"Well?" Bella squealed. "How did it go with that hottie?!" She exclaimed, eyes dancing with excitement. Luna smiled and turned away bashfully. She set her purse down on the couch, and walked in to the kitchen to get herself something to eat. Bella followed at her heels like a new born puppy.
"It went fine," Luna said vaguely, just to get a rise out of her friend. Bella glared at her and looked like she would explode. "Haha, alright, alright! I'll tell you about it, but you have to tell me about your night first!" Luna declared. Bella sighed in defeat, and the two went in to the living room and sat on the couch. Luna crossed her legs under her, ready to listen.
"Well, his name is Amadi," she began. Luna's tilted her head to the side wondering why the unusual name. "Haha, I know I thought it was weird at first too. It turns out it means "seemed destined to die at birth" in his native language of Nigeria. I know that sounds like a creepy name, but he said it just means he overcame the odds, which I think is pretty cool." Bella was looking downward and smiling widely. "He's really sweet Luna. And he's totally not like other guys I've been with, because when we got back here, he didn't try to make a move or anything!" Luna laughed at her friend, but she was glad she had fun. "Now, tell me about YOUR night!!!"
Luna thought about her tiring, yet thoroughly enjoyable night. "Well, I made a new friend," her remark made Bella crazy.
"LUNA, tell me about the man you were with for god's sake! Who was he?"
Luna chuckled at her friend's impatience. "His name is Criss. He's a pretty nice guy. He's an 'illusionist', and...yeah that's pretty much it," Bella sat silent for a moment, and then as though a light bulb had finally come on she shouted:
"Oh my god!!! That's why he looked so familiar!!!!" Her eyes were bulging as she bared her excitement. "That's Criss freaking Angel!!!! Oh my god! I can't believe you hung out with Criss Angel!!!" Luna was surprised that Bella knew who he was, but then again, even though she hadn't been living life to it's full potential recently, didn't mean that Bella hadn't been either.
"So can I deduce from all this screaming that you know who he is?" Luna laughed trying to calm down her hysterical friend.
"Uh YEAH! I mean everybody around here knows who Criss Angel is!!! I can't believe you got to be with him!! He is SO hot," Bella said with a lot of emphasis. "So, what happened with you guys?"
Luna looked away from her friend while trying to conceal a smile. "Why do you automatically assume something happened?" Luna countered.
"Oh come on Luna, stop avoiding the question, and tell me!" Bella said. She knew her friend all too well.
Luna finally gave in and began explaining her night. Bella was entranced throughout everything. "So yeah," Luna said finishing the story. "After we kissed again, we made plans to go on a date-"
"YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH HIM?! Oh my god Luna!!!" Bella screamed. Luna could only smile and laugh because her friend was more than excited enough for the both of them.
"Yep, tomorrow night, I'm supposed to meet him at the Luxor at 8," Luna tried to say in a nonchalant tone, but it ended up coming out like a giddy school girl. Bella squealed with excitement once more, and ran in to Luna's bedroom. Luna followed at her heels, wondering what she was doing. Her friend began throwing garments from her closet on to her bed. "Uh, Bella? What do you think you're doing?" she asked.
"Okay Luna, I'm gonna break this down for you since you haven't dated in a while," she said cautiously. "When you go on a date with an extremely sexy man, who every girl would love to date, and everybody will be looking at you, it's kind of important to not look like...well..." she gestured to her friend's outfit. Luna stepped in front of the mirror and realized that she still had on the shorts and her dress was tied in a knot at her waist.
"I was on a motorcycle Bella, I couldn't just let my dress fly all over!" At this, Bella's mouth dropped wide open for what seemed to be the millionth time that night.
"YOU, were on a motorcycle? You're petrified of them!" she gaped at her friend. "Wow Loon, you realllyyy must like Criss if you'd ride a motorcycle for him." She teased. Luna looked annoyed.
"I didn't do it for him, I did it because it's time for me to stop being afraid of everything," she paused as she sat on the bed. "...Although, I do like him.." she added quietly. Bella smiled widely at her friend, and then turned back to the closet once more. Luna gave in and sat still with a smile on her face as her friend tossed clothes all over.
When Luna woke up the next morning, she was shivering with anxiety. She hadn't dated since she'd been with Milo, and they never really dated much before they became a couple. She tried picturing what they would be doing in her head, but every time she thought that it was too normal for Criss. A movie? No way to mainstream. Dinner? Maybe, but it would have to be someplace exotic. She walked out of her bedroom and in to the kitchen where she found a note from her friend saying she was called in to the hospital to work overtime. Luna admired Bella's courage to be a nurse in the ER. She sat down for a brief breakfast and then wondered what to do with her morning. She wanted to write something, but needed an inspiration, so she decided to go for a walk through the park near her house, and do some photography. She threw on some clothes, grabbed her camera, and headed out the door. The park was right up the street from their apartment, so Luna arrived within a minute. She loved going there, because even though it's Las Vegas, and you wouldn't expect to find any great places for nature shots, the park was expansive, and had a barrier of trees going all around it.
She walked around for a while, and began to take pictures. She took a lot of pictures of trees from interesting angles. Her favorite one of all, was a picture of six red berries hanging off a branch, against the background of the blue sky. She walked a little farther, and came to a cemetery. Luna had never really understood why people feared cemeteries, because she was fascinated by them. She loved to read about all the people who lived before her. She took a few more pictures, and then suddenly took out her notepad from her jacket pocket, and began sketching down a poem.
"The mossy walls told no tales,
though I searched through all the cracks.
The path was long, but lively lit,
giving time to prepare for what was to come.
The stones sank crooked in the ground,
and held remnants of lover's names.
Their legacies have been eroded for so long,
only records in files remain.
Colors sprout through reflective blades in the form of flower buds,
thriving in replenished soil.
Is that the reason we breathe each day?
To one day lie underground and decay?
True, this fate of being food for worms may seem trite and insignificant.
But think of how a worm must feel,
knowing his only purpose in life is to excrete his meal."
After rereading it, she laughed at how cynically it began and how childishly it ended. Nevertheless, she was proud, because she'd accomplished what she had set out to do. She lay back for a moment and soaked in the rays of sun beaming down on her. She tried to make moments like this every day, when she could just recognize the simple things around her. As she was looking at a caterpillar on the grass to the left of her head, she noticed feet approaching her. She looked up, and her face drained of blood. She instantly lost all the peace she had been feeling as she recognized the figure in front of her was Milo.
"L-Luna? Wow, I h-haven't seen you in a while," he said with eyes twitching around and body shivering. "How have you been?" Luna sat up in stunned silence and stared at the figure in front of her. After a few more seconds of silence, Milo continued. "I've missed you Luna. I don't know how I could have let go of you. But, I've been thinking recently, and your right. I need help. Will you help me Luna?" She stared at him, and took in his appearance. He looked as though he hadn't been washed in a month, and a faint smell of urine emanated from his body. She thought of the pain he caused her, and all the good things she had going for her now. She stood up and took out her notepad. Milo tried to read what she was scribbling down. "You still writing eh?" he asked trying to smile. Luna handed him the paper, and spoke for the first time since she'd seen him.
"That's the address of the nearest homeless shelter. Tell them your problem, and I'm sure they'll set you up with some help. Good luck Milo," she said solemnly and she walked away.
"Luna, wait! I'm trying to get better now. That's what you wanted, remember?!" He shouted at her as she walked away. She turned to face him one last time.
"Milo, what I wanted was for us to be able to be happy together. You have no idea what I want," and with that she walked away. And as she did, she couldn't help but to think about the person who did know what she wanted. The person who she'd be seeing very soon.