Why moon and dawn are together

It is a story of forbidden love, of woven magic and of the reason why the moon follows the dawn when he ought not to....

   He was the moon god and she was the goddess of dawn--that was the problem, they couldn't be together. Everyone knew that. It was the basic law of nature and even the gods were reluctant to disturb nature’s perfect balance.

 

  ‘Iluminado and Dawn would never be together,’ they whispered.

 

  ‘The moon would never reach the dawn.’

 

  Even the distance between the two lovers was difficult to calculate, for it took the shape of time rather than length. The moon god, Iluminado was given a certain period of time when he was supposed to flash about his luminous cloak and light the earth just enough for the mortals to make out the difference between night and day.

 

  The sun god, Asolearse was given the duty of lighting the earth for the other half.

 

  Now, Asolearse loved his beautiful daughter, Dawn, who was still a child and needed a duty to be remembered by. He wanted to give her an important one so that the mortals would always look up to her. So he told her one day when she was 8000 years old (6 years in human age) "

 

  ‘My beautiful daughter, the fairest child, I give you the duty of waking up the world. May you rouse the mortals from their dreams with your mellow light.’

 

  And so it happened that the early part of the day, when the darkness vanishes, was named after her.

 

  But Dawn fell in love with Iluminado when she grew up. They never met or saw each other and yet she knew him through and through. Maybe it was because the fays had predicted that the daughter of sun would indeed love the moon, or it was because the angels had written songs about a forbidden love that would embellish the heavens. No one ever knew the reason and so I fail to provide one but I hope someday you would find that out. What I know is that Dawn loved Iluminado more than she loved anything else, even more than her next breath. She felt him the way she felt her own heart.

 

  Iluminado, on the other hand, had loved her from when he had first seen her on the day of her birth. Her gold eyes had mesmerized him.

 

  Asolearse had invited every god and goddess on Dawn’s birth, including the moon god whom he saw very rarely.

  That was the first time Dawn and Iluminado set eyes on each other--liquid gold looking into evening blue.

  But such was the tale of the two that they had eons and eons of distance between them--for the vastness, as I have told, needed to be measured in time rather than length.

 

 

  Once, Ciela, the goddess of the sky and Dawn’s mother, saw her weeping on the bank of the silver waters (one of the 5 rivers that drain the heavens).

  She had heard the angels and the gods whispering about Dawn and her secret lover. Gently, she asked her daughter--

 

  ‘My child, who is this secret lover for whom you weep this way?’

 

  Between sobs, Dawn said, ’Oh mother, it is the lover whom I can never see, yet I know him; it is the lover whom I can never hear, yet I feel him; and it is he who can never be mine, yet I am his already. It is Iluminado.’

 

  Ciela didn't know what to do. She loved her daughter and approved of her lover but she knew that all the other gods would condemn her and her daughter if they heard this, they won’t even spare Iluminado.

 

  So she told Dawn in a hushed tone, ‘My child, I control the sky and all the stars in it and so I give you the liberty to be with your lover.’

  Dawn looked up at her mother who continued speaking, ‘But my child, you two can be together only till the last star disappears and no more after that. He is the ruler of the night and rule he shall the night and not show his face during the day, you being the bringer of the day would bring the day and not show your face during the night or during the day. But when it is neither day nor night and when the stars have started to vanish would be the time you can see each other. Watch the stars wisely for when the last one disappears and it is the time for your father to arrive, you would have to look away and if you don’t, the gods would condemn you to the darkest places of hell.’

 

  Here Ciela paused and looked at her daughter for approval. At Dawn’s nod, she spoke again, ‘Mind you, my child, when the two of you are together no one, mortal or god, should see you together.’

 

  And so the tale goes that Iluminado and Dawn saw each other as the dawn arrived. But the two were completely opposite, one’s embark marked the other’s dismissal. They were like fire and water together, like heat and ice, like blooms and fall. And yet they continued loving each other for all eternity.

 

  As for the mortals, they had already felt for them after hearing the angels’ songs and whenever they saw the lovers together, they turned away and pretended otherwise.

 

   And so I tell you all, if on some peaceful morning you come across the moon and the dawn together, look away for they are courting each other. Cross your fingers and pray that no god ever sees them together.

 

                                                                                                                                              ***

Author's Note

I wish you liked the story. no offence meant to anyone if you think that mythologies should not be played with. I hate twisting mythologies myself but it is as my best friend, Sam says-legends die if you don't re-invent them.

Reviews

[Frieda P]

I don't usually read stories here but your title drew me in... I find the idea of the moon touching the dawn illuminating...

A warm blush of a love story on your page Moon, why not take poetic license with mythology, that's how it all started to begin with...

'I give you the duty of waking up the world'...awesome line, you woke mine up...

[Moonie]

Hahaha! Thanks for the lovely comment, Frieda! Your reviews would always be treasured by me. :))

[Frieda P]

Awh, you're a sweetheart, was my pleasure! :)

[Matching Socks]

I love your little stories, they are so sweet and romantic and I love happy endings.
Always beautifully written.
Your themes are fairly similar, will you take these into a book?

[Moonie]

Thank you, dearest Ana! And yes, I ve thought of putting all my love stories in a book. It would be short stories combined together in a big one, like The Arabian Nights perhaps...

[Matching Socks]

I think it's a great idea! :)
You totally should. :)

[Einstein Noodle]

i love the story ... sometimes i swear there are two moons .. i see it in the western sky just before dusk and three hours later its coming up in the east .. two moons i tell ya! i am terribly lacking in myth history so would not know where you have taken license .. but if you have changed the names to protect the innocent .. why not ;)
E.
Asolearse is very clever by the way!

[Moonie]

I haven't taken licence anywhere. The whole story--from the names to the plot has been created in my little ferocious( long story ) brain. Haha
I can't thank you enough for the beautiful comment. :))

[Moonie]

And yeah, he is awfully clever.

[Einstein Noodle]

"no offence meant to anyone if you think that mythologies should not be played with. " just saying no offense taken here my love! :)) i think poetic license is a wonderful, creative tool .. and i think we all possess it .. and use it .. perhaps license is not the best word for me to use .. i love your story!

[Moonie]

No worries!!:))

[C. Rose]

I like how you phrased Dawn's duty to wake up the world
I like the how you describe when their eyes met, blue and gold.
What a sweet love story. It felt relaxing and heart warming.

[Moonie]

Thank you, dear Rose. What a wonderful review!

[ReneeJ]

Greek myth and all things related are usually not my favourite, but you managed to create a piece well written and interesting that I just kept reading :)

[Moonie]

Thank you very much. I am overjoyed that you liked it. =))

[Purbleazaleya]

I loved this! The imagery is vivid, and i love the fact that they are secret lovers, and the reminder to mortals to keep hush really touched my heat. Good job!

[Moonie]

Thank you dear Purbleazaleya. Thise are my favourite parts too. :))

[elvenom]

There's nothing wrong with "playing with mythologies" as long as one does it right. You, fairest daughter did it absolutely wonderful! I'm just curious about the age of Dawn (8000 god years = 6 human years). Is it a calculation of some astrological cycle or you just decided to improvise and made it yourself?

[Moonie]

Thanks for such lovely words. And for the reason behind that:
First of all, the number 120 is a very significant number. In theGenesis 6:3 NIV
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” there are many other such examples in thebible. Now, the number 6 is saidto be God's number, and number 1 is the origin of all, 120 is completely divisible by all numbers from 1 to 6. Also, venus (a planet associated with number 6) transits across the sun(a planet associated with number 1 ) every 120 years. God is synonymous with harmony. In astrology,the harmonious aspect, the trine occurs when two planets are separated by 120°, which is the whole circle, divided by three.
Similarly 10 is a very significant number, In Genesis 1 we find the phrase "God said" 10 times, which is a testimony of His creative power. God gave the 10 Commandments to man. 
The 10th day of the 7th month is the Holy Day known as the Day of Atonement. The wonderful multiple of 120 and 10 is 1200. If you divide 8000 by 1200, you will get 6.667, Dawn’s age. Ichose this number since 6 has always been God's number, because it is a number signifying love, while 666 is satan's number since the sum of 6+6+6=18 which equals 9(1+8=9) , the number for war.
I didn't use a perfect 6 as her age since it didn't give me a perfect 8000. I added a nice 7 at the end of 6.66 to make it 6.667 so that no one takes it in the triple 6 way and accuses me of undermining God's name. So in my world, the gods get their duties laid out for them at the age of 6.667. You are the first one who asked for the reason. I have always liked curious people. Keep up the curiosity!! It would take you far, my dear elvenom. May God's blessings be with you. :))

[Enayet1999]

a rather long piece... but brilliantly crafted.

[Ranger Kessel]

love the style and the story! it's great

[Moonie]

Thank you, dear ranger kessel. I m glad you like the story! :)

[Bright Ocean Star]

Moon, I thought this story was delicately written with a very gentle style and a beautiful artistry. I adore it. Thank you for sharing it with us. Great write!

[Moonie]

Thank you very much. :))

[Nusquam Esse]

My advice on this one would be to either elaborate it, or to trim it down. Considering that this reads like a standard myth, I would recommend the second one. Check for needless repetition, and for any words that can be removed without disrupting the meaning. As this currently is, I think it rambles about too much without any specific direction, and the flow is erratic. I think cutting it to the bare essentials will fix the flow, make the direction more clear, and give the story's meaning more power. I have had my fair share of writing, which needed trimming because I would spend two paragraphs describing what should have been done in one, so the story lost its tension. Good Luck!

[Moonie]

Thank you for such an awesome review. I would try to cut it down.:))