Sequel to Aurora
Lady of the Moon:
On that day, he transformed, as he does every month because I am complete. I am Lady of the Moon, created at the same time with the Moon itself. I am old as eternity and wise with my vast knowledge of Men. I always wear white, for it reflects the sun the best. I show no age on my face, for a ring of light always surrounds it. I watch man every night and peek into his secrets. I always watch the creatures with a smile of melancholy, too, although no one percepts it. I love creatures; I admire bravery and profundity. And I both love and admire the man whom I see transform every month because he is a werewolf.
His name is Lupin, Remus Lupin.
The first time I saw him was when he received a werewolf bite, as a little bold boy. That very first time imprinted his image deep into my feelings. And as I watched the boy while he grew up, that feeling of awe sank deeper and deeper. I heard his groans of agony; I saw him enduring pain as not any other; I remembered him sinking his teeth into his burning arm; I felt his face distorted in pain; and I cried for him. When he woke up from the horrible nightmare, he would always see the morning dew having been doubled, although he did not know that they were for him, and that they are salty and bitter if he tasted it.
There were times when his friends accompanied him during such hours, but in a few years, no one was around. I was again left alone, watching him with every glance of sorrow and tenderness.
About a year ago, he fell in love. It was a girl made of sweetness and loyalty. No, I was not jealous, but merely happy for them both. From then on, she and I watched him and made him his company, together.
On that day, things changed. He was with the girl, as before. And I came in, with my round face full in the light. He began transforming. His limbs extended and his stature expanded. I blinked for a moment, and the girl disappeared.
I did not know how, or why, or when. All I knew was that my emotions, for once, blocked my reason. I hastened to put a cloud before my eyes and wipe the scene away, but whatever I did, the girl was not there. I took a look around other places, but still did not find her. The art of wizardry has always been invisible to me; therefore perhaps she was taken away by dark magic. I did not know.
My sorrow was great for him. I, for the first time in my immortal years, took the risk of transforming into my human form (for it was a dangerous operation), and hastened to his side. He was aware.
He was aware. I never thought to detect such throes in his eyes, which were always smiling, optimistic, and hopeful.
He grew ill in front of my eyes. Fever blushed his cheeks and polished his already-brilliant eyes. In all his soul, his dreams, his thoughts, his only existing memory and mind, there lingered one single name, the name of the girl whom he loved. He uttered no word, or groan, but his occasionally opened eyes spoke of grief and determination. He slept. His sleeping form made him look very much like an angel, a creature out of this vulgarity. His feverish glow surrounded his face with aura and his pale skin blended into the white sheets covering his bed. I wept beside him and gave him water when his lips dried. I stayed by his side and did not dare to blink once in fear that he should disappear from my sight like the girl.
He recovered. I allowed him to look at my back profile for a second then walked into disappearance. I did not want him to forget my silhouette, the figure covered in white material so full of melancholy.
Narrator:
Where the moon stops, our adventure begins.
What has he decided to do? He has lost his love, but he was not going to accept this. It did not seem real, after all. Why would someone disrupt his peace, now that Voldemort is dead?
He set out to look for her. What else was he to do but that? To wait for some chance to bring her back? To sit tight while he did not even know whether she was still alive?
So he set out to look for her.
He set out to look for her.
What kind of search it was? Day and night, he walked without light in his eyes, without eating or drinking, without resting. He walked on aimlessly. It was amazing how much strength he had in those thin limbs.
But one's strength is always limited. Several times he stopped, compelled by physical exhaustion. His face, originally pale, became emaciated and livid white. His stature, formerly thin, became skinny. His young face, before seemed weary, now looked hopeless. Were Sunny to know what dreadful tortures her disappearance put him through, she could not be in more agony.
No one could endure such physical and mental torments simultaneously. He soon fell ill, very ill. He fainted on some far-away green land and was dying of a single thought. His aim alone kept him alive for two days in his feverish sleep. He was scarcely breathing. His life was being drained, little by little, second by second. As his last moment was leaving him, a girl appeared.
The girl was no longer in the stage of immaturity. She looked at least to be 25 years of age. Her face was extremely beautiful, with a faint touch of sharpness. In some ways, she resembled the features of Sunny. She, like Sunny, was also quite tall, slim, with dark eyes and raven-black hair. Her brows were bent at a single point, her lips, though pale, was delightfully shaped. Her nose was long and pensive. And her movements, although lacking in Sunny's sweetness, were nonetheless graceful.
She paused as she encountered the dying man, and scrutinized the form before she bent to look more closely.
It was perhaps out of pity, or curiosity, instead of compassion, but she took him to a wooden shack and cured him, as did Lady of the Moon.
Lupin woke. The first lights that hit his eyes bedazzled him for a moment, and he thought that he saw Sunny again, bending near his face.
He smiled, an honestly happy smile. A miracle seemed to spread through his face and it looked fantastical. The girl stared in wonder. She seemed never to have known that happiness could change a face thus. She was charmed.
The moment lasted for a few seconds, until he saw that she was not Sunny. The smile left almost as quickly and as completely as it went on. He stood up to take leave. She wouldn't let him, and insisted on going with him. He resisted, but was even too weak to stand upon his feet. She supported his arm with hers. He didn't have the strength to brush it away.
His adventure now includes a partner.
Her name was On. She seemed to understand Lupin merely by reading anxiety in his eyes. "I can lead you." Said she simply and always.
They proceeded with great haste, for Lupin would not stay one second more than he needed. She accommodated him and took care of him all the way. They spoke little to each other. As she examined his character, she found him more profound and loving each time. As he got to know her more, he found her mysterious, capricious, and stubborn.
Did they find Sunny?
Lady of the Moon:
My form left him, but my heart did not. Neither did my eyes. They pursued him, worried, wherever he went. I watched as he wondered in the wilderness, and wept, as he lied there overcome with grief and fatigue. How many tears can I spare for one single being? An infinite amount, as my love is. I watched him as he passed by the green woods, tall and beautiful in their prime, and noticed that he never glanced at them. I touched my transparent heart with my equally invisible hand, and then stretched it toward him in silence. Several times I clasped him in my hand, but lost him again as his robe slipped through my fingers. I knew that he could not feel me, but I hoped that my presence would have paused him, even for a brief moment, but it did not.
How broken can a heart be, even a heart strong as his? How desperate can a spirit feel, even a spirit as lofty as his? Those who feel deeply get wounded deeply, I guess, as I saw many sages mutter to themselves over the ages. I extended my hand once more to him, and he again did not heed it.
Days later, I saw him with another girl. This girl's name was On. She seemed to overshadow me as I showed my face to them every night. There were once or twice when she askance me and ran chilly shivers down my surface.
I hid my face.
When I reopened my eyes, I saw him sleeping on the ground, while the girl quietly rose herself, being on the other side of the rock that separated them. She silently walked in front of a tree, and a form appeared. The form was indistinguishable to the human eye, yet I recognized the addressed.
It was Nature. Nature is the supreme force in this universe. Not even I have talked to Nature. What was Nature doing there, in front of On?
I hid my face once more.
Narrator:
She found her. To be exact, she found her body. It was cold. Although Sunny lost none of her looks, she lost her life.
On made no secret of it to Remus; she had no need for it. He was right beside her, seeing Sunny even quicker than On did.
He bent his knee. His face was atrociously pale, and he did not breathe, fearing that one tenth of an air molecule would draw her even further. His face was frozen. With his eyes staring, his hands slightly shivering, his mind going wild, he carefully extended his hand towards her face. Touched. Froze. For a second he was still as the corpse in front of him.
On, standing tall and impassive behind him, was observing his face. Seeing that no tears came to his eye, her lips formed into a sardonic smile, almost bitter. She was just about to touch his shoulder when he gave a wolfish, chilling, horrifying cry.
She froze.
His face was bent low as Sunny's forehead. His face was pale and still, yet two streams flowed down his cheeks, turning to icy beads as they reached his chin. Slowly, he raised his head to look at On.
On was breathing as if she just ran a thousand miles without stopping. Shock was written all over her face. Her features now were distorted in pain and disbelief, contrasting those of Lupin.
"Why do you stare at me like that? I will endure no such stares! Stand up and throw her away! Do you hear me, do no stare me like that!" she muttered, growing frantic. Getting no response from him, she began repeating the same words: "Do not stare me like that, I will not have it. I will not have such stares. I will hear no such cries. I will see no such tears. Tears are signs of hypocrisy. No one sheds genuine tears. No one can, and no one will!"
Lupin held Sunny's body in his arms, and stood up, face to face with On. "You will tell me how to make her come back alive."
On froze.
"You- " She began.
"You will tell me how to make her come back alive." He repeated, in the same terrifying serenity.
"I know that you killed her. So surely you can tell me how to make her come back alive."
"How, when…?" On asked, with her lips scarcely moving.
"You couldn't find her so fast then, could you? But answer me, how can she come back alive?"
On suddenly regained her composure. "A life for a life. It was fate that she died, so in order for her to come back alive, another has to die."
"Where do I make that bargain?"
On froze again. She paused for a moment. "Right here, right now, if you wish."
"I wish it. Make it happen."
"Very well then." She bit her lip with all her soul. A second later, Nature appeared.
"What do you wish now, Voldemort's faithful daughter? This man's heart?"
Lupin roused at this; but after losing Sunny, naught could rouse him more than a glance.
"If you are wondering, Lupin, I am Voldemort's other daughter. Unlike this traitor in your arms, I was faithful to him, although he always preferred her to me. Who made sure all his works were done? I did. Who stayed up to plan with him? I did. Yet this girl, this my supposed "half-sister", hexed him somehow. She must have hexed him, to make him like her more than me. He did not even tell me that he was going to find her on that day! He didn't trust me enough for even that! And he walked into his death, by this traitor. (She paused). My mother didn't live to feed me. My father didn't heed his most loyal servant. Do you know why my name is "On?" Reverse it; you fool! It is "no." It means no name, no one, nowhere, and nothing. Alas, I felt so miserable, and the cause was she! (She pointed at Sunny). This dead, dead, dead girl you loved." Her voice turned soft, as if talking to herself. "But you didn't love her! You couldn't have. There is no love; there is only fate. Fate treasures me, and me alone. Right?" She turned her eyes to Nature.
"Right, my child. I favor you, to balance your miseries."
"See!" She now turned back to Lupin, who now regards her with infinite compassion. "What look do you give me now? Is that pity? No, there is no pity. No love, and no pity! What a wonderful world this is!" She refrained under his eyes. "What a look! I won't have it. I wouldn't it have it a moment ago, and I wouldn't have it now."
"Tell me how can she come back alive?" Lupin turned to Nature.
Nature extended out a dagger.
"That's right; kill a person." On explained. "Kill the one who petitioned."
Lupin smiled slightly.
"Ah, you smile!" On said with tremendous sarcasm. "What a smile you give! Do you always give up before you kill? Or have you killed no one yet. Here, I will help you. I will kill you. Nature is witnessing it. Have no fear, you die; she lives." She smiled disdainfully at the last comment.
Lupin gently placed Sunny on the grass. He stood up, erect, and replied, "Kill me then."
"You truly wish to die for her?" On's eyes widened in amazement.
"I will have her live." Said Lupin solemnly.
On remained in her position.
"Give me the dagger then." Lupin took a step toward her.
"No, no, no. I will kill you." She now approached him, with the sharp point of the dagger forward.
One inch. Two inches.
The dagger went into Lupin's robe. He smiled.
A splutter of blood burst into the air. On fell backwards, with the dagger buried in her body.
Lupin quickly caught her, and lowered her on the ground, his hand supporting her head.
She looked up at him. "Another person, who could die to bring her… alive, was the one who… killed her." She said incoherently. "I did not tell you that… because… I thought you… would not die for her, anyways. I thought so… many things, and… at least one of them was… wrong: I thought there… was… no… love… in this… world." She heaved a small sigh and closed her eyes before her soul flew.
Nature turned a blind eye upon her body.
Lady of the Moon:
Final words:
Happily, the story
Ends.
10/10/01
Lady of the Moon:
On that day, he transformed, as he does every month because I am complete. I am Lady of the Moon, created at the same time with the Moon itself. I am old as eternity and wise with my vast knowledge of Men. I always wear white, for it reflects the sun the best. I show no age on my face, for a ring of light always surrounds it. I watch man every night and peek into his secrets. I always watch the creatures with a smile of melancholy, too, although no one percepts it. I love creatures; I admire bravery and profundity. And I both love and admire the man whom I see transform every month because he is a werewolf.
His name is Lupin, Remus Lupin.
The first time I saw him was when he received a werewolf bite, as a little bold boy. That very first time imprinted his image deep into my feelings. And as I watched the boy while he grew up, that feeling of awe sank deeper and deeper. I heard his groans of agony; I saw him enduring pain as not any other; I remembered him sinking his teeth into his burning arm; I felt his face distorted in pain; and I cried for him. When he woke up from the horrible nightmare, he would always see the morning dew having been doubled, although he did not know that they were for him, and that they are salty and bitter if he tasted it.
There were times when his friends accompanied him during such hours, but in a few years, no one was around. I was again left alone, watching him with every glance of sorrow and tenderness.
About a year ago, he fell in love. It was a girl made of sweetness and loyalty. No, I was not jealous, but merely happy for them both. From then on, she and I watched him and made him his company, together.
On that day, things changed. He was with the girl, as before. And I came in, with my round face full in the light. He began transforming. His limbs extended and his stature expanded. I blinked for a moment, and the girl disappeared.
I did not know how, or why, or when. All I knew was that my emotions, for once, blocked my reason. I hastened to put a cloud before my eyes and wipe the scene away, but whatever I did, the girl was not there. I took a look around other places, but still did not find her. The art of wizardry has always been invisible to me; therefore perhaps she was taken away by dark magic. I did not know.
My sorrow was great for him. I, for the first time in my immortal years, took the risk of transforming into my human form (for it was a dangerous operation), and hastened to his side. He was aware.
He was aware. I never thought to detect such throes in his eyes, which were always smiling, optimistic, and hopeful.
He grew ill in front of my eyes. Fever blushed his cheeks and polished his already-brilliant eyes. In all his soul, his dreams, his thoughts, his only existing memory and mind, there lingered one single name, the name of the girl whom he loved. He uttered no word, or groan, but his occasionally opened eyes spoke of grief and determination. He slept. His sleeping form made him look very much like an angel, a creature out of this vulgarity. His feverish glow surrounded his face with aura and his pale skin blended into the white sheets covering his bed. I wept beside him and gave him water when his lips dried. I stayed by his side and did not dare to blink once in fear that he should disappear from my sight like the girl.
He recovered. I allowed him to look at my back profile for a second then walked into disappearance. I did not want him to forget my silhouette, the figure covered in white material so full of melancholy.
Narrator:
Where the moon stops, our adventure begins.
What has he decided to do? He has lost his love, but he was not going to accept this. It did not seem real, after all. Why would someone disrupt his peace, now that Voldemort is dead?
He set out to look for her. What else was he to do but that? To wait for some chance to bring her back? To sit tight while he did not even know whether she was still alive?
So he set out to look for her.
He set out to look for her.
What kind of search it was? Day and night, he walked without light in his eyes, without eating or drinking, without resting. He walked on aimlessly. It was amazing how much strength he had in those thin limbs.
But one's strength is always limited. Several times he stopped, compelled by physical exhaustion. His face, originally pale, became emaciated and livid white. His stature, formerly thin, became skinny. His young face, before seemed weary, now looked hopeless. Were Sunny to know what dreadful tortures her disappearance put him through, she could not be in more agony.
No one could endure such physical and mental torments simultaneously. He soon fell ill, very ill. He fainted on some far-away green land and was dying of a single thought. His aim alone kept him alive for two days in his feverish sleep. He was scarcely breathing. His life was being drained, little by little, second by second. As his last moment was leaving him, a girl appeared.
The girl was no longer in the stage of immaturity. She looked at least to be 25 years of age. Her face was extremely beautiful, with a faint touch of sharpness. In some ways, she resembled the features of Sunny. She, like Sunny, was also quite tall, slim, with dark eyes and raven-black hair. Her brows were bent at a single point, her lips, though pale, was delightfully shaped. Her nose was long and pensive. And her movements, although lacking in Sunny's sweetness, were nonetheless graceful.
She paused as she encountered the dying man, and scrutinized the form before she bent to look more closely.
It was perhaps out of pity, or curiosity, instead of compassion, but she took him to a wooden shack and cured him, as did Lady of the Moon.
Lupin woke. The first lights that hit his eyes bedazzled him for a moment, and he thought that he saw Sunny again, bending near his face.
He smiled, an honestly happy smile. A miracle seemed to spread through his face and it looked fantastical. The girl stared in wonder. She seemed never to have known that happiness could change a face thus. She was charmed.
The moment lasted for a few seconds, until he saw that she was not Sunny. The smile left almost as quickly and as completely as it went on. He stood up to take leave. She wouldn't let him, and insisted on going with him. He resisted, but was even too weak to stand upon his feet. She supported his arm with hers. He didn't have the strength to brush it away.
His adventure now includes a partner.
Her name was On. She seemed to understand Lupin merely by reading anxiety in his eyes. "I can lead you." Said she simply and always.
They proceeded with great haste, for Lupin would not stay one second more than he needed. She accommodated him and took care of him all the way. They spoke little to each other. As she examined his character, she found him more profound and loving each time. As he got to know her more, he found her mysterious, capricious, and stubborn.
Did they find Sunny?
Lady of the Moon:
My form left him, but my heart did not. Neither did my eyes. They pursued him, worried, wherever he went. I watched as he wondered in the wilderness, and wept, as he lied there overcome with grief and fatigue. How many tears can I spare for one single being? An infinite amount, as my love is. I watched him as he passed by the green woods, tall and beautiful in their prime, and noticed that he never glanced at them. I touched my transparent heart with my equally invisible hand, and then stretched it toward him in silence. Several times I clasped him in my hand, but lost him again as his robe slipped through my fingers. I knew that he could not feel me, but I hoped that my presence would have paused him, even for a brief moment, but it did not.
How broken can a heart be, even a heart strong as his? How desperate can a spirit feel, even a spirit as lofty as his? Those who feel deeply get wounded deeply, I guess, as I saw many sages mutter to themselves over the ages. I extended my hand once more to him, and he again did not heed it.
Days later, I saw him with another girl. This girl's name was On. She seemed to overshadow me as I showed my face to them every night. There were once or twice when she askance me and ran chilly shivers down my surface.
I hid my face.
When I reopened my eyes, I saw him sleeping on the ground, while the girl quietly rose herself, being on the other side of the rock that separated them. She silently walked in front of a tree, and a form appeared. The form was indistinguishable to the human eye, yet I recognized the addressed.
It was Nature. Nature is the supreme force in this universe. Not even I have talked to Nature. What was Nature doing there, in front of On?
I hid my face once more.
Narrator:
She found her. To be exact, she found her body. It was cold. Although Sunny lost none of her looks, she lost her life.
On made no secret of it to Remus; she had no need for it. He was right beside her, seeing Sunny even quicker than On did.
He bent his knee. His face was atrociously pale, and he did not breathe, fearing that one tenth of an air molecule would draw her even further. His face was frozen. With his eyes staring, his hands slightly shivering, his mind going wild, he carefully extended his hand towards her face. Touched. Froze. For a second he was still as the corpse in front of him.
On, standing tall and impassive behind him, was observing his face. Seeing that no tears came to his eye, her lips formed into a sardonic smile, almost bitter. She was just about to touch his shoulder when he gave a wolfish, chilling, horrifying cry.
She froze.
His face was bent low as Sunny's forehead. His face was pale and still, yet two streams flowed down his cheeks, turning to icy beads as they reached his chin. Slowly, he raised his head to look at On.
On was breathing as if she just ran a thousand miles without stopping. Shock was written all over her face. Her features now were distorted in pain and disbelief, contrasting those of Lupin.
"Why do you stare at me like that? I will endure no such stares! Stand up and throw her away! Do you hear me, do no stare me like that!" she muttered, growing frantic. Getting no response from him, she began repeating the same words: "Do not stare me like that, I will not have it. I will not have such stares. I will hear no such cries. I will see no such tears. Tears are signs of hypocrisy. No one sheds genuine tears. No one can, and no one will!"
Lupin held Sunny's body in his arms, and stood up, face to face with On. "You will tell me how to make her come back alive."
On froze.
"You- " She began.
"You will tell me how to make her come back alive." He repeated, in the same terrifying serenity.
"I know that you killed her. So surely you can tell me how to make her come back alive."
"How, when…?" On asked, with her lips scarcely moving.
"You couldn't find her so fast then, could you? But answer me, how can she come back alive?"
On suddenly regained her composure. "A life for a life. It was fate that she died, so in order for her to come back alive, another has to die."
"Where do I make that bargain?"
On froze again. She paused for a moment. "Right here, right now, if you wish."
"I wish it. Make it happen."
"Very well then." She bit her lip with all her soul. A second later, Nature appeared.
"What do you wish now, Voldemort's faithful daughter? This man's heart?"
Lupin roused at this; but after losing Sunny, naught could rouse him more than a glance.
"If you are wondering, Lupin, I am Voldemort's other daughter. Unlike this traitor in your arms, I was faithful to him, although he always preferred her to me. Who made sure all his works were done? I did. Who stayed up to plan with him? I did. Yet this girl, this my supposed "half-sister", hexed him somehow. She must have hexed him, to make him like her more than me. He did not even tell me that he was going to find her on that day! He didn't trust me enough for even that! And he walked into his death, by this traitor. (She paused). My mother didn't live to feed me. My father didn't heed his most loyal servant. Do you know why my name is "On?" Reverse it; you fool! It is "no." It means no name, no one, nowhere, and nothing. Alas, I felt so miserable, and the cause was she! (She pointed at Sunny). This dead, dead, dead girl you loved." Her voice turned soft, as if talking to herself. "But you didn't love her! You couldn't have. There is no love; there is only fate. Fate treasures me, and me alone. Right?" She turned her eyes to Nature.
"Right, my child. I favor you, to balance your miseries."
"See!" She now turned back to Lupin, who now regards her with infinite compassion. "What look do you give me now? Is that pity? No, there is no pity. No love, and no pity! What a wonderful world this is!" She refrained under his eyes. "What a look! I won't have it. I wouldn't it have it a moment ago, and I wouldn't have it now."
"Tell me how can she come back alive?" Lupin turned to Nature.
Nature extended out a dagger.
"That's right; kill a person." On explained. "Kill the one who petitioned."
Lupin smiled slightly.
"Ah, you smile!" On said with tremendous sarcasm. "What a smile you give! Do you always give up before you kill? Or have you killed no one yet. Here, I will help you. I will kill you. Nature is witnessing it. Have no fear, you die; she lives." She smiled disdainfully at the last comment.
Lupin gently placed Sunny on the grass. He stood up, erect, and replied, "Kill me then."
"You truly wish to die for her?" On's eyes widened in amazement.
"I will have her live." Said Lupin solemnly.
On remained in her position.
"Give me the dagger then." Lupin took a step toward her.
"No, no, no. I will kill you." She now approached him, with the sharp point of the dagger forward.
One inch. Two inches.
The dagger went into Lupin's robe. He smiled.
A splutter of blood burst into the air. On fell backwards, with the dagger buried in her body.
Lupin quickly caught her, and lowered her on the ground, his hand supporting her head.
She looked up at him. "Another person, who could die to bring her… alive, was the one who… killed her." She said incoherently. "I did not tell you that… because… I thought you… would not die for her, anyways. I thought so… many things, and… at least one of them was… wrong: I thought there… was… no… love… in this… world." She heaved a small sigh and closed her eyes before her soul flew.
Nature turned a blind eye upon her body.
Lady of the Moon:
Final words:
Happily, the story
Ends.
10/10/01