Page 25 of A Light in the Dark
Not anymore, and never again.
Not without proof.
Pleased with my decision, I settled in to read.
A green glowdrew my attention from my reading, and when I glanced up the hill, hundreds of luna moths drifted above the street, gliding through Stonecreek. If someone, in that moment, had first told me magic existed, I would have believed. In some ways, I suspected I would have believed in magic a little easier had someone shown me the parade of glowing shapeshifters at an early age.
When they got closer, the presence of mouths confirmed their status as shapeshifters.
Something about knowing they wouldn’t just die in a few days calmed me.
If anything, I would become a mere memory to them long before they became old.
One by one, they passed me by. Some flitted towards the rooftops while others brushed their wings against the foundations. Where they went remained a mystery.
What could the luna moths be searching for? What might they be doing?
I thought about getting up to follow them, but I stayed in my nook. I did slide my bookmark into place and put aside my book, aware there’d be no concentration left for reading with the memory of theirpassage so fresh.
In a way, it bemused me that the humble luna moth had, in their way, become as magical and ethereal as any unicorn.
Long before moving to Stonecreek, I had seen a unicorn.
Some days, I regretted the brief moment I’d beheld the stallion, knowing it would be unlikely I would find another—or at least find another willing to let me stare at him in awe and wonder. Considering how secretive my neighbor up the hill was, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he were a unicorn, hiding in plain sight and masking his last name. What sort of last name did unicorns have? Did Joel’s last name betray some sort of secret?
In a way, the luna moths would drive me to the end of my rope and yank because they could. Before them, I’d been content to ignore my questions. In a way, the shifter had opened a rather dangerous floodgate, one that might sweep me away. That there were more of the luna moths—well over a hundred, if my eyes didn’t deceive me—would also cause me trouble.
I couldn’t tell any of them apart.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I checked the roof of my neighbor’s home to discover the luna moth had gone about his business, likely joining the other ones flying down the hill and outside of the city.
Part of me wanted to follow, but I reined in the urge, instead settling in to enjoy the show. One by one, the luna moths fluttered away, their glow fading until darkness once again consumed the street. Long after their departure, I stared down the hill and wondered about the mysteries of the world and Stonecreek’s many secrets.
Fortunately for my sanity,the rest of the week slid by without incident. One of the evenings, I went and helped my boss’s neighbor rebuild her steps, warning her to walk with care for the first twelve hours so the mortar could set properly. Madeline needed little coaxing to take ownership of her role, and outside of nudging her here and there to be more assertive, she understood the general point of our work, which made my life a great deal easier. While I doubted we’d ever fully conquer the piles of paperwork that funneled through us, I liked to think we did some serious damage to the backlog.
After work, I evaluated my budget, determined I earned enough I could turn my basement into a habitable space, and began the tedious planning process. When Saturday morning rolled around, I headed up the hill to Joel’s house armed with a shopping list of my own, determined to turn my yard into a garden, set up some indoor plants for myself, and otherwise compete with my handsome neighbor for who could have the most comfortable home on our row.
Joel had me beat on size, but when I was done, he’d feel a need to step up his game to match me.
I knocked on his door, and when Joel answered, wearing rumpled clothes and appearing to have tumbled out of bed, I giggled at his haphazard appearance. “Should I let you go back to bed?”
“This is my morning look,” he confessed before stifling a yawn and running his hands through his hair, which didnothing to help his cause. “I hope you don’t mind being stuck with this for another hour or two.”
I laughed, marveling over how Joel, of all people, was incapable of functioning at eight in the morning. “This week, while taking leave of my general senses and taking your advice on additional shoring of my home, I decided I need to compete with you for the best garden.”
“Courtyard garden or front garden?”
“Unless you plan on inviting me into your courtyard, I’ll be starting with your front garden.”
“Starting?” Joel asked, raising a brow.
“I might be a little competitive in nature at times.” Until him, I hadn’t had anyone to compete with. “Competing to have a beautiful and useful garden seems like a war I can only win. Even if yours is more beautiful and useful, mine has improved from its current state.”
He chuckled. “Do you want to come in or are you ready to conquer the store immediately?”
“I am ready to conquer immediately.”
“I’ll bring my SUV around the block, then. I will spare you the flight of steps and dealing with entering my garage, which is currently a cavernous space consumed by darkness.”
