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Science Fiction Fantasy Teens & Young Adult

The Sun rose up in the sky, just another glowing orb among the dancing stars. There were no beautiful purple and orange hues, no twinkling little orbs of light. Those things only appeared when there was an atmosphere. Instead, the stars danced across the sky dully, no extra glittering and shining like you would get on Earth. They were just there, existing. 

Chantara loved it. She loved watching the stars and wondering what they were like from Earth’s surface, whether they would glimmer or shine, what the twinkling would look like. She loved thinking about the Sun and how it would look more like the Earth did, big and beautiful. She loved how it rose and fell in an instant, a blink-and-you-miss-it sort of moment. She loved it all.

Of course, the Moon had its pros, too. Chantara liked it fine. She liked the people around her, and she liked how they interacted with each other. She liked the bounciness of the air around her that she was told Earth didn’t have. But the best part was the Earth itself, watching it rise and fall like the Sun, and the way it glimmered through an otherwise bleak sky. 

Chantara had always loved the Earth, with its beautiful blue and green colors brightening up the sky. She loved how it lit up her own small little world full of people who all knew each other. She loved the idea of walking past someone, not knowing who they were or where they came from. 

People are made from stardust, they say. When the universe was created, we all came from one tiny dot of existence, and it just kept on expanding to accommodate us all. We’re all descended from that one tiny dot. 

It was appropriate, Chantara thought, for us to all be connected like that. After all, the stars would always shine, even if they wouldn’t twinkle. They would always exist. Just like people, always going through their lives on a murky path of existence, without rhyme or reason, just made from the dust of the stars. They would always exist, from each generation to the next, as long as the stars would be found in the sky. 

Chantara watched the Sun, thinking again about how bleak it was in comparison to how it would look on Earth. If there was a way for her to go there, she thought, she would in a heartbeat. There was just so much life there, so much color compared to the monochromatic Moon. It was alive, one living, breathing organism like the old stories told. A goddess, a mother, something divine. 

The Earth didn’t just exist. It was powerful. It was beautiful. 

And the stars would twinkle, just like the stardust inside of each and every person. Everyone would be worth something, just like the shining stars. 

Chantara knew she’d never be able to go to Earth, of course. There was no way back. They were all going to be there for generations and generations, a test of time. An experiment. Like stardust. 

Sometimes, Chantara liked to think about what her life on Earth would be like, whether she would be able to laugh and look up at the blue skies and matching oceans. She knew she’d never be able to, but she loved the idea of it, the idea of feeling the grass beneath her feet and letting the wind blow through her short brown hair. She loved the idea of watching the stars twinkle at night, watching them light up the sky. 

Everything would be in color then. It would be exquisite.

She loved the thought of it, just the idea of the beauty of it all. 

Chantara looked up at the sky again, as the Sun started to duck down into the murky waters that was the vastness of space. She wondered how the people down on Earth looked at the Moon, at its different shapes in the sky. She wondered if they related to it like she did to the Earth, or whether it was just another thing to accept and move on from. She wondered what it was like to see some majestic being in the sky and just find it normal. 

Of course, the people around her did, pretty much. There were those who worshipped the Earth, but Chantara never thought of herself as one of them. There were also those who just accepted its presence as reality and never thought twice about it, and that was what Chantara couldn’t understand. 

That was how most of the lunar colony saw it: just something to look at everyday, with no rhyme or reason to its existence. 

But Chantara still loved them. She loved the Moon and the people there. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her life, just that she felt nothing about it was distinctly lunar, to the point where so much of it would be better on Earth, where the stars could twinkle. 

Ah, yes, the stars. Their natural beauty was showing here, but a whole nother way of seeing them on Earth. Their dust in every one of us, connecting her to the Earth, in some, small way. 

She relied on that fact so much, that she could have some connection to the people on Earth, a connection that also brought her closer to her home, as well as her home planet. It made her feel more complete to know that she was made of stardust, just like the Earth and its people, but also just like the Moon and its people, too. 

The Sun was now invisible in the sky, darkening the area significantly. It gave Chantara a cold feeling in her stomach, like there was a pit there swallowing her insides. The Sun gave her hope, hope that she’d someday see the Earth, hope that there could be something constant in her life, like the Sun was there. But, here, it wavered and changed, and the only constant was the tarnished stars in the sky. 

Chantara took a big whiff of the air, smelling all she could. Nothing stood out. Everything was so... normal, so plain and ordinary. 

In her dreams, Chantara smelled the sky. She could smell the stars. She could smell them twinkle. She didn’t know what the smell was, but the closest she could describe it was as Earth. Not the planet, just the soil in the ground, that allowed for things to grow. Something they didn’t have on the Moon.

Sighing, she walked back towards her home, carefully avoiding little plot holes where graters used to be. Most were filled in, like the air was adjusted for living, but the air still retained its slight bounciness, and there were still little filled in areas that were slightly dangerous to trip over. Not many, but still. 

As she walked, Chantara passed by a building in construction. It didn’t used to be there, but each time she came by to see the sunset, she saw it a little bit more completed. It must have strong foundations because of all that time, all those years she passed it by. 

She had always been curious about the building, with its monochromatic scale of blues, the turquoise roof to the dark hues of the door mirroring solid colored walls. Dark like the sky. 

Curiously, Chantara reached for the door, swinging it open. Inside was nothing but blinding light, but as she blinked it away, something caught her eyes in the corner of the room - something bright and red. Fiery, like the sun. Bright and burning.

Chantara turned around, seeing something she had never truly seen before - the bottom was a dark green, contrasted with veiny bright leafs. As her eyes wandered up, she could see the flaming scarlet hues again, small leafs - no, petals - reaching away from a pale white center, as intense and vivid as the sun and the stars.  

A flower, she realized, as she turned to look at the small sign next to the exquisite thing. A morning glory, as the sign read. 

Chantara began to fumble with the light switch, tring to take away the brightness so she could watch the flower’s center as she would a sunrise, but alas, as she did, the flower closed up, shriveling up into a bud. 

Chantara took a large whiff of the flower, bringing it close to her nose, letting the petals tickle against her skin as she reached to turn on the bright, iridescent light. A bright, warming feeling went over her, and not just from the heat of the light. The flower, she recognized its smell. 

It was the smell of the twinkling stars in the sky, the smell of dirt on her feet, the smell of Earth. The smell from her dreams. 

Chantara ran outside of the building, letting the dark blue door fall behind her. She ran to feel the earth beneath her feet, to smell the flowers, to hear the calls of birds. 

But as she looked up at the darkened sky, all she could see were the tarnished stars. 

September 30, 2020 22:59

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56 comments

Avery G.
00:33 Oct 01, 2020

Wow Maya, this was good. I really love your writing style. Also, the name "Chantara" is just beautiful. Great job!

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Maya W.
01:39 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you! I thought about naming her both Chandra (moon), or Crescent (no meaning needed), but I settled with Chantara (moon water).

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Avery G.
02:11 Oct 02, 2020

You're welcome!!! I really like all three of those names! :)

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Molly Leasure
01:46 Oct 07, 2020

This is a very imaginative story. I like the idea that she's seeing Earth from another place. And in the same way that we dream of going into space, she's dreaming of coming down to our planet. It puts a new perspective on our planet, and how beautiful it could look to someone who doesn't live on it. And with that, how much we take it for granted sometimes. I love your descriptions and I think you did an incredible job depicting her emotions. Wonderful story!

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Maya W.
01:50 Oct 07, 2020

Thanks so much, Molly!

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21:06 Oct 01, 2020

What a beautiful story. Very emotive. I feel like Chantara could be the protagonist of a series of short stories. Your writing is very whimsical, almost poetic

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Maya W.
21:09 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you! Maybe she will be!

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Batool Hussain
18:07 Oct 01, 2020

I'm so sorry for being late. Just know that this is amazing. I love it!

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Maya W.
18:08 Oct 01, 2020

It's totally fine, thank you for reading!

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Zea Bowman
15:48 Oct 01, 2020

You asked me to come check out some of your stories, so here I am. Wow. You did a great job describing Chantara's feelings, thoughts, and emotions about everything going on around her. I loved the way you ended it. The only things I would suggest is watching your capitalization. You say "The Sun" and "the Moon" but you don't need to capitalize "sun" and "moon." Unless, of course, you are doing that based on your style of writing. But in this instance, the sun and moon don't have their own personalities/characteristics, so you don't n...

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Maya W.
16:09 Oct 01, 2020

Ohh, funny story. So, I actually didn't, my friend who edits these stories for me did. She kept capitalizing them, so I just sorta let her, lol. Anyways, thanks so much for reading! I'd appreciate it if you also checked out my recent story, The Song That Fire Sings, as well, but take your time :)

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Zea Bowman
16:10 Oct 01, 2020

Alright! Also, do you mind me asking how old you are? You write very well, even better than most adults I know.

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Maya W.
16:14 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you so much! I'm 15.

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Zea Bowman
16:16 Oct 01, 2020

Wow! You write so well! Keep up the great work! I followed you, so I'm looking forward to reading more of your stories :)

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Maya W.
16:26 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks so much!

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Sia S
14:36 Oct 01, 2020

Wow, that ending, I could feel, the way Chantara longed, to go go home and the description were really awesome too! Overall really good read! I have a feeling that you should write mystery or thriller!

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Maya W.
14:39 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks so much! Y'know, I've never really thought about it. I like writing mystery, but I don't think I'm very good at it, lol. Thriller I've never really tried. Maybe I will next week!

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Sia S
15:48 Oct 01, 2020

Welcome! Hopefully!

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Raquel Rodriguez
11:28 Oct 01, 2020

Wow, you're good at writing descriptions! You made your title great too. Also, Chantara is a really pretty name! Great job, Maya! :D

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Maya W.
11:53 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks so much!

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Raquel Rodriguez
12:22 Oct 01, 2020

No problem! :)

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Maya W.
12:23 Oct 01, 2020

Also (and I said this in another comment), Chantara is Thai and means moon water.

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Raquel Rodriguez
14:13 Oct 01, 2020

Nice, I love how unique her name is.

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<inactive> .
05:04 Oct 01, 2020

You hath awaken the OVERLORD?! Woah. That ending. You're really good at portraying emotions! I could really FEEL Chantara's long to go back home, and really could SEE all the stars. I just have to note one thing- I tried not to pay attention to it, because I'm assuming this was post-apocalyptic, but anywhere on the Moon that isn't the poles would have three hundred and sixty five hours of day followed by three hundred sixty five hours of night. Of course, this would make the sunset even more important to Chantara, but it looked like she bel...

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Maya W.
11:56 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you so much! I didn’t know that facts that about the moon, but I don’t think it changes the story too much, so that’s good. As to the sequel request...I’m not sure! I guess it just depends on what prompts come out in the weeks to come. But if I do write it, I’ll definitely let you know!

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<inactive> .
18:16 Oct 01, 2020

Haha, you are welcome! Also, do you have any idea who is downvoting you? I upvoted you from 0 so I hope they stop because they’ve taken a lot of points from a lot of people. Someone actually left reedsy because of it...

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Maya W.
18:50 Oct 01, 2020

I know, I heard...I have no idea who's downvoting me, but I hope they stop. Thank you for letting me know, though.

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<inactive> .
06:38 Oct 02, 2020

You're welcome! Best wishes <3

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Yolanda Wu
23:58 Oct 08, 2020

You always do your emotions and your characters and your descriptions so well. I could see everything that Chantara was seeing and feel everything she was feeling. All of your prose and imagery is so effortless and graceful. You balance it so well between it being pretty and flowery but not overly so that it obstructs the plot and the story. Everything you write is so, so beautiful, Maya. Keep it up!

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Maya W.
00:26 Oct 09, 2020

Thanks! I've gotten a few requests to write a sequel to this one - what do you think?

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Yolanda Wu
00:39 Oct 09, 2020

A sequel sounds fantastic! I would read anything you write. :)

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Maya W.
01:32 Oct 09, 2020

Aww, thanks :)

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Yolanda Wu
01:36 Oct 09, 2020

You're very welcome!

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Sia S
14:31 Oct 07, 2020

New story out! Its Fantasy! I thought you would like jt

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Maya W.
15:34 Oct 07, 2020

I'll go read it as soon as I can! I have a new story out, too, if you wouldn't mind reading!

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Sia S
15:35 Oct 07, 2020

Okaay thanks! And yes, sure!

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Aqsa Malik
11:30 Oct 05, 2020

Hey Maya! I really like the premise of this, and you brought it out really well. There were so many unique things about this story; the idea of living on the moon, "lunar colony" is a really cool name as well as "Chantara" for the protagonist! I also loved the bitter-sweet ending, I thought that the flower was such a unique aspect to it and I actually thought that she'd find herself back on earth, but damn you really brought the emotions of disappointment out perfectly. There were a few things I noticed that I'll point out: -I'm no...

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Maya W.
12:50 Oct 05, 2020

Thanks so much for reading! You're actually the third person who's asked for a sequel or prequel, haha. Now I feel like I have to write one! I get my friend to edit these. She capitalized sun and moon, but I did some research, and different people say different things about it, so I'm just gonna leave it the way that it is. I'll definitely work on my repetition, and I'll check closer for spelling errors next time! If you liked this one, would you mind checking out my other sci fi story, Eternal Snow? I actually can't remember if you've r...

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Aqsa Malik
13:14 Oct 05, 2020

Ah, okay! And sure, I'd love to check out your other story. I'm sorry if I get to it a bit later, I'm trying to get through all the stories on my activity page first :D

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Maya W.
13:15 Oct 05, 2020

Oh, I am, too! Take your time!

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Noor Ahmed
01:56 Oct 03, 2020

The characters in this story are built so perfectly, Maya! I love this story a lot :> P.S Do you mind checking out my most recent story, My Darling, Sophia? I know you may not like self promoting, but I really need some honest feedback on it :)

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Maya W.
02:17 Oct 03, 2020

Hey Noor! I'd love to check out your story! Would you mind reading some others of mine, too? Thanks!

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19:45 Oct 02, 2020

WOW! Okay this story is so relaxing, I felt myself becoming less stressed just by reading it, it was amazing! How do you write descriptions like that??? I love the way you wrote her thoughts, just how she imagined Earth was, and how she thought of it as being something so beautiful. Keep writing!

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Maya W.
19:48 Oct 02, 2020

I'm so glad you became less stressed! I didn't know my writing could have that effect on people, maybe I should read it more, lol. Thanks so much! I'm currently writing another mythology retelling so keep your eyes out for that!

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02:22 Oct 03, 2020

Yes you should definitely read it more, it’s so soothing! Ooh yes please, I will definitely be watching out for it!

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Maya W.
02:25 Oct 03, 2020

Okay! I'm not especially proud of this one, but the ones I'm not proud of I usually love when I finish them, lol. Maybe because I put so much effort into fixing them.

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02:29 Oct 03, 2020

Yeah I know exactly how you feel! I go through that all the time! And for me, as long as I enjoyed writing it, I consider it a success!

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Maya W.
09:50 Oct 03, 2020

That's a good mindset to have, I guess.

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Lily Kingston
04:50 Oct 02, 2020

Wow! I love the way you use different senses to discover space and the stars and earth! It really draws me into the story with this vivid details! Keep up the good work and keep writing!!

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Maya W.
12:35 Oct 02, 2020

Thanks so much!

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Thistle Arellano
03:35 Oct 02, 2020

Your writing is so descriptive! I loved the imagery--especially of the colors. They were so vivid. Great work!

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Ariadne .
02:30 Oct 02, 2020

Wow, Maya, you are the epitome of a poet. The words flow so smoothly, it's like reading a bunch of lyrics. I love the name Chantara - it's so unique and pretty! And it's meaning is seriously enchanting. I noticed someone came along and downvoted all your comments. I've upvoted them again for you. I wish I could do more. These downvoters are horrible! I await your next work! ~Ria

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Maya W.
12:54 Oct 02, 2020

Thank you! And seriously, thanks so much for reading all of these stories. It means a lot.

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Ariadne .
17:18 Oct 02, 2020

No, thank YOU for these stories! I'm a fan now!

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Unknown User
11:13 Oct 02, 2020

<removed by user>

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Maya W.
12:33 Oct 02, 2020

Thanks so much!

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