Happy Together

Written by Cynthia Li from China

You were shooting hoops on the basketball court. I sat on the nearby grassland, watching you dribble the ball, then leap upward. Slowly, I shut my eyes, imagining myself standing on the Moon.

I once thought about building a cabin in the moon crater, for it shields from wind and storm, feeling like the embrace of a loving mother. I took out my shovel and dug into the tough frozen surface, each piece shattering like brittle bones. Was the Moon frigid like this when humans first set foot on it? I wonder if I’m the only one alive beneath the starry night, emitting continuous echoes towards the midnight rain, only to have them devoured by darkness. Voiceless. 

Faintly, I heard meteorites swooshing across the universe, so I took out my umbrella and put on my sunglasses, listening to the sound of the wind. 

“When I’m with you, the sky turns blue.” You caress my hair tenderly. You asked me why humans should live, because one would still disappear in the desolate universe after they die. Your eyes look like crystal balls, opaque with a monotonous gray. 

Daytime on the moon was never real, was it? Imagine clouds that eclipse the whole sky. Once in a while, light would seep through the crevices. You were in a parachute, flying across the rooftops covered in waterlogged shingles. You soared above the moon’s vast craters and shadowed peaks. I stood beside the curtains of my apartment, looking at you, thinking about the day when water would flood into our lungs and we wouldn’t be able to breathe. 

It wasn't raining anyway. Babe, don’t always see the bad side of things, you said. 

Imagine the Moon was beneath my feet, rotating ceaselessly in the desolate universe. Its halo emanates a glimmering radiance, soft like your breath, warm like your hug. 

Maybe the moon isn’t that cold. I leaned my head on your shoulder. Fireflies flickered all around us.

The truth of our universe is unknown, and so are we. We are all planets spinning desperately in the world. My life was a falsehood, like the meteorites crashing into the moon, leaving a giant crater underfoot. My homeland was devastated. I stand on the moon all alone. 

Well, at least I am alive. Please don’t give me up. I saw you hit the backboard and make a shot. I cheered, thinking about daytime on the moon again.

I would cling to the last shred of hope. 

When rain shattered upon the iridescent pool at my feet, when the whole world was blurred in a misty shroud, I trudged through the frigid rain, partially shielding my face with a blue umbrella. You said the world we live in is another dimension of the moon. Just close your eyes and listen; all that could be heard is the rhythm of footsteps.

I didn’t call your name. This was my fight, my destiny, and I would let myself win. If we meet on the Moon someday, I will hold your hands tightly, like when I held my umbrella tightly in the violent storm.