The sun had fallen far in the sky, below the mountains the towered over the land, leaving our home in a vast array of darkness. I looked out into that darkness, to search for a light to guide me if I should ever be left alone in the shadows of despair. People always had warned me when I was younger than the night brought about dangerous beings, for the light was gone from the sky, leaving darkness to thrive. Over time that lead me to be wary and fearful of the darkness. Never once did I step out of the safety that covered my light filled home. Many times have I heard of those daring to walk in the night and never returning when the sun awoke the sky from the shadows. Along with those stories I heard tales of people who were fine in the empty black void they called darkness, or night. They spoke of a hidden light that guided them to safety and for some odd reason, I believe those people more; the ones that were daring to face the unknown and left alive to tell the tale. They were the people I wanted to be like. No one believed them, well no one but me.

            I was alone in my home, for others had gone and rested their tired heads on their beds. I sat awake by the door, glanced out too see what light could be viewed in the sky. I saw none, and glanced down in sadness, worried of the light those people told of. I wanted to see that light more than anything in the world, the light that people wrote about for their life and never once were believed. Was there something out there helping people that needed it? Was it just a story? I wanted to know, but I was too afraid to journey out for the fear of there being no light. Even the stories of its glory and beauty couldn’t get me out that door, no matter how much everything told me to go. In fear of myself, I went to my bed and rested my head, hoping to see the light the next time the sun fell from the sky and behind the mountains, where even it itself took a long rest to keep safe from the shadows of the nighttime.

…

            It was days before I ever sat and glanced out the door again. The feeling, or want, to go out the doors of the house made me fear of what would happen to myself. It’s not that I didn’t believe in the light I just didn’t want to take a chance. Everything in me told me to go, to journey into the night.

            As I sat and glared out the door into darkness I saw something move, a creature walking in the night. It walked along the front of my door. In the shadows I saw what appeared to be a cat, a pure white cat that even in the darkness of the night still had its white fur glowing. At first I didn’t know what to do, maybe the light they talked about was this cat, or maybe this cat was trying to get me outside. I even went so far as to think that the cat was a dream. My body knew though; it knew who or what the cat was and in turn I did what I never thought I could do, I opened the door and walked outside into the darkness I was taught to fear. As I walked out those doors the cat walked on but after a short ways it stopped, it wanted me to follow it and as much as I didn’t want to go into the darkness, I did.

            The cat then lead me to the woods, the woods that I was told never to go in even if it was day. I was at the point though that I wanted to know what the cat with fur so white the shadows couldn’t confine it, was trying to show me. The woods terrified me. The haunting noises from the shadows, the growls, the eyes glaring at me as I walked on, the sounds that sent chills up my spines, but most of all the fear of death that crawled all along my body. As I walked towards the cat though, it all vanished, as if the cat was pure light itself. That’s when I knew; that the cat was the light those people had saw. The cat was the light I wanted to see so much that I sat days on end looking out into the void. Right then I knew that I was right all along and I followed the cat with confidence knowing I was safe.

            We walked and walked, the woods getting less and less dark. The place I was taught to fear was nothing anymore. It didn’t scare me at all, instead it welcomed me; a person brave enough to travel into the darkness of the night. We reached a pond; well in the shadows of the light that the cat created made it seem like a pond. I walked to the edge of the water and I stood next to the cat. The cat stepped on top of the water, and kept walking on top of it. I knew I couldn’t step on the water and stood on the shore as the cat walked to the middle of the pond and turned towards me. Just then I saw the cat’s pure ice blue eyes. The light that showed in its eyes gave me a sense of safety, hope, and a feeling of the good the darkness had to offer.

            In one swift blink the cat grew to stand what seemed to be five feet tall. Along the right front leg it had a crescent shaped outline. I stared at the outline in amazement, and even wonder. I have never seen this sign except in myths. Soon though my glanced turned back to the cat’s eyes.

            “Fear not the darkness child. It only stands to create a time where evil cannot stand. Without a pure heart, one cannot stand in the shadows. The shadows shall not hurt one with a soul such as yours.” It spoke to me in a tone that shocked me to the core. As it spoke it gave my body a sense that the darkness didn’t hate me. I looked behind me and it wasn’t dark at all! I could see the world as I did during the day. “You are not alone. The pure of heart, ones in need of hope, the weak and poor; they may all walk these shadows.”

            “Why?” I asked. I never understood why I asked certain questions, but it slipped out before I could even think. I thought the cat might get mad at my question but it just smiled and looked up.

            “The world is dying. Darkness is shrouding the hearts of the many. At night is only when the ones left, the ones who are strong enough to fight it, can walk in peace. The moon will always protect the weak, poor, pure, or ones needing hope. That is my promise. Do not fear the night child; love it for it loves you.” The cat said back to me before glancing at me again.

            Before I could speak the cat dispersed into light and went to the sky. I followed the light and as it reached the sky it turned into the same crescent shape that rested on the cat’s right front leg.

            The moon.

            The light that stood the test of time, to protect what remained of the light.

            I finally understood what it all meant. The moon was the guidance of those who never wanted darkness. The people I would see walking were just like me. They once feared the darkness but the cat came and taught them the meaning of night. I never felt happier in my life now, as I stood by the lake in the light. I understood now what the cat spoke of. The darkness that lies in peoples’ hearts is strong in some but the ones that fight it, and do all in their might to help the pure, could see the light in the night. I never doubted there was light truly and that’s why I was able to do what I was doing. I wanted to fix the problems during the day now, to make the sun as grand as the moon but I knew that could never be. The sun creates light for the darkness while the moon creates darkness for the light to thrive in. The night time was my home, as it always will be from now on.

…

            From then on I never slept much at night, I walked at night with those like me. We enjoyed our time as the cat gained us new people. I gained friends I never knew I could have and even though people thought I was insane I didn’t care. They weren’t the people that were like me, they would never understand what I saw, what I knew. They were in the void of darkness that they feared. I didn’t fear the darkness anymore from that day on, but I guess you could say I feared the light and what havoc it caused. So if you ever glance outside at night, know that in that darkness is a hope, a hope for a better tomorrow, a hope for a future where darkness is far away. The moon is hope, love, peace, safety, and most of all; the moon is pure essences, void of darkness, which will never be controlled.