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Chapter 13: Questionable intentions

Man in Moon was a good person. Everyone knew it. Surely, someone with that much power, that much admiration couldn't be bad, right? His knowledge was a gift to the World, and he was so generous to share that knowledge with everyone else. He was such a selfless person, always giving, always looking for ways to make the world a better place. So, he thought, he would do something good today: he would kindly bestow someone with a gift. Yes, he decided, that will be a good thing to do. So at random, he chose someone, thinking how lucky they were to receive a gift this great from someone as important as himself.

It was cold and it was dark and it was wet. He was scared. The water swirled around him like a dark mystic force, pulling him further and further down into the abyss. He tried to scream, but no sound escaped his lips, his desperate plea for help going unnoticed. Not that anyone could save him now, he was too far under. He was, literally, swimming with the fishes. Yet, he couldn't swim- so he just sank.

Down, down, down, into the cold and dark and wet, until the freezing temperature was all he was knew. It was terrifying; suffocating, but even so it seemed to embrace him, begging him to stay, to go down further. All feeling ebbed away until every inch of him felt numb: he could no longer feel even the suffocating cold, simply the paralysis that had set over his body. He was unable to move, his limbs held in place by some invisible weight.

The life steadily began to flow from his soul as his body hit the bottom of the lake with a gentle thud, sand spraying outwards at the sudden pressure. Slowly, he stopped resisting, for what was the point? This was surely the end. No one escaped death. And there death was, its omniscient presence looming over him, its slender, bony hand reaching out, about to fully take the life from this one brave young boy. Such a pity, such a waste.

Above, a girl screamed his name, tears streaming down her horrified face, desperately trying to call for help, to save him. But he wasn't aware of that, he was simply aware of nothing and of everything all at once. He felt the water rushing past him, the sand soundlessly swaying underneath him. He felt the frigid cold of the ice and the warmth of the Moon's rays, beating down upon him. He heard the rustling of the various objects decorating the floor and he heard the vast silence surrounding him. The last thing Jack felt before he lost his battle with consciousness was the cold, dark, wet.

His eyes fluttered closed one last time, the darkness embracing him like a long lost brother. But Man in Moon didn't acknowledge the consequences, simply that he had done something good. Because, when you're giving a gift like this, it doesn't matter how you go about it, does it? No, he decided, he is lucky that I chose him.

And that was the final decision, so he allowed the boy to drown, but not quite die. To live, but only a half life. His greatness watched from above as the girl weeped and his father screamed and his mother purely went numb. He watched the villagers mourning the death of a loved one and he watched the grief that would haunt the family for years to come.

But he didn't care, because he had done something good.

The pale-haired boy gasped in a large breath of air as he was pulled from the ice, large droplets of water raining down on the ground around him. His eyes snapped open, full of shock and fear, before he spotted the bright, glowing Moon ahead of him, bathing him in its soothing light. Its comforting rays pulsed down upon him, bestowing him with the gift of life.

Your name is Jack Frost it said, laying him gently on the ground, the hole in the ice suddenly no more. Jack, however, did not notice, too entranced at learning about his new-found capabilities. Ice bloomed from his fingertips as he gently touched the bare bark of the tree, covering it in miraculous patterns. The boy laughed in joy as he ran around the surface of the lake, coating it full in a wintery design. The ice swirled in all directions, casting a marvellous light around the clearing as it reflected the rays of the Moon.

The Moon has given him a gift, that much he knew. What he was not aware of was the curse that came with it. Everything comes with a price. Because now, he was destined to be alone. Helpless, unwanted, unloved. To live forever as a slave to the seasons, always doing what was required of him but never receiving any thanks.

That was okay though, Man in Moon would be thanked, for they would think it was him, gifting them with the changing of the seasons, with beauty and life. He wouldn't mind that he was taking the boys credit. After all, he had created him, so wasn't it only fair?

The others would see him, but they would choose to ignore him. He would drive himself into a state of madness, desperate for only the tiniest bit of attention, constantly wondering what he had done to deserve this awful fate. He would talk to the Moon daily but would never get a response. The spirit would eventually be driven down by his own pity, completing his duties but finding no joy in them anymore. He began to hate the children who had so much fun without realising he was the reason. Why should they, when he was responsible and all he got was a lifetime of loneliness?

But Man in Moon still wouldn't care - he would see it as a spectacular present that he had revived the boy. He didn't care about the consequences: simply that he thought he had done something good, and that was all that mattered, because then he could give himself praise. For the almighty Man in Moon was a good being. Not just good, he was great. He was above all other beings and creatures, so why should he care if he abandoned one of his creation for centuries? Why should he care that if it weren't for the Boogieman he would forever remain invisible? He didn't, and he shouldn't. Because it was a gift.

Jack would blame himself. What was he doing wrong, what could he change? What did he need to do to finally be seen? He begged and he pleaded, his desperation driving him insane. He would never know the selfish actions committed by the Moon and, after a while, he would begin to believe the other spirits, thinking it was his own fault. He would believe the lies that the others implanted into his brain until they were all that he knew. The ones that told him he was worthless, that he would never be seen, that he was a mistake.

For centuries, he would be alone, falling further and further into a pit of despair. Until someone, very much like himself, hit rock bottom and fought back. Though he was sad for the other spirit, he was thankful, because now he finally had a family.

And so that fateful day that they defeated Pitch Black, he made a promise to himself. When no one was looking, he snuck away from the celebration party and onto a high beam in the workshop that had a beautiful view of the Moon. Stars twinkled brightly in the clear night sky and the warming rays of the moon illuminated the room. They weren't warming to Jack though, not anymore. After years of hating himself, he had finally figured out the truth.

"I'm not going to thank you, because you don't deserve to be thanked. I just want you to know that I wont be speaking to you again. You don't deserve my time, you never have done. I only wish I'd realised it sooner." A small creak from the door caught his attention and he jumped down before the person coming in could spot him.

"Ya okay their frostbite?"

"Yeah," Jack said, looking at the moon one last time. "Yeah, I am."

And Moon watched as his creation turned his back and walked away from him, a small, genuine smile gracing the boy's face for the first time in years. He did not understand: he had done nothing wrong. Everything he'd done had been for the boy. He'd bestowed him with a precious gift in such a selfless way. He'd revived him, given him life. Sure, he'd left him alone for a while, but that didn't matter, the boy had gotten by. Everything he had ever done had been for the greater good.

Or at least, that's what he told himself and, after time, he had started to believe it. For surely, someone with that much love, that much admiration, that much power, couldn't be bad. For if there was ever a good person, it was Man in Moon.

Right?