Under the Lunar Moon

Under the Lunar Moon – 300 Words


I couldn't take it anymore.  The kids were screeching and chasing each other through the house, and my husband was adding his yells to the cacophony.  Even that detestable dog was tearing around underfoot, barking.  I felt like I was being drawn and quartered;  yanked in four directions at once.  I started off sweetly, “Will everybody please.... SHUT UP!” I finished about twenty decibels louder. “DOES EVERYONE IN THIS HOUSE HAVE TO BE SO OBNOXIOUS!?”

“If anyone cares, I'll be down doing the laundry!”  I groused, and clomped through the basement door, attempting to slam it behind me.  A stuffed bunny got in the way, and the door closed gently.  Why were those things made with smirks on their faces?  Halfway down the stairs, I found my hand on the side door.  It seemed to open of its own volition, and I slipped outside. 

The air was cool out here.  Cold, even.  I drew in deep breaths, like a drowning person starved for oxygen. 

The moon hung above me; large, liquid, unchanging.  The cool peace and silence of the night seemed to originate there.  I inhaled it. Soon my breathing slowed, and the peace of the night seeped into my  entire body.

I stood there for a time, and then silently re-entered the house.  I went back up to my family.  The scene hadn't changed, but I looked at it through different eyes.

The kids were having a great time playing tag, laughing and yelling in their excitement.  My husband was encouraging them, “Oh!  Almost got her!  Duck!  The other way, the other way!”  As usual, the dog had to be right with the kids.  He adored them.

I thought of my earlier words, Does everyone in this house have to be so obnoxious? 

No, only one had been.