to be a giant beast with shaggy black fur. He could discern that the creature was massive, at least twice his height. It lumbered along on four legs, shifting its weight from limb to limb heavily.

Xie Lian could make out small, light-colored shapes ethereally surrounding the beast and clinging to its fur. Perhaps they were little ghost fires? However, they seemed to have mass to them, and did not move as smoothly.

Suddenly, something thumped against the window. Xie Lian gasped in startlement, and Ruoye dove into his shirt for cover. His heart was still beating quickly as the perpetrator revealed itself. A large, green-and-pink moth with long, flowing tails on the bottoms of his wings fluttered into view. It lingered for a moment, and then flew up and out of sight.

'A beast that attracts moon moths?' Xie Lian wondered. He watched as the creature got smaller in the distance, bit by bit with each step. Then, it was gone, and all that remained was an empty forest. Had it just been passing through? Or was it searching for new territory?

Xie Lian went to his wooden door and cautiously opened it (which caused a terrible squeaking sound). He stepped onto the stone in front of his door, careful not to cross the ring of protective mushrooms that surrounded the cottage. His home was built within the roots of a tree. The tree had once been completely rooted within a hill, which partially eroded away. This left a cavity beneath the tree, where Xie Lian's cottage now resided- the back half of the cottage was nestled inside the hill.

Unhindered by the forest around the clearing, the moon washed over Xie Lian and turned his palette monochrome. The cold wind tugged at his hair, and as he reached up to tuck it behind his ear, the moth from before lazily flapped over. Xie Lian outstretched a slender index finger, and the moth alighted on it. The fine hair that covered its body was soft, and its legs were spider-like against his skin. The long tails on its wings tickled Xie Lian as the wind pulled them back and forth. The moth had a surprising weight to it.

Xie Lian smiled to himself, amused. 'You're so far behind! You need to catch up with the others!' He raised his hand higher and wiggled his finger a bit, but the moth clung to it.
"Ah, little moth..." he tried. It didn't budge. He noticed Ruoye sneakily sliding down his arm, watching the moth intently as if it was formulating a plan to eat it. "Stop that!" he scolded, and Ruoye shamefully retreated back into the folds of Xie Lian's billowy blouse.

Xie Lian looked to his left and right to find something to dislodge the moth with. 'Ah!' He gently slid his finger underneath a small piece of root sticking out from roots enveloping his home. The moth was forced to crawl onto it. Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief, and the moth reluctantly decided to fly off in the direction that the beast had gone.

Xie Lian laughed quietly to himself as he went back inside. He closed the door and went to latch it before remembering that the latch was broken. He resumed his position by the fire and propped up his chin with his hand. Ruoye wound around his forearm again to rest, and Xie Lian's thoughts wandered back to the creature again. Was it lost? That seemed unlikely. But then, how come he had never seen it before? He had so many unanswered questions. But they could wait.

Xie Lian gradually stood, rolled up his sleeves, and put out the fire. He covered his mouth as he yawned, and then changed into a long white nightgown. As he tied the ribbon around his throat, his fingertips brushed against the cold iron collar shackled around his neck. He lowered his hand slowly and then dropped it to his side. The matching ring cuffed around his ankle felt heavy as he lowered his body down into his feather-stuffed mattress.

Ruoye snuggled up next to Xie Lian as he pulled the thick blankets around them both. He curled up onto his side and stared at the opposite wall, where the moonlight from the window had cast four silver squares. He wasn't aware of when he crossed the threshold between consciousness and dreaming, but his sleep was woven with a twisted mosaic of past memories.