Moon and Stars

Luna made a surreptitious call to Minako while Usagi was packing, explaining where they were going and why. She made the girl promise to give Usagi a little space and to instruct the other scouts likewise; at least a few days without their constant hovering to let her work through some of her feelings on her own. Luna promised to watch out for her and call the scouts immediately if there was any kind of problem.

The next morning Usagi and Luna, baggage in tow, piled into a taxi and sped off toward her childhood home. Though it was a Saturday, no one seemed to be home when they arrived. Usagi was actually a little thankful that she could lug her stuff up to her room and unpack a little in peace. After a while though, she began to get tired of sitting in the house on her own, and she wasn’t fully prepared to spend a great deal of time in her little room of memories yet. So, she left a note for her parents explaining why she was there and where she was going, and headed out for a walk.

Luna padded silently next to her as Usagi walked the familiar sidewalk. She remembered all the times she had run, full tilt to get to school on time in the morning. It seemed she was always falling down or running into people in those days. How many times had she run into Mamo-chan, and later, Seiya? She shook her head. Now she was mixing the two men into the same thought.

Without consciously willing it, her feet directed her toward the little, familiar park that featured in so many of her dreams. She sat down in the grass, leaning against tree just watching the weekend frivolities of the families there. Luna nestled beside her, and was soon asleep in the warm sunlight. Usagi smiled and stroked the little cat, who purred in total satisfaction. Poor little Luna: she’d put up with so much of Usagi’s troubled emotions these past few years. As she watched the sleeping cat, she felt the heat of the sun tugging at her own consciousness, and slowly, she drifted off.

Even in her dream, she felt the warmth of Luna’s little body curled against her leg, and the presence of someone else next to her on the other side. She leaned against his shoulder, breathing in his scent and reveling in the regular rhythm of his heartbeat. She felt his arm wrap around her, and she sighed with contentment.

“Usa-ko, have you remembered yet?”

“Remembered what?”

“How to be happy.” She looked down at her hands. If she was honest, she would have to admit that she hadn’t really been trying at all, all this time.

“No.”

“You will, love, you will.”

They sat in silence for a while, the wind through the trees the only sound. He turned toward her, shifting so that he could look into her sad face.

“Please don’t let your memories of me be painful. I don’t want you to suffer because of me, Usa-ko. I want you to live, to love. I want you to let me go.”

“No, Mamo-chan, I’ll never let you go; don’t ask me to. I can’t.”

“You can, Usa-ko. I can’t love you the way I want you to be loved any longer. Dreams aren’t enough. I want so much more than that for you. I want your life to be happy. Be happy, for me, Usa-ko.”

Luna was peering at her through one open eye as Usagi mumbled in her sleep. Slowly, her lids opened to reveal her troubled blue eyes.

“Dreams aren’t enough. He said dreams aren’t enough Luna. He wants me to be happy. How can I be happy Luna?” It wasn’t rhetorical. Luna’s heart filled with hope. Maybe Usagi was finally turning the corner.