Coming of Age
Volume 1
The Heart-Shaped Mask
Luna sat alone on her mat in her tree house, it was dark out and she was still recovering from the day's festivities. It was the day Luna and her childhood friend Majora became 16 years old. She did not have time to rejoice for making it to 16 years of age along side her best friend, she was thinking about the next week. The village elders had chose Luna and Majora to become sacrifices to their goddess Din, to keep her wrath in check from destroying the Earth.
Luna and Majora seemed to be the perfect fit: they met all the requirements. They had reached the age of adulthood, had never given themselves to someone, and above all. They had never been in love.
As far as the elders knew.
Majora and Luna had indeed been in love. For many years now, but they kept it a secret from everybody, for they had been chosen for the sacrifice since when they were very young. But now the day had come, and Luna was trying to prepare herself for the sacrifice. But it was all in vain.
She held a moon's tear, an asteroid that falls from one of the moon's great craters. The sacrifice not only satisfied Din, but would seal Luna's wants and passions inside of an object, which was why they could never be in love with anyone. It puts the sacrifice in jeopardy. The moons tear was Luna's object. Majora's was an ancient mask that he recovered deep within the lost woods from which they lived.
Luna's thoughts were interrupted as the vines covering her doorway were pushed aside, and Majora walked in, his light purple skin gleamed a little in the moonlight that streamed in through the doorway.
"Hey… How are you doing?" He sat on the mat next to her.
"I'm doing okay. I suppose. Did anybody see you on your way over?" She asked quietly.
Majora smiled cunningly. "Does anybody ever?" His gaze shifted from her face to her moon's tear. He then got up and grabbed a cloth, he proceeded to cover the moon's tear and place it on the floor gently. He then sat next to her and put his arm around her and grabbed her hand.
"You're not okay. I know it." He held her close. He caught a tear roll down her cheek, which was even more of a pale blue than her skin usually was.
He turned up her chin so they could look into each other's light yellow eyes.
"No." She said firmly.
"No what?" He asked.
She pulled her head away slowly and looked away but pressed her self more against him and pulled his arm all the way around her.
"I know what you're thinking and we're not doing it."
"What!" He said innocently, even though he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Majora!" She turned around to face him. "We can't run away! This ritual is so vital to the village. We are the only ones who have been prepared for it."
"Why?" He said accusingly, he stood up and proceeded to pace. "Why were we chosen? Why do we have to go through this? It's terrible! It's absolutely horrible! I hate it!" He stopped and gazed out the doorway. "I… I don't want to do this anymore."
She looked at him. "Soon we won't have to…"
"Don't say that!" He whipped around. "Are you really that excited about death?"
The room grew quiet for almost a minute.
"We're not just dying to die, we're dying for a bigger cause." She said solemnly, looking at the floor.
"We are dying for a reason that might not even be real." He said and his gaze dropped to the floor.
"You've seen the archives! You've seen the objects from the past sacrifices! The variety of gleaming, passion-filled objects." Her voice trailed off.
Majora crossed over to her, sat and grabbed her hands looking into her eyes.
"Luna. Would you rather spend eternity apart? As objects on a shelf? Or would you rather start our life?"
She looked into his eyes for what seemed like forever.
She whispered, "I love you."
Majora smiled, "I love you too."
The next hour and a half was spent discussing when they would make their escape. The date and time were settled upon. The night before the ritual, they would leave at the midnight hour, when the moon is highest in the sky and the stars shine brightest.
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning, it's vital we act like there is nothing different." Majora explained.
"Okay." She said.
"Hey." He said. "It'll be okay." He then brought her close, and he pressed his lips against hers.
She pulled away with wide, shining eyes.
"What- what was that?" She asked almost excitedly.
"I don't know, but it felt right." He answered.
She put her hand on the back of his head, bringing him closer. She then did the same as he did, and she continued for the next minute.
They then pulled away from each other, staring wildly into each other's eyes.
"I love you." They said, at the exact same time, almost as if it was planned.
They shared a smile, and he left.
As soon as he hit the ground of the forest, she missed him. They had just created the kiss.
