The Binding of the Moon

The thin moonlit path wound it's way up the hill lazily, swerving to and fro. I'd spent the day wondering what would happen when I finally reached the Old Oak, but no answer was forthcoming.

But Sarah had asked me to come, and her's is a face I couldn't say no to. Not with such eyes, that grips you by the lapels and holds you firm. No, But I could still wonder, I could hope. Though, to be fair, I did have a minor crush on her, so that might've influenced my decision a little.

The cold brought me back to the present, my thick jacket seeming too cold for the frozen Winter night. I hate Winter. Just ahead, the Old Oak made its presence known; looming troughs hanging over me. Seeing that no one was there, I found a small nook in between the Oak's thick roots and sat there, mind swimming with so many possibilities.

There aren't many reasons that a person asks you to meet them at a discreet location, in a clandestine meeting, under the moon's thin blanket of light. No, I thought, don't get ahead of yourself, Sebastian, for all you know, she's here to berate me for all of the longing looks I send her way whenever I think she's not looking.

Before long, though, I could hear the distinctive sound of Sarah's cursing. She never was one for propriety. Soon enough, I could see Sarah's head poking over the hill, bobbing up and down as more of her was revealed by the moonlight. She wore her customary scowl on her face which, paradoxically, accentuated her natural beauty. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm insane, as well.

'Hey, Sarah.' I said, voice low, waving her over. When she finally spotted me, her scowl softened ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. That's odd, she's never done that before.

Sarah traipsed up to me, hands akimbo on her hips. 'You idiot.' she mumbled, startling me. I sat, shocked, for a moment, before I could bring myself to speak. 'What do you mean: idiot?' I asked, feeling exceptionally confused.

'You shouldn't have come. I thought you would've known better.' Sarah said in response, as though that made any sense. Before I could question her further, however, the quiet, peacefulness of the night was interrupted by thundering footsteps. Oh no, I knew that stomping from anywhere. The less-attractive scowling of the towering Smith brothers were upon me before I could scuttle away, into the night.

'Well, well, well, what do we 'ave 'ere?' the first giant grumbled. The second one laughed loudly. 'Dead meat.' it answered. The Smith brothers were identical, and therefore impossible to differentiate, so no one bothered.

I didn't even try to defend myself as the two jumped forward and started pounding my flesh with their meaty hammers, which they call hands. I dropped to the ground after only a second, where they continued their beatdown, except incorporating their massive, tree trunk-like legs into the mix, as well. My body was a big, searing mass of pain, as they wailed into me with reckless abandon. I tried to signal Sarah to help me, but she just stood there, looking on with sad eyes. Fine, I'll handle this myself.

I couldn't rightly say how long they took beating me into an indistinct pulp, but after a few measly eternities, they backed off, each spitting on me as a parting gift. I attempted to croak some sort of remark, anything to make me sound smarter than I felt at that moment. All I could get out was a pitiful squeak, which nobody could hear, anyway.

A few minutes of blissful silence allowed me to take in my surroundings once more. The Old Oak stood, as always, a silent watcher, never interfering in the matters of the world. I could say much the same for Sarah, who still just stood there. Our eyes met, and a few small tears obscured my already off-kilter vision even further. I looked away, unable to look into the seemingly emotionless eyes.

I tried to stand up, but my body betrayed me, unable to accomplish even that simple task. I collapsed back to the ground, content to get a little bit of sleep. Sarah had other ideas, though. She looped her arms under mine, pulling me to my feet. 'Come on.', she said, voice barely more than a whisper.

We started walking, making our way back down the hill, the Old Oak at our backs. It was slow going. I spent a few minutes composing myself enough to speak, so I didn't embarrass myself further. 'Why?' I croaked, knowing full-well now what Sarah's earlier comment meant.

She didn't answer immediately, but once she was ready, she responded in a strong, hard voice. 'They followed me home one day. I tried to get them to leave me alone, but they just kept following me. I threatened them with the police, but they just threatened me right back. They were talking about the things they would do to my mum. To me. They agreed to leave me alone only if I got you to come here, so they could "enact justice".'

We walked in silence for a while, neither willing to break the tense quiet that had settled between them. Sarah eventually continued, though. 'I'm sorry,' she said, voice only minorly contrite. 'I was hoping you would realise how ridiculous the idea of meeting me here, the middle of the night, was. I don't know why anybody would. Given the chance to go back, I wouldn't take back what I did, though. Those two are monsters.'

I wanted so badly to hate Sarah, but I couldn't find a fault in her reasoning, and against my better judgement, I sympathised with her. We walked in companionable silence for a while, until I could finally force out what I wanted to say.

'That's okay, I guess, though I wish you'd given me slightly more warning.' I said, voice scratchy, yet warm. 'Besides, I disagree with you. I don't know who wouldn't want to spend a quiet night with you.' My cheeks heated with my statement, though Sarah probably wouldn't even be able to tell, with all of the blood caked on my face.

Sarah jerked to a stop suddenly, turning to face me. I smiled as much as I could without hurting myself, which wasn't much. It was enough, though, as Sarah's gaze softened further. 'You're an idiot, you know.' She said, leaning over to peck my cheek with a delicate kiss. 'You can stay at my place tonight, considering your condition, but don't get any ideas, loverboy.'

I snorted, which just hurt my broken nose even further. I couldn't stop myself, though. It started with a chuckle, before I was doubled over, great guffaws of laughter making my ribs ache with protest.

Eventually, I quieted down, feeling amazing, if not for my broken body. We continued walking, chatting all the way to Sarah's house, where she dumped me on the couch and subsequently called me an idiot.

I lay there, looking out the window, past murky clouds, at the moon, bright and hopeful. A little like me.