Lanterns
A/N: Happy Lunar New Year, for that, I wrote this, enjoys.
Please forgive me for me grammars; I'm not an English Speaker.
The moon shines the brightest tonight
Like it did a thousand years ago on this day, before Elsa even born, or this festival even exist, it shine its lights down to the ground below, made the lake its mirror, make the light for lost travelers, make life go on even in the depth of night.
And it formed love stories.
Love stories that eventually lead to creating the future of this land, and those children from those love stories formed a land, on a side of a fjord, from small cottages, to brick buildings and even a castle, from walking to horse carriages, from simple to complicated.
That's how innovation and development changed the land of Arendelle through time, many questions that once cannot be answer, now those answer sleads to possibilities of a brighter future, of better life.
But before any of that could happened, even before the question could be ask, the moon played a role in development of Arendelle, of telling weather, of the seasons, and of its lights illuminated the sky created love songs, and poems lasted centuries, and even innocent folk songs, of a naughty bunny making stick cakes and of a beautiful woman, who is the goddess of the moon.
Even beliefs was formed, and stories, not just love one, but also young and childish one, captivating kids to listen, to know how the moon was formed, to know it's adventures through the lips of their parents, and learned lessons from those same stories that grow up with them every full moon season.
And those stories just kept going through many and many generations to come, even Elsa have listened to those stories, and was immediately let herself flow with the tale of a stupid man and his stupid wife, and with the wife's mistake, the stupid man got stuck in a tree as its flew away into the sky, to the moon.
Human's beliefs are complicated, but also simple, simple like those stories told by the first who thought of it on the road of innovation, of future.
And all because of the moon's simple lights
Inspired by those stories, festivals was formed, to remember all the goods the moon gave them, a future, stories, innovations, and love.
And even the new Queen loves it, every year on this day, she and her sister – the crown princess of Arendelle, will let a lanterns flow into the sky, along with thousands of other from many parts of the kingdom, lighten up the sky, like the stars and the moon, but even brighter.
But there are years that even the Queen regret not having to remember about, but the memories just keep coming back, for the first 13 years of her life, she lived in fear but also sometime there is a glimpse of happiness somewhere down the path of concealing, when she watched Anna, her sister, playing outside the garden from the window, giggling with her new chicken-shaped lanterns, but instead of smiling for her happiness, a tear, like a river, silently stream down Elsa's cheek. Behind the giggling sound of so innocent, hid something that so bitter to remember, something so sorrow that could keep Elsa's days to not sleeping, and wept all her tears out and regret for what she have done.
Where is she?
Why is she is not down there playing with her?
And maybe there are millions of question inside the younger's girl mind, every year it would be her, Elsa, their parents, playing around, visiting the town and eat sticky cakes until they passed out, but since that day she tripped on ice of her own creation, there was no more anything of that.
And every year, Elsa lives in the bitterness of her own life, of her cold and miserable existence, sometime on this day, she created the lantern – an ice's lantern of a dog, and stare at it for hours into the night, like she wanted to pull those memories back from the hole of the past, of her sister giggling, of their parent smiles, and of the warm light that her own lantern give her, it was small, it was simple, but even that could not exist anymore, and set the ice's lantern aside, and look up to the stars, where she talked to every sleepless nights of her life, and prayed.
Prayed that one day Anna would forget her, forgive her for her fear, forgive her for her lack of control of her power, and forgive her for bringing invisible pains that cause holes in both of their hearts
And forget about her, forget about the sister who one day mysteriously disappear and not playing with Anna anymore, let Elsa be a part of somewhere back in Anna's mind, of a family long forgotten.
But the stars didn't grant her wish, and fate was playing alone, when she and Anna have a family members to forget, for 3 years they live in loneliness without the ones who guild them, although fluent with their own fears, they lived for their daughters, but they didn't live long enough to see the sister, arms in arms they cried all their tears out, and Elsa cursed the stars, while be grateful for it.
13 years, a time too long, how many festivals of lanterns did they miss, Anna lost the count, but Elsa did, and she was making up for it, for her sister, and this year, she would do it for her little sister.
As she watched the town shines like the moon, of distance singing and children laughing, and of the many – shaped lanterns in the hands of children across the kingdom, game's sound and folk songs echoed in the wind, how many does she really miss?, miss all of this happened to her at once.
And she did what a queen was supposed to do, she created innovation for trade, she made her kingdom's economy boost up in a years, more people have works, more children smiles, more fun than sorrow.
And Arendelle's future under her will be bright, like tonight the proofs was right before her eyes, and she thanked the people for trusted in her abilities to rule at such a young age, her stories will be remember, of a queen who freeze her own kingdom, but return and gave them warms hugs and kisses, and rules with love and no fear.
And maybe the moon was smiling down at her, and she smiled back, as she stand in the balcony, people had gathered in the courtyard, waiting for her to give the signal to make the moon jealous, and the stars at shame.
She flicked her arms, and a small snow rain casted down the yard, and thousand of lanterns were let go with the mercy of the wind.
And millions of other were let flowing in the current of the warm night air, into the unknown, where the wind would take them, but before that, those lanterns will have to colored the sky first, color them in a bright yellow light that the other kingdoms in the distance can see, a bright yellow- spot in the horizon, like the sun about to rise, but it actually just lanterns illuminated the sky making the moon jealous, but happy that this festival was dedicated to it, to remember what it have done for human around the world, creating love, future, and development.
It just like in Corona, but it was for the moon, not a lost princess, but it was let the moon know of the people gratefulness for it, not to remember what the past had done, and it even brighter and more beautiful-ler than those in Corona.
Which will make Rapunzel jealous, maybe just a little.
And the people cheered, for happiness and of joys, they are not just letting to lanterns into the sky for fun and enjoyment, they let go their dreams and wishes inside those lanterns hoping that the stars and the moon will read them, and answer to them, some dreams are large and ambitious, but some are just simple, so simple enough to be childish.
But that was the definition of dreams, they are meant to be just…..dreams
But some may come true someday, at its already did for Elsa, her wish for most had come true, Anna have forgive her all without even a doubt, but there was one wish that the stars never granted her, and she glad that it never have to come that way, like her parents was intended do.
And now she was about to let go of her own lantern in her hands, it shaped like the one in corona, but it written with wishes and hopes of her people in pure white paper, only the one that let it go know what's inside of that lanterns, but Elsa's lanterns doesn't contain any dreams, but an answer, a reply, a message to the afterword.
But that message was not from her and her alone, but by Anna as well, as she remember the one who once forgotten in the past, of once try their best to separate them but failed, and when they saw her and Anna together, they haven't got the chance to said they are sorry for how many pains they caused.
This festival not only celebrate the future, of wishes and dreams, of kisses and hugs, but also to remind us of the past, of mistakes and sorrow, of losses and cold, and she let her message inside that lantern by her thought, with just one simple line, so simple but yet so complicated.
''We miss you''
She know their losses was great, without them, and because without them, that Elsa and Anna could be brought back together, and not to stay away of each others in fear of hurting another's, but they wished that they could see her now, of a great queen and a maybe a little horrible sister, but all she can said was that, because she don't know what to say to them, only the memories of them will be carved into her mind.
And a sudden touch on her shoulders from behind making her jump in surprised, as the light continue to fly past her balcony making her work's room shine even brighter, but she turn her back to the lanterns and look behind her to see the shadow of the lanterns passing by, not the shadows of the past she longed to see.
But the touch meant something, something that she wasn't expect until the lights all died down, that only mean one thing.
They are still here
But not there
But inside her heart
And the love she found that night, was meant for her alone, she finally know that they will always watching her, from somewhere she cannot see, and always be there for her, like her sister.
And somehow, her parents are immortal, inside her heart.
But before she could snap out of her thoughts, her sister head poked in the door and the smile
''Do you want to see the lanterns?''
And for the first time and maybe forever
''Of Course!''.