Lunita

Dreams Under Moonlight

Lunita, a young girl, lived in a small house surrounded by giant redwood trees near a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Her parents worried because she was a quiet girl. She never said too much, but she enjoyed going for walks in the forest and listening to the wind blow through the trees from the ocean.

The breeze was always filled with salt air.

"Why don't you come and watch TV with us, Lunita?" her parents would say.

"I'm going for a walk," she answered each and every night.

"Be careful. It is dark outside. Don't trip on a tree root. Watch your step."

"I'll be fine, Mama and Papa. Don't worry about me," Lunita answered softly.

Each night, Lunita would walk to the cliff to watch the moon glow over the ocean. The moonlight created a long, long pathway to the horizon.

As Lunita looked over the cliff's edge, she fell asleep and dreamed of walking down that moonlit path atop the sparkling waters.

With every step, the path glistened before her. When she arrived in the middle, the moon filled the entire sky. Whales and dolphins came to meet her. A giant octopus peered its eyes just over the water's edge.

"Are you Lunita?" asked the giant octopus.

"How… how did you know my name?" Lunita answered.

The octopus smiled secretly. "Because your light shines as brightly and as softly as the moon."

Lunita peered at the giant octopus mesmerized.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the ocean?" he asked.

"I am enjoying the moon. I like how it makes me feel," answered Lunita.

"Of course you are. Do you know what your name means?"

"Yes," answered Lunita. "It means 'Little Moon.'"

"You are not only very smart, Lunita, but you are also something even more special."

"What?" asked Lunita curiously.

"You are very wise. You have the spirit of the moon inside of you."

The moon lit up Lunita's face as she listened to the giant octopus' words of wisdom.

"When you feel sad, or happy, or just want to be alone—or need a moment to breathe or just to be—look up at the moon, Lunita," said the octopus. "Imagine a secret staircase all the way to the top. There, after a long climb, you will have a secret place to hide and watch the world."

Then the octopus slipped back under the sea. The whales and dolphins swam away too.

Lunita walked back to the shore. Her eyes opened, and the moonlight lit her way all the way home.

A story by Pemba Umoja