Moon-lit Icarus

The opposite of the traditional story, in the stead of courage and bravery, there is hesitation and fear. Where there was instant reprocussion there is infinite regret

In the original story of Icarus they fly too close to the sun and such eagerness is punished. This is when the opposite is true.


She had heard stories of Icarus when she was little, how he flew too close to an open flame and was burned for having been too narrow-minded. Of course as a kid and furthermore a human she had to learn this lesson on her own, and she did. She was burned because she put her best efforts into something so harmful as a volatile flame. She never wanted sun or moon, only a future, and when she was betrayed by flame her mistrust grew of all things, she had learned her lesson.

This incident gave her the wings to see the world, to understand people and help them, never being understood herself though. She layed one night in silence looking at the clear night sky's freckled canvas, she had that deep longing for a future still, a future with someone that understood her. In the dead silence of this night her chaotic mind was interrupted. The moon spoke to her, and although it didn't explicitly invite her near, she was drawn to its gentle light. The craters on it she thought looked different from when she was but a child. She saw it in another light, and fell in love with the scars she saw from many thousand years combined.

"Closer..."
she wanted. But she was so scarred that she was insecure and cautious both at the same time. Eventually the moon took a liking upon her too, the wings she had was something the moon had never seen in all of its years gazing upon Earth. The moon began to gesture her closer so they may both get a closer luck, maybe it was meant to be, or maybe they would get close and see something nasty in eachother. Either way would be better than anonymity, the moon thought.

But still she stayed everynight, looking at the moon and the moon back at her. Entranced by it, despite having things on earth of her own. Her intrigue for the moon grew to unwordly love before she knew it, and the moons love grew into forbidden love before it could stop it. She would implore humans to build taller so she could get closer, but it was never close enough. While the Moon implored her just to fly, not able to see how hard it was for her to flap her wings once more. Maybe she was scared of light, even if it doesn't burn.

She was tired of being alone and finding nothing in Earth to confide in. But all this time the Moon had been there for her, the Moon spoke to her and listened to her, she could confide wholly in the moon. And the Moon chose her, out of all the billions it chose her. This overwhelmed her and overjoyed her at the same time. Some nights though, she would stay inside. She was scared and didn't want to show it, so the Moon went these nights without her and despite its great lifespan it grew lonely. The Moon tried harder and harder to beckon her closer, and one night she neared enough to see her tears, her fears.

The Moon, per usual, comforted her. Sometimes she would get mad at the Moon for knowing everything about her true self and shout at it. But after such violent nights she would only draw closer. She asked the Moon, "How do you know me so well? It's unfair, unfair for you to always be right." The Moon was perplexed for a moment.

This girl he had been with as she turned into a woman, always suprised him. That's what he liked about her, she was a new story he had not seen the likes of since before his time. He loved her for her volatility. And truly believed that despite all the pain it would be worth it someday. "Because I've been with you since before Day 1." He replied.

One day after many years, a short time for the moon, she drew up the courage to overcome her fears just this once and fly closer. And so one night out of nowhere the she left her never-felt-like-home and immediately took off to the Moon. The Moon had not expected this and had to focus under its own light to see her draw near, during day and night she flew. During day she would avert her eyes from the sun because the light hurt, in many ways. And in a short time she was close to the Moon, they talked. And fell even more in love than ever before. One night they had both gotten distracted. It turned into five nights and when they had finally re-focused on eachother she looked at him and said "I hate you."

Maybe it was because the Moon gave off an even brighter light upclose. Or maybe her learned fear of anything that seems "different" or seems like it would work out. She began hesitating and beating her wings towards the Moon to stay away. Little did she know that all these years of her shouting at the Moon, and these few nights that she would beat her wings furiously at it to stay away, were pushing the Moon away. Why was the Moon even staying like this? Dealing with this? She said her shouts and thrust her wind and it, night by night, threw the Moon away.

Would the Moon stay in orbit? Or be pushed out into space to be slingshotted and taken away forever?

Author's Note

A personal thing with all the shit going on in my life. Forgive spelling and such, i'll fix it later. This was spontaneous and I need to go study. Look forward to an ending, at some point I guess.

I want it to be a lesson though: don't hesitate. You'll know if it's the right thing to do. Don't let fear stop you or make you too late.