Ch. 6: Under the Full Moon
Some one in my life just might be loving me/I didn't know that I could feel this way
"I Didn't Know That I Could Feel This Way"-Roger Bart & Susan Egan
That night, the full moon looked down upon an ocean as smooth as glass. Only the soft whispering of tiny waves hissing over the shore indicated any kind of movement and there was only the slightest hint of a breeze to rustle the long grass framing the dunes.
"You know, I think this day has been my favorite day of all," Rin said, glancing over at her companion.
"Well," Erik admitted. "I certainly don't recall a time when I've felt any happier." The little half-demon cocked her head at her masked friend.
"Was it really that bad? Living with your mother, I mean." Erik sighed, drawing his knees up to his chin.
"She… Rin, she hated me. She told me so."
"Because of your face?"
"Yes. Because of my face." Rin was silent, glancing up at the starry sky.
"Well, I don't think you're ugly." Erik chuckled humorlessly.
"Yes, but you've never seen my face."
"Still not ugly," Rin replied, giving her friend a shy smile. Once again, Erik felt a blush rising behind his mask. Averting his eyes, the boy ran his thin fingers through the grass.
"Yes, well, at I know one person will think of me as human."
"Well, you are human, Erik."
"Not according to some."
"Who cares? I don't care about what my neighbors think." Rin crossed her arms and turned up her nose in a show of defiance. Yet, Erik knew that a show was all Rin was displaying. Both of the children had overheard some of what the adults had said about her while Erik was setting up for his ghost routine.
"The half-demon makes other children uncomfortable," one of the mothers had said. Shocked, Erik had turned to his friend only to see a resigned expression on her face.
"Told you," Rin had said, her ears drooping slightly. "People don't like me.
Erik had done everything in his power to make sure every one of the gossiping adults and snotty children were scared witless. He hoped said children were laying awake and afraid in their beds tonight.
Standing up, Erik stretched and breathed deeply of the cool sea air. Ah, there was something truly romantic about the full moon. Unlike other children, Erik had never been afraid of the dark and he was ready to bet that Rin had never feared the absence of light. After all, they were two children of the night, weren't they?
"Would you like to dance?" the masked boy asked, holding out a hand to his friend.
"Dance?" Rin cocked her head at him.
"Yes. When I lived with the Gypsies, they danced under the full moon all the time. And, sometimes, when I lived with my mother, I would sneak out at night and sometimes I'd see older boys and girls dancing."
Well," Rin admitted. "I don't really know how to dance."
"I didn't really know how to swim until earlier today," Erik insisted. "You taught me to swim; I can teach you to dance a little."
A smile lit across the little half-demon's face and she grasped Erik's hand. "Okay. Show me."
"Right. Well, first you step this way." Rin's natural demon reflexes aided her throughout the short lesson and soon she was able to mimic the traditional Gypsy dance steps that Erik had observed so often.
"Yes, that's it!"
"Hey, this is fun!"
Grasping hands with Rin, Erik fell into step beside her, singing one of the melodies he'd learned by heart. His voice- the voice that had drawn so many to the Gypsy shows- filled the air like music in an opera hall. And under that full moon, Rin and Erik danced as though they had never once been treated cruelly by anyone.