The Moonlit River

        Jeremy watched as the boats slowly drifted through the river nearby where he hid in a bush. It was a ceremony for a goddess they said. Not for mortal eyes. He wasn’t going to live much longer, so this was the last thing on his bucket list. He hid behind the bush so as not to be found out. He had argued with his mother about going out. She made the argument he was too sick to go anywhere, especially on such a cold night as this. He argued it did not matter, because he was not getting better, and he wasn’t going to waste away in his room. He left in a rush, a huff and with some regrets. He said he would make up with her after he went back home. For now, he focused on the river in front of him and the parade of boats.

               The boats were made from some kind of white wood and seemed to almost glow, reflecting the moonlight onto the water. They barely made any ripples in the water as they traveled. There were figures cloaked in white robes, their hoods up and their faces covered in shadows or maybe it was a face mask. He couldn’t tell. He was on his stomach, poking a little bit through the bush to watch the procession. The first boat had the same cloaked figures, but one was holding what appeared to be a golden staff in front. They held it up and it seemed to glow gold on top, as if it was a light. He was in awe. The second boat had the same figures, but no staff. The third boat was different. It had a golden hue to the boat and there was a hooded figure in white in front with another staff, but it was white like the boats. Behind them was a small canopy of what appeared to be white silken curtains.

               Jeremy scooted a bit forward, straining to see what was behind the curtain. Was that the supposed goddess? The curtain bellowed out for a moment, and it was like he was struck in his chest as his breath caught and he held it. His heart pounded and sweat seemed to form on his forehead. There was a woman with white hair- no it was more like a white silver, glowing in the moonlight. The hair was thick, long and flowing down with a single braid going down the side of her face. Her eyes were a bright purple- wait, purple? That couldn’t be right. Was she really a goddess? Her skin was like porcelain and her lips like a pink rose.

               The curtains fell back into place, so she was an outline, but he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about seeing her again. What did he just see? He came back out of the bush, sitting up on his knees to get a better look. He wore jeans because he knew he would be on the ground and a button-up shirt as it was the only thing clean. His black hair was tousled now in the bushes and his green eyes resembled a dull emerald blurred for a moment as he looked back out to the procession. He cursed and rubbed his eyes again. When he opened them again, the boats were gone.

               “What?” He stood up in shock. “N-No. Where did they go?” He stumbled out from the bushes, going to the river. There was not a trace of the boats or of anything that was on the water. He looked around, in disbelief. “I didn’t… it wasn’t a dream, right? Did I hallucinate?”

               He sat down on the ground in resignation. “I am not that far into the sickness to hallucinate right?” His voice was already sounding resigned and hopeless.

               “No, what you saw was real.” A woman’s voice said into his ear, as if she was right behind him whispering. He jerked away, wide eyed looking behind him but there was no one. “Silly mortal. You can’t see me. Come back in five nights.” The woman’s voice seemed to be amused and then disappeared. He put his hand on his ear and looked around despite what the woman said about not being able to see her. He got up, staggering a little, his world tilted a little and he put his hand on a nearby tree to steady himself. He felt nauseous. His illness seemed intent on making this crazy night into something more. He slowly walked back home.

               Jeremy made up with his mother that night, however he wasn’t planning on staying in anymore either way. The next two nights passed by rather slowly. He could barely concentrate during family time, and everyone passed it off as his illness. He let them assume, because who would believe him anyway? Really, he couldn’t wait to go down by the river again. Even if it was his illness that made him hallucinate, he wanted to have this adventure. Jeremy had a rare illness that slowly killed his cells. There were some medical terms thrown around. He was 25 years old and had a rare illness that was going to kill him before he got to do everything he wanted to. But isn’t it always like that? Jeremy gave up a long time ago on finding a cure or a treatment to prolong his life when a couple of years of medical tests and treatments showed nothing. He was tired.

                              Finally, the night came to go. He snuck out through his window like a teenager and was glad they put him in a first story room. He carried a bag with him, as if he was running away, and a pair of binoculars around his neck. Jeremy fast walked down the sidewalk, the streetlights making a slight buzzing sound and barely anyone out so late. It must’ve been close to midnight. He slept during the day, determined not to fall asleep somehow. He crossed the street, going into a forest and following a dirt trail did not use any longer since the paved one got created. He stopped at the bush he hid in, but instead of hiding he sat beside the bush and looked around.

               The river was empty of any boats and the moon was full and there were no clouds to obstruct it as it shone down onto the water. The stars seemed brighter as well. There was a small sound of a cricket nearby. It was peaceful. Jeremy let out a breath, his shoulders slumping as he felt a rush of calm overcome him. It felt ever since the diagnostic he was running. Running through medical diagnostics and tests. Running away from pitied looks his friends gave him. Running away from family meant well but smothered him. Running from everything that reminded him of his life was much briefer than others. He closed his eyes and inhaled and let it out slowly, listening to the cricket for a while.

               “You’ll miss her like that.” The same woman’s voice tickled his ear. He jolted up from his relaxed position, looking around. He could hear her giggle, as if he did something funny to her. Of course, the woman was nowhere to see still. He smiled and looked at the river. He was glad the woman spoke to him again.

               The three boats were floating down the river again in the same order. It seemed as if the boats glowed brighter in the full moon. There was a soft sound of a bell and when he focused more on the staff, he saw there was indeed a bell. With wide eyes he watched the boats and then brought up the binoculars to look at the third boat.

               “I wouldn’t do that.” The woman’s voice came, further away from him. “They don’t take kindly to those who gaze upon the goddess so closely.” Her voice sounded like it held laughter.

               “Will they strike me down?” He asked, hovering the binoculars by his eyes but not looking through them, watching the procession over the top.

               “Perhaps.” The voice said nonchalantly, as if the thought of it didn’t bother her. He frowned and looked towards where the voice was coming from, dropping the binoculars. He couldn’t see anything at first, but as he kept staring, he realized there seemed to be a slight distortion to the air by him. “You’ll miss your chance.”

               He jerked his eyes to the boats and saw the curtain flutter but not enough to see in. He intently watched the curtains and the figure behind. He found his body relaxing to the soft sound of the bell and the silken curtain moving. He almost forgot he was waiting for it to open when it fluttered open wide, as if a gust of wind blew. He blinked and sucked in a breath. There was the Goddess in all her beauty. She really did have purple eyes. While she was far across the river, he could still somehow make out her eyes looking kindhearted and her lip’s part open, glistening a little. His heart sped up as he watched her, and she turned toward him. There was a sudden burst of wind and the curtain closed.

               “She is very beautiful, however if she sees you looking at her directly, your heart will stop.” The voice said, sounding like it was right beside him. The procession continued, unmoved by the wind or him on the shoreside.

               “Who are you? What are you?” Jeremy asked, turning away from the amazing sight to the distortion in the air by him.

               “Someone that let you have a very rare opportunity to see the Moon Goddess.” The voice said. The more he looked at the area the more it seemed to ripple. He scrunched his eyes together as if trying to see better.

               “Moon Goddess? That is who she was? Then, who are you?” Jeremy asked, glancing at the procession and seeing it start to fade out. His heart sped up. Was this going to be it?

               “I am no one.” The voice said with a laugh, and he felt something brush his hair back from his forehead. It made him jump a little, glancing at the spot where he assumed the voice was coming from. “Oh, I startled you. I’m sorry Jeremy. However, I am glad I had the opportunity to show you this.”

               Jeremy’s heart started to race. “Wait, will I hear from you again?”

               “I am afraid not. Humans have such short life spans, and we will not be here again for such a long time.” She said with a voice filled with sorrow and seemed to become further away.

               Jeremy panicked as he realized the procession was and this voice would disappear too. He jumped up and looked hard at where he thought they were. He could barely see a distortion, but he couldn’t just let her go. He had to know more. He had to! He quickly stepped forward a few steps and grabbed at the air. His hand seemed to hit something solid, almost like an arm and he held on fast. He could hear the voice make a gasp of surprise.

               “What are you doing?” The voice said, uplifted as if she was shocked. “Let go Jeremy.”

               “Wait… how do you know my name? Who are you? How can I see more of this world?” He said in a desperate tone. Slowly, as if touching her made her more real to him, he started to come into sight. His eyes widened as the sight of her became clearer.

               The woman had long hair that seemed impossible. It seemed to be the color of a gentle fire, hues of orange and red blending perfectly together braided. Her skin was sun kissed but still had a glow to it and her eyes wide with surprise shown to be a green that was taken from the most vibrant of leaves of a forest. She wore a kimono that was black with blood red flowers scattered down it amongst some cherry blossoms. Since she was facing away from him when he grabbed her, he could see she had a giant bow in the back that was red as well and the sash was red around her.

               “I… I’m sorry.” Jeremy said in a stutter. While the Moon Goddess stole his breath with her beauty and like she was untouchable, this woman made his heart thunder in his chest and pull her closer. He held on.

               “Oh no. You’ve seen me.” The woman said with what appeared to be horror in her eyes. She tugged at her arm, making her seem stronger than she appeared as he let her go. “I can’t let you go now.” She whispered.

               Jeremy’s heart pounded for a different reason, a cold sensation going over his body. Was she going to kill him now for seeing her? He watched as she started to become distorted then she grabbed his wrist, and she became crystal clear now. He saw in her eye’s flakes of gold and her lips a scarlet red. He licked his lips looking at her so close to him now.

               “Will… will you kill me?” He asked in a hushed tone. If this was how he died, he could die satisfied to have seen such beauty in this world. It seemed the world slowed down and he felt a sense of calm wash over him. He was ready if this was it.

               “No, I cannot. You cannot speak to this about anyone, or someone else will come and finish the job. Understood?” She said with such a serious tone versus her joyful laughs and tones. She was looking intently into his eyes as if to see if he could keep this to himself.

               “My lips are sealed.” He said quietly, making a movement over his lips as if zipping them shut.

               She smiled and nodded in satisfaction at his response and let him go. “OK. Maybe one day we will meet again. I will leave you with this.” Her image was already starting to fade away as she leaned in and kissed him softly. “May you live longer Jeremy with this kiss from a deity.”

               He closed his eyes feeling her soft lips again his. They were warm and she smelt of fresh apples and flowers. His lips tingled a little as she pulled away. Jeremy opened his eyes, watching as her image started to completely disappear. “Wait! What is your name at least?”

               He heard her melody laugh. “You may call me Tana.”

               “Tana…” he said in a soft tone. He saw no procession and the woman, Tana was gone. Although, woman didn’t seem it fit her. A word such as goddess fit her much better. He found himself back in his home and told no one what occurred, didn't even hint at it. His mother gave him an earful, but he didn’t really listen as his thoughts drifted back to the goddesses he saw. As weeks progressed, his illness seemed to disappear. Doctors couldn’t explain why it happened as the illness was fatal in a few years. He moved out of his mother’s house but stayed close to the river. He became a professor in mythology and would go visit the river occasionally in hopes he’d see them again, but never did.

               Years later, a successful professor and highly acclaimed for his theories, he sat in the spot he sat in so many years ago. It was midnight, he watched the river reflect the full moon. His parents said they were worried because he hadn’t taken a wife yet, but no matter how many women he dated he couldn’t get her out of his head. So, he stayed single. He wasn’t expecting anything this night as nothing ever happened, but this place made him feel peaceful. He closed his eyes and listened to the crickets then faintly he heard what sounded like a bell. His eyes snapped open, but he saw nothing. He sighed. “Maybe my imagination.”

               “No, what you heard was real.” A familiar voice breathed into his ear, déjà vu hitting him hard. His whole body ran with goosebumps and his heart started to pick up speed as he turned and then he felt a hand touch his cheek. Tana slowly became clear to him, and she smiled. She was as beautiful as the first time he saw her. “Hello Jeremy.”