It was dark when I reached my hut deep in the forest.
Well, not quite, actually, because the moon was shining through the window I was looking out of. Past, future, the moon can tell you everything as it brightly traces its path across the firmament. But today was different. Yes, the bard’s evening was lovely, and I received a lot of enthusiastic feedback, but somehow I wasn’t in the mood for joy. I was looking up into the blackness of the firmament and thinking to myself that it was a beautiful night when I heard the moon whisper:
“Why is your heart so endlessly sad? Why does it weep so much?” At first I thought I had imagined it, but after a while this voice asked again and I realized, the moon asked me…! The moon, high in the sky, sometimes pale, sometimes white, sometimes bathed in warm colors, could it have heard my little heart weeping with sorrow?
My thoughts raced. “Yes,” said the moon, “I really see you. What makes you so sad?”
In those lonely minutes I poured out all my sorrow, whatever made my heart cry.
And the moon listened.
Then there was silence.
Loneliness.
Endless emptiness.
And then it happened…
The moon spoke softly and wisely: “Let me tell you a story…”
I presume, my worthy bard, a German version is by your side? – Yes, my traveler, thy may simply open this door.
Once upon a time, the animals of this earth shared the land together. From the great bear to the smallest mouse, they all lived together and were happy. Only one animal was very unhappy: a little mouse. What was different about this mouse? Well, she watched the birds learn to fly from the mighty day star, the sun. And she was full of envy. But it wasn’t the kind of envy that another mouse had more food; no, it was the envy of longing. To feel the wind merrily brush past her as she danced through the air.
She watched the day star teach the birds to fly and secretly practiced at night what she had seen the day before. Even the stars looked away when they saw the mouse tumble down the hillside. Only the moon watched, and she was sad to see the little mouse not give up her dream. Finally, the birds learned to fly and left the earth to build their nests high above. They taught the children what he, the mighty Day Star, had taught them, and from that moment on they were the beings of wind and air.
The mouse was left alone and forlorn on Earth. But deep in her heart, she never gave up. She practiced and practiced, but she couldn’t manage it. Finally, the moon was so pained that she ignored the prohibition against speaking to animals. After all, she was, besides the great North Star, the most powerful being of the night sky. And so she decided to speak to the mouse: “What troubles your heart so much, little mouse?”
The mouse looked around in alarm: “Who is speaking?” The moon began to smile in warm reddish-yellow colors: “It was me, just look bravely at the sky, little mouse.”
The mouse looked shyly up at the great moon, shining brightly and beautifully in the sky, and said, “I am not allowed to speak to you, oh mighty moon.” The moon smiled gently as she replied, “Well, that’s why I speak to you. The stars turn a deaf ear, and the mighty day star, my brother, the sun, sleeps. So who will betray me?”
The mouse looked up shyly: “Definitely not me!”
“Well, there you go,” said the moon queen confidently, “and I was speaking to you, so what could possibly happen to you?” The mouse pondered. Indeed, what could possibly happen to the mighty moon queen, except perhaps to shine faintly alongside her brother in the sky on some days? The night belonged to her. And so she lamented her heart’s longing, that she, like the birds in the sky, wished to greet the day.
Then the moon said: “Well, I cannot grant you that wish. The bright daylight belongs to my brother. But the night belongs to me. And what I do during this time, I alone decide. Not even the North Star may decide that.”
The mouse looked up at the moon. She didn’t understand. The moon smiled at her and spoke in a way the little mouse could understand: “The night belongs to me alone. I decide who may cross my air. It’s not the birds. I have decided that it will be you.”
The mouse pricked up her ears. Not believing she had heard correctly, she asked shyly, half curious, half full of anticipation and fear: “Me, oh mighty moon? Why me of all people?”
The moon replied: “Well, my brother, the sun, took the most beautiful creatures on earth to teach them to fly. The birds were overjoyed to hear the decision and raised their beaks high. But I see the deep desire in your heart, the longing to conquer a new world. Why shouldn’t you, little mouse, learn to fly?”
It is a gift I give to your heart, for despite all the pain, it never gave up dreaming. And believe me, I saw how the other mice laughed at the dream.
The mouse was beside herself with joy: “When will I learn to fly? Please, I want it so badly…”
The moon laughed in a way only she understood: “Patience, little mouse, for everything has its price. Don’t you want to know beforehand what you’ll have to pay?” The mouse looked up at the moon in the night sky: “What is there that isn’t worth paying for a heart’s dream? If the heart can dance with joy for just five minutes in its life, isn’t it worth it? I would pay anything, I would even give my life for a moment, to be able to dance in the sky like the birds, to feel the air caressing me!”
The moon looked gently down at the mouse: “Well, it is not your life I demand. But I told you, only the night belongs to me. I can offer you nothing more than to dance in the wind beneath me. And that is the price. If you choose me, you will be saying goodbye to my brother, the day star, the sun. He will not be angry with you, you can be sure of that. But you can only stand on one side or the other; that is the law among the stars. So don’t decide too quickly, for everything has its consequences.”
With these words, the moon fell silent.
So the mouse watched as the moon and the stars faded. Slowly, the inky black of the sky turned a dark blue, and a pale, reddish glow appeared in the north. This reddish glow began to burn, and the sun, the mighty day star, rose a brilliant red above the horizon. The sky seemed to burn the moment its warm rays touched the earth, bestowing their first warmth upon the animals. The birds awoke and began to sing their songs. Foxes prowled about in the dawn’s redness, badgers crept underground to sleep, and life began anew.
But not for the mouse. She looked up at the sky, and something deep inside her knew it was the last time she would see the day star rise above the horizon. And she felt the gaze of the mighty day star as it looked down at the mouse for the last time, and gazed deep into her heart. And yes, then she heard the day star itself speak in a dark voice: “So you want to leave me?” The mouse flinched: “No, well, I don’t know, I just want to learn to fly…”
The mighty Day Star smiled as he spoke: “This is permitted only to the birds, at a time when the sky belongs to me. It has been decided, and even I cannot reverse it. But my sister told me about you, little mouse, and I decide it is solely your decision. No one will be angry if you follow your heart.”
“But choose wisely! For you will have to live with your choice.” With these words, the day star traced its silent path across the sky. The mouse watched the day star as it moved across the heavens, and the birds followed it, singing, dancing in the wind, and she was sad. She understood now that she would either have to follow her heart, or the day star and her destiny.
Neither was possible. She watched the day star as it slowly and leisurely touched the ground in the reddish glow of the fire, in the unfathomable distance, and a solitary tear fell to the ground. It was the last day of her life, but she knew she had to follow her heart. As the day star bid farewell with a final red evening greeting and left the Moon Kingdom, the mouse knew what had to happen.
She turned to the moon queen with pride and said, “I will follow my heart and the moon queen’s path until the end of days!” The moon queen smiled and replied, “So be it, my brave knight of the skies,” and a solitary tear from the moon queen fell into the chalice of a moonflower.
She spoke again: “Drink the moonflower’s cup dry, and go to sleep. I will awaken you as soon as my kingdom reigns over the earth.” The mouse took up the mysteriously silvery, shimmering tear and drank it joyfully in one go. No sooner had she drunk the moon’s tear than a strange weariness came over her. Her limbs grew heavy, and she lay down to sleep in the shade of a small cave. The day star’s last reddish greeting could be seen in the sky, and she thought she heard it call out: “You have followed your heart, good luck on your journey…” as the moon appeared bright and clear in the firmament.
“And?” she said gently, “Have you noticed anything?” The mouse looked down at herself and noticed her new wings. She looked at first in surprise, and then fluttered about in amazement. The moon queen spoke confidently, “You know how it’s done, for this is my gift to you! Go ahead…” And with a heart dancing with joy, the first bat of the night rose above the ground to follow her heart, and not the destiny of a life.
The moon smiled gently at me with its light, and my heart warmed. Somehow I knew she was right. For now, a dark path through the forest lay before me. And at its end awaited my destiny. And yes, I would even learn to fly beyond destiny… and perhaps follow my heart wherever it led me.
I simply need to find the path, have the courage, make a decision, and just move forward.