The Myth of the Moon

The evening sun lit the path up ahead as Mittens tightened her paws’ grip around her bicycle’s handlebars. She had ridden the path through the park several times and loved the wind whipping through her fur as she raced past the trees and bushes.

She turned the corner and saw, just ahead, a Mother Duck crossing the path. Slamming on the brakes, Mittens stopped – but stopped too close to the family.

“Watch it!” Mother Duck quacked loudly at Mittens, who hung her head and slumped her shoulders.

“Sorry,” Mittens whispered. She lightly patted at the ribbons that dangeled down from her handlebars as she watched the ducklings continued to cross. Most of them moved practically in sync, their webbed feet slapping against the path, while a few stragglers got distracted by the sparkling stones and dandelions along the edge.

They look so adorable as babies. Mittens thought. At the end of the waddle, she noticed their older brother corralling the little ones in back to keep them together. She’d seen him before – always admiring how well he helped take care of his siblings.

“Brother Duck,” Mittens said, and he turned to look at her. “Want to play?”

Brother Duck glanced nervously toward Mother Duck, then back to Mittens.

“Sorry. My mom doesn’t trust cats,” he told her before nudging the last of the ducklings toward the pond across the path.

They swam away, and Mittens frowned.

What’s wrong with cats? she wondered, ears drooping.

Mittens shrugged her shoulders and pushed her bike forward again. Closer to the end of the path, she noticed her best friend, Scout, by another pond. His long ears flapped as he leaped and yipped at the fish swimming around. Occasionally, he would glance up toward the moon, which shone brightly above him.

“Scout!” Mittens shouted. He stopped jumping for a moment to look her way, then immediately hopped up and down again.

“Mittens! Over here!” he barked. Mittens set her bike down and sprinted closer to Scout, being careful not to get too close to the water – she hated getting wet if she could avoid it.

“Scout, want to play?” she asked, hopeful.

Scout stopped leaping again and turned toward Mittens.

“Sorry, Mittens. My mom told me of a prophecy, and I’m really trying to see if I can fulfill it.”

Mittens’ ears perked up at what Scout had just said.

“Prophecy? What’s the prophecy?” she asked.

“It is said: if a dog finds the fish that glows with moonlight, the Moon will call him home, and he will join her in the stars forever,” Scout recited.

“Wow,” Mittens blinked. “What do you think that means?”

Scout shrugged.

“Dunno. My mom says it’s something passed down through generations of Beagles. They believe it means the Moon will fall in love with the pup and, in union, they will create something magical.” His ears twitched slightly and his tail gave a hopeful wag.

Mittens listened in awe.

“It sounds amazing!” she finally said, smiling brightly at Scout. She glanced up at the Moon herself. The Moon hovered above them, seeming to glow even brighter in the evening sky than it had before. “I wonder what it would be like to have the Moon fall in love with you.”

“I’m not sure, but I’m excited to find out!” Scout said, wagging his tail rapidly.

“Good luck, Scout! I know you can do it!” she purred.

Mittens, though happy for Scout, frowned. No one wants to play with me today. She grabbed her bicycle and pedaled slowly home.

Once home, Mittens dropped her bike and pushed the door open. In the den, she saw her father, a grey Tabby, in the center of the room, surrounded by four others – A ginger tabby, two Siamese twins, and a Persian.

He must be in a meeting. Best not to disturb him, she thought, and quietly she crept past the open door.

“This is the year of the prophesied, sir,” a ginger tabby said, and Mittens’ ears perked up.

“I’m aware of that,” her father hissed, his voice low and sharp.

“Then, sir, we need to get a head start on the prophecy,” the tabby pressed.

Are they talking about the Beagles? Mittens wondered. She slowed her pace and ducked behind the door.

“I don’t-” her father began, but one of the Siamese twins interrupted.

“A cat and duck, a bond unseen,

Will wake the ancient, hidden stream.

Only love, both pure and true,

Can bring to life what fate will do.”

Mittens’ fur began to stand on end and her tail whipped slightly. A cat and a duck? True love?

She stepped back and bumped her tail against a small table lamp behind her. Catching it before it fell, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly set it back on the table.

This is none of my business. She thought and dashed down the hall.

Down the hall, Mittens passed her father’s private lab. Through the window, she noticed a couple of his personal scientists monitoring something on the screen. Normally, she would’ve kept going, but what they were watching made her pause.

That’s Brother Duck, she realized. Curious, she grabbed the handle on the door, and it clicked open with ease. The sound of the monitors humming surrounded her and slowly, she slipped into the back of the room.

“Do you think he would make a fine mate for her?” one of the scientists asked his colleague. The other shrugged.

“I think that’s for the boss to decide; it’s his daughter after all.” As the scientist spoke, Mittens’ tail twitched slightly.

They’re talking about me, she thought, leaning closer for a better look.

“Do you even know what this whole prophecy is about?” the first one asked.

“Well, the boss seems to think it means she must marry. Which is why,” he pointed to Brother Duck on the screen, “he wants us watching all the ducks in the area and determine who might strike her fancy.”

The realization hit Mittens like a ton of bricks. Horrified, she backed out of the lab and dashed back down the hall and outside.

They want ME to fulfill the prophecy? I’m barely even a full-grown cat yet. And Brother Duck? His mother doesn’t even like cats. How would she ever approve of such a union?

Mittens hopped on her bike and sped back to the park to clear her head.

As she reached the park, Mittens could see Scout, his head dunked in the water. Seconds later, he emerged with a glowing golden fish in his mouth. She pedaled faster to reach her friend.

“I did it!” Scout shouted through his stuffed muzzle. Mittens clapped her paws together excitedly.

“You did do it, little dog!” a loud rumbling came from the Moon. They both looked up and saw the shining orb turn slowly to reveal a face smiling back down at Scout. He wagged his tail.

“Madame Moon!” he barked. “I have caught the fish that glows with the moon’s light. Do I now get to join you in the stars forever?”

The moon smiled gently. “Yes, little dog. You have caught the right fish. Come home with me, and we shall be together forever.”

Scout dropped the fish back into the pond and leapt into the air. But he never landed. It was as if some invisible hand caught him and begun lifting him away.

“Congratulations, Scout!” Mittens shouted.

“Thank you, Mittens! I hope you, too, will find happiness one day!” Scout called back.

Mittens considered Brother Duck for a moment. Perhaps the prophecies aren’t so scary, she thought. But as she finished her thought, she was distracted by sharp, piercing screams coming from above.

Mittens looked up again. Scout had begun howling – his fur, then his entire body, catching fire as he tried to leave the atmosphere. All Mittens could do was watch with wide, unblinking eyes, frozen as the scene unfolded.

She glanced toward the Moon. Her eyes gleamed with delight as poor Scout burned alive.

“Madame Moon, how could you?” Mittens cried out.

The Moon smiled as she looked back to Mittens.

“We will be together – forever” she said softly, as Scout’s lifeless body joined the Moon’s eternal graveyard of pups who chose to follow a prophecy they didn’t understand.