It was a dark rainy night

It was a dark rainy night. The moon was hiding behind huge cotton-like clouds. Little Clarissa had been looking through her bedroom window for the last hour, hoping that the clouds would finally make way and let the night’s light reach her again.

A week before, this wouldn’t have happened. She had had Pinto, her small Yorkshire terrier. Unfortunately Pinto had ran away five days ago. He had never done that before, and she had never let him go out by himself. Pinto was surely lost, or someone else had taken him. Clarissa couldn’t stop crying. She didn’t want her mother cuddles. Nor her father’s sweet words could stop her tears. She locked herself in her room and lied down on the bed.

"How could this happen?" she sobbed. "Why did he do it? Wasn’t I treating him well? Why hasn’t he returned by now? Had someone captured him?" by now she was crying on her pillow. She was full of sorrow, but she knew there wasn’t anything she could do. Her Yorki was gone forever.

Or was he?

After drenching her pillow with tears she turned around looking for a more comfortable position.

It was then that she noticed a single moon ray coming in her room from between her purple curtains. That lonely light caressed only two things. The first one was a photo frame. The photo inside was taken by her dad. There she was, holding Pinto with his red bow in her hands; on that very day that mama had brought him home. The light was reflected and finished his journey on Pinto’s rag!

Clarissa leaped off the bed and ran towards her window. There was a nice full golden moon smiling at her. She could feel its radiant light lifting up her sorrows. Its glow was comforting her just the way Pinto used to. Deep in her heart she knew that it will never be the same without her baby, as she used to call him, but at least now she had found a new friend. A friend, who could ease the pain of the moment, just by being there for her.

For the last four days she had been going to bed almost an hour earlier than usual. With the help of her new friend she had accepted the idea that Pinto’s gone. She had cleared all his stuff in a small box which she hid under the bed, and started spending more and more time just looking at the sky. There she was, waiting for her new friend to come out so that they could talk a bit before she goes to sleep.

But not tonight; tonight the clouds had covered the skies and her friend was nowhere to be seen. All her sorrows came crushing back on her. Tonight was the night she needed him most. Her parents had bought her another dog. It was a mongrel, still a small cute ball of fur. She knew she could like him and treat him just the way she treated Pinto, but she couldn’t look at him just right now.

In her room, she was crying on the windowsill. Her father had been watching her for the last fifteen minutes. He knew it wasn’t a good time to go inside, but as a father his heart couldn’t resist. How could he just stay next to the door, seeing his daughter crying herself out and not doing anything?

Walking into the room slowly, he dragged an armchair next to her, sat down, and pulled her on his lap. Instinctively she curled into a ball and kept sobbing. He tried to soothe her and asked her what happened. At first she was breathing heavily and couldn’t talk, but after some more hugs and caresses she told him everything.

As soon as she muttered the last of her story and told him how the moon had abandoned her tonight, she started crying like a baby again. Her father lifted her up, took her on the bed, dragged the armchair and cleared his throat for one of his stories.

Clarissa sat up straight and wiped her tears. His stories were always welcomed, even in the saddest of times. Then he switched on the cow-lamp that was on the night table next to her bed and started his story.

“Once upon a time, many, many years ago,” there he had barely started and his daughter was already fully attentive, “people had to always walk in dark nights. They had no light to show them the roads, and few were those who ever dared to go somewhere after dusk.”

“But, why?” she blurted, and instinctively she closed her mouth with her hands. Dad hated it when she interrupted his stories. “Please go on. Please, pretty please!”

“I will, but you know that this means that you have to suffer the ‘Interrupting the story punishment’!” and at the moment he caught his little 4 year old girl from her small hips and started tickling her. At first she tried to fight off his hands but soon she was begging him, "Please daddy! Please? Stop! I Promise I won't say another word till the end of the story!"

Daddy stopped and prepared to continue his story, “Well, as I was saying, everywhere used to be in complete darkness after the sun had gone down. There were no stars to light up our sky, nor a moon...”

“No!” escaped her mouth. She darted under the bed covers when she saw dad’s wriggling fingers. But this time he didn’t tickle her again and continued the story after some angry funny faces.

“Meanwhile, around a planet far, far away, lived a big family of moons. Grannies, grandpas, uncles, aunties, cousins, friends and even moon pets, they all lived together in harmony going round and round this huge planet.

The small children used to play catch and tag and loads of other games. They didn’t have to go to school or study. They had to grow strong, round and beautiful so that when they get older they could go around another planet to light its surface.

But while all the other moons were enjoying themselves, there was this small one that was always left out of everything. She wasn’t quite a beauty yet. Nor was she agile or funny. No one liked her company and even her siblings left her to play with their friends.

Sophie, as this moon was named, used to hang out alone talking with some other lonely stars, or trying to keep up the pace of her mum and eavesdropping on her conversations with other adults. It was here that she learned about the other planets and far away suns and stars.”

By now Clarissa’s mouth was wide open. Her whole body quivering, waiting for her dad’s next word. Her mind flying across the universe trying to imagine that gigantic lucky planet that had all those moons flying around it.

Dad took a long breath, “Sophie had decided. If she was unwanted here she would go looking for some other planet and maybe that planet would be friends with her.

So the next morning, when all the other moons were asleep, Sophie packed her things and ran away from her whole family. This was going to be Sophie’s biggest adventure!”

The little girl couldn’t stop herself from moving forward towards her dad. By now she couldn’t wait any longer to hear the ending of this story, and papa just took longer and longer. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling when he saw the look of anticipation on Clarissa’s face and continued his story describing the scary roads in the universe through which Sophie had to walk.

Now on his feet he was making funny noises and strange shadows with his hands to impress his little daughter. He was running around the bed, sitting on the armchair, standing up again and crawling against the wall while making funny faces. Clarissa couldn’t stop giggling now.

For the time being, she had forgotten about Pinto and was totally absorbed in the story. “After that entire road,” dad continued, “Sophie still couldn’t find a planet that wanted to be friends with her. ‘Go away!’ they told her. ‘You’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re too thin, and you’re not round enough’. Everyone was yelling at her and calling her names. Sophie just got sadder and sadder. She cried alone and tried to stay away from all the planets. Her adventure had turned into a nightmare and she just wanted to be somewhere alone.

Now with a sad sigh she thought to herself that it would be better if she just went home. At least, there they left her alone but didn’t insult her. Then she realized. Which way was home? She had been walking for a long, long time, and she didn’t know why way she had come from. There was no way Sophie was going to ask for directions and she tried to choose the path that looked most familiar.

After a few more days she knew that she was lost and just sat in that same spot crying and crying.

A couple of minutes later she heard someone calling her ‘Hey little one, is something wrong?’ Sophie turned and saw this huge blue and green planet. At first she was afraid of it and tried to run away, but the blue planet caught up with her. ‘They call me Earth, but my real name is Evelyn. What is your name?’

No one had been this kind to Sophie before. Everyone had just called her names and walked away from her. ‘I’m Sophie’ she said while wiping off her tears, ‘and I’m lost.’

‘Don’t worry little one, I’ll help you find your way back home, but first you need to tell me something more about yourself.’ With that Evelyn moved a little bit closer to Sophie and prepared herself for the story. The little moon started her story from the very beginning, and all the while the blue planet listened and nodded, but never interrupted.

Sophie told her how she was always left alone. She told her that other planets called her names, and how they harassed her if she dared to talk with them or ask them for directions. She told her about the evil shadows she saw while walking across the universe and about the lonely nights crying.

The old caring blue planet pitied this young moon and told her that till they are sure about her way home she can stay with her. Sophie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How was it possible that a beautiful planet was asking her to stay? The older one understood what was going through her mind, shifted a little bit and asked her to look into the big blue sea that covered a big portion of its surface..

There Sophie saw her own reflection. She wasn’t ugly anymore. She had grown strong and beautiful. But there was something else bothering her. Evelyn asked her what was it, but Sophie didn’t want to talk about it. Then Earth turned round and called to the next planet next to her and called, ‘Hey Venus, do you know about any big planet from where moons come?’

Venus called back, ‘No, sorry I don’t. I don’t have any ones going round me and neither does Mercury, try to ask Mars.’ Evelyn thanked her, turned and asked the red planet the same question. Mars didn’t know either, but promised her that it will ask Jupiter, the planet next to her.

With that Mars turned and the blue planet continued talking with the small moon, while the both of them went for a walk round the big yellow sun. Earth told Sophie everything about the Sun and the other planets, and Sophie just enjoyed listening to everything Evelyn had to tell her.

They kept walking and talking, walking and talking about everything and for the first time the people on earth started to notice that a bright happy light was shining through the darkness of the nights.”

“And that’s how we got our moon?” interrupted Clarissa before she could stop herself. She tried to pull the covers over her head, but this time daddy’s fingers weren’t forgiving. They tickled her till she promised again that she won’t stop him. Then they tickled her a little bit more and he continued his story.

“That was how we got our moon, but at first Sophie was not going to stay. After a couple of years planet Mars called back at Earth and told her that they had discovered where is the planet that Sophie talked about. The small moon, now a beautiful young teenager was going to pack her things once again, when she noticed how sad Evelyn was.

Sophie asked her what was wrong and Evelyn told her that she had enjoyed her company, and that she didn’t like to go for walks alone, but she understood that she must have missed her family and encouraged her to go back to them. At that moment a big tear went down the blue planet’s face and the little moon decided that she won’t be going away after all.

No one had been so kind to her. Her family had treated her badly and she couldn’t leave her only true friend. Now the big old planet was going to have someone to talk and walk with forever. They continued going round the big yellow star and then Evelyn had an idea.

If Sophie wanted to talk with her family, she could send them some Space-Letters”

“Meteorites!” shouted Clarissa.

“Exactly,” laughed her father, “They found a Space-Letter that was going towards Sophie’s family and they sent her a message. Now the little moon could say that she was at last happy. For the first time in her whole life she was... a bark!”

“A bark?” exclaimed Clarissa, not quite understanding what her father was talking about.

“No, no! Come with me.” And with that he was running out of her room and going down the stairs with Clarissa just behind him. He went for the door, opened, and sure enough there was another bark!

“Pinto!” shouted the little girl, “you’re back!”

“Woof, woof,” barked the small dog. There he was wagging his tail and barking with a yellow light shining on him coming through a small hole in the clouds. Clarissa could not believe this. There were Pinto and Sophie. Both had come back to her. She took the shaggy dog in her hands and a second later was dancing round and round in the entrance hall.

Her father was still smiling at his little child. He couldn’t believe this. Then he turned to look at the small hole in the clouds and mouthed a silent ‘Thank You’ as the clouds shut that opening again.

He picked up Clarissa in his hand and took her to her bedroom. Before he tugged her bed covers she was already sound asleep hugging her dogs. He kissed her on her forehead, switched off the cow-lamp, closed the curtains and walked out of her room.

This will be one night she will always remember, and that night in his prayers he thanked his father for telling him that story when he was still a young 4 year old boy.