Leah arrived at her grandmother's home at about 4 pm. The drive to the small old cottage was long and tiring. She turned off the engine of her car and sat in silence for moments unending. She still couldn't bring herself to accept that her grandma had passed two weeks before. She had lived with the woman all her life and the cottage was where her childhood lived. Leaving the small town and her grandmother behind to start a new life was one of the hardest decisions she had ever made.
When Leah realized it would soon get dark, she decided to pick herself up and go inside. There was something about the evenings that made her uneasy. She found comfort in the tales her grandmother told her in the evenings.
Leah stepped out of the car. Outside of the cottage was exactly as she remembered it. Her grandmother had a strong thing for gardening. She took pride in growing her own kitchen ingredients. The house was surrounded by shrubs, flowers, and herbs of all kinds. Little white fluffy bunnies with shimmering furs hopped around the garden. The flowers and herbs were neatly pruned in rows. Each line consisted of a distinct scent and fragrance that combined in the air to produce a delicious aroma. The smell was euphoric at the same time nostalgic for Leah. It was the garden she had soiled her hands in alongside her grandmother in the evenings before nightfall.
Leah just stood there reliving old memories. She was grieving and that scene helped her to create that connection with her grandmother again. Her eyes then darted to the front porch. Another set of memories came flooding through her. Memories of herself all over her grandmother sipping her favorite chamomile tea. The old woman would wrap herself in a shawl and tell Leah tales by moonlight.
“Nana? Look at the moon. It is so bright.” Little Leah astonished, pointed to the sky.
“Look closely, my dear. What shapes do you see?” her grandmother asked.
“Is that a woman holding a bunny?” Leah asked with eyes bright and wide.
“Who knows! Perhaps she lives there and it's her kingdom.”
“No, she doesn't.” Little Leah put her hands over her mouth as she chuckled. The old woman smiled.
The fresh memory played out before Leah’s eyes as though she was watching it. Leah smiled and let tears drop freely from her eyes.
Inside the house was warm and a little dense. Leah could still smell the traces of burnt incense. She sat beside the old stove where she could get a good view of the night sky. Her grandma always loved the View from there. The full moon was her favorite view.
On full moons, her grandma would harvest her best carrots and feed them to the bunnies around the house. She would then sit in the longest silence as though she was in trance. Later, she'd rouse happy and energized until the next moon. Leah never understood this part of her grandma but she always found it fascinating.
By Leah’s calculations, the next full moon was supposed to be in sight but it wasn't. Only patches of the moon appeared in the sky. Her grandma had taught her to read the phases of the moon. Through the window, Leah saw a little bunny hiding in the plants. And then she began to spot white patches of furs in the dark. there were about a dozen of them hiding in the plants and peeking at the house.
Leah was stunned. Her mind told her they wanted the traditional carrots her grandma always fed them. Quickly, she ran to the backyard and harvested some carrots. She cleaned them up and went through the front door with a bowl. For a moment, the bunnies stayed in hiding. After some time, the smallest bunny hopped out and then the rest followed. They all flattened their ears against their bodies. Leah sensed anxiety in them so she set her bowl of carrots down. As soon as she did, they began hopping around and wriggling their noses. Leah felt calm.
She sat and watched them have a feast. After they had finished, they began hoping to the clearing that led to the main road from the house. They aligned themselves in a straight line. Their furs began to shimmer lightly. Leah became puzzled watching them.
Soon, silver bunny footprints leading up to the clearing and further to the sky began appearing in front of her. The tracks created a path. She looked in the direction of the bunnies- their noses kept twitching. Leah felt the nudge to go ahead.
She treaded cautiously by stepping one foot on the track, then another until she began to feel herself go. She turned around and saw that the rabbits were following behind her. On the porch, she saw herself sitting there in silence like in a state of trance. Instantly she recalled her grandma.
Leah kept striding on the track like stepping stones to the sky. She could see now that the tracks were leading to the location of the moon. Leah became surrounded by clusters of white moon dust. From the dust emerged a woman wearing a crown. Leah thought she had never seen a woman as beautiful in her entire life. The bunnies began to hop around behind the woman. She looked at Leah and smiled
“You are the woman on the moon!” Leah blurted. Are you the goddess of the moon?” Leah asked mesmerized by everything that was happening.
“Earthlings call me that but what I can tell you is that this is my kingdom. Together with Lina your grandma, we maintain the balance between the earth and the moon. Without such meetings, every moon, the earth's natural satellite will cease to exist. Now that Lina is gone, you are the new link between earthlings and Lunarians.” The woman smiled again and held Leah’s hands.
With that, Leah opened her eyes and found herself back on the porch. She looked at the sky and saw that the full moon had illuminated the earth once again. Leah smiled. When she looked closely, she saw the woman in the sky holding a bunny. They both winked at her.
