Rebecca was sitting on the cliffs, looking out to the dark waves below. The moon was beautiful tonight, shining out over the water. The waves agreed with her; they were crashing against the coast, trying to reach out and pull the moon down beneath the current. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks was hypnotic, calling out to her and the moon.
Her little island town was famous for this spot. Lovers visited from all over the world to see this place. It was where the ocean and the moon first met. They fell in love on this island, and even now, they sing to each other.
There was another time she was here, months ago. She brought her own love here and while they sat, he retold the centuries old tale of the moon and the ocean. This was the story he told:
Long ago, there lived a man who had never seen the ocean. When he finally made it to the coast, he fell in love with the ocean, and the ocean fell in love with him. He spent his time enjoying the breeze while the ocean would sing to him, her love crashing against the shore. Eventually, the man had to journey back to his home, which was far from the ocean.
The ocean was alone. She kept singing to the man, hoping that one day he would hear her call and return. This went on for days, then weeks, then months. She tried singing louder and louder until her song flooded the coast. The ocean could no longer be contained as she desperately tried to reach her lost love. Humans were powerless against the force of the waves. Many were pulled under the currents and never found again. The song was full of rath and anger as her waves began to destroy the earth.
A wise man watched the destruction. Most people feared the ocean, but the wise man wanted to understand her. He simply asked the waves, What’s wrong?
He trusted the sea and listened to her song. Instead of fighting her, he floated on the water and listened. He could hear the pain and sadness underneath her anger. He heard a story of love, loss, and longing. He knew that in order to heal the ocean (and the earth), he had to find the man.
The wise man journeyed for many days, looking for the ocean's love. He climbed mountains and combed through forests. All the while, the ocean was still raging, slowly drowning all in her path. Finally, the wise man found the ocean’s love. The man looked sad and small. He heard the ocean's call, but was scared to answer; maybe he wasn't good enough to love the ocean. So, the wise man offered him help.
He said to the man, Do you hear the ocean calling for you?
The man replied, Yes, but I don’t know how to answer. She is so great, and I am so small.
The wise man had a solution. He asked the man, What if I can make you larger, and allow you to see your love every night?
When the man agreed, he was sent to the moon. Every night, the man listens to her song, and the ocean is peaceful.
She finally understood the story. She had lost her own soulmate and felt the longing of being away from him. She looked down to the water and saw the dark reflection of her love, beckoning to her. Rebecca leapt into the ocean, knowing that the waves would carry her back to him.
Author's Note:
This story is based on: The Man in the Moon from the Myth-Folklore Anthology. It's by Katherine Neville Fleeson and originally comes from Laos Folk-Lore. This is one of the stories that we all read on the second week of the semester. If you don't recall, it's an origin story for the man on the moon. In the original story, the man is a blacksmith that is tired of being a blacksmith. He asks a wise man to turn him into multiple things, until the wise man decides that the man will remain the moon.
I love the Man in the Moon myth, but I didn't like the reason that the man ended up in the moon. It's mostly because he isn't grateful for his life. When he becomes the moon, it's like a punishment. In my story, the man chooses to become the moon so that he can watch over the ocean (his love!)
I thought it would be cool to make a more romantic/dramatic story (I love romance tales!). I kind of had trouble with describing the ocean, but "the song" is the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. It's usually peaceful sounding, but sometimes it also sounds a little scary, especially when the weather is bad.
My portfolio is supposed to be about strange happenings in strange town. I thought that this story could be a "strange" myth of the town. The cliff that Rebecca is on is famous for multiple reasons. It's the origin of the moon/ocean myth (as explained in the story), but it is also where multiple young girls go missing. I had trouble bringing this up organically in the story, but basically all the missing girls jump into the ocean in hopes that they'll be connected back to their lost loves. I hope you all can give me more suggestions on how to make this story a little bit more "spooky". Maybe a ghost/spirit can haunt the coast, and convince girls to leap into the sea? Hmmm. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Spooky Island
Found on: Needpix.com