#imissyou
Little Luna
Luna clicked the “close” button and then she switched off her computer. She stared at the blank monitor for a while and then she leaned back, resting her head on her palm that she stretched behind her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I need to think.
She pushed the floor with her feet and then her wheeled-chair moved towards her bedside table where her iPod shuffle was. She picked up the small thin device and then she attached her earphones on it. She took a stretch and then she tried to reach for her black sneakers from under her bed. Unfortunately she could not reach her shoes so she dropped to the floor and crawled under the bed. She wrestled dust, used socks, dirty clothes and torn pieces of paper, and then she was able to get her black, highcut Converse sneakers that had been eaten away by time. After putting her shoes on, she took a black hooded jacket from her closet then wore it. She fixed her long wavy black hair into a ponytail then checked herself in her full-body-sized mirror. She was ready to go out. She pulled her jeans up since they were a little too big for her size then walked out of her room, as she placed her earphone plugs to her ears.
“I'm going out for a walk, mom!” She shouted as she rushed down the stairs.
She saw her mother by the kitchen, typing something in her small netbook. It was probably a new recipe for healthier waffles. Her mother was a huge health buff, or, as how Luna sees it, her mother was probably scared of getting fat. Her mother looked up from the tiny purple netbook then smiled at Luna, showing a deep dimple on her left cheek. Mrs. Robbins had a very dazzling smile, maybe that was why Mr. Robbins noticed her. Her hair was, unlike Luna's, shiny and straight that runs all the way to her shoulders. Mrs. Robbins had full bangs and her eyes were as brown as Luna's.
“Be home soon darling!” Mrs. Robbins shouted as Luna opened the door into their front porch.
Mr. Robbins, Luna's father, was out by the green lawn, stretching his legs on the grass, sporting a navy blue shirt. He had his slim laptop on his lap and a cup of coffee sitting next to him. His hair was basically wavy, like Luna's, however, he had them cut very short so they do not have to be all tangled in front of his blue eyes. He was about to sip from his cup of morning warmth when he saw Luna walking down the stairs of their front porch.
“Good morning sunshine,” Mr. Robbins greeted, as he pushed his rectangular glasses up the bridge of his nose.
“Hi dad,” Luna mumbled, staring down her black sneakers.
“Out for a morning run?” Mr. Robbins asked, bringing his coffee to his lips but before he could sip, a steam of fog pressed against his glasses.
“Just a walk around the neighborhood dad. I'll be back soon,” Luna replied and as she crossed the lawn to the street where some joggers were busy chatting away.
Mr. Robbins nodded then went back to his laptop. Luna stood by their knee-high fence for a while, as she turned on her iPod. She looked up the sky and squinted her eyes as the sun's rays lashed at her dark brown eyes. She fixed her side bangs then watched a dog drag its master towards her. She turned down the volume of her iPod and then anticipated for the dog to drag its master closer to her.
“Hi Chubby.” Luna smiled as she bent down to pat the German Shepherd's head.
The dog closed its eyes and allowed its long tongue to hang out of its mouth as Luna stroked its snout and ruffled the brown fur at the back of its ear. The dog's master seemed to not have noticed Luna patting the dog, as he was staring down on his flat wide-screened mobile phone.
“Hello Mr. Randolph,” Luna greeted, still focused on the dog.
The tall man, who was in his forties with a balding blonde head, simply grunted to acknowledge Luna. Mr. Randolph squinted at his mobile phone then tugged the dog away, this time dragging the dog. Chubby resisted but Mr. Randolph was insistent.
“Come on, we have to be home by ten-thirty or we'll miss my meeting,” Mr. Randolph said, and the dog reluctantly followed as it looked back at Luna with its tongue still hanging out and its tail down.
Luna shrugged her shoulder then waved at the dog. When the master and the dog turned to a corner, they were no longer in Luna's sight. Luna sighed then walked towards the direction where Mr. Randolph and Chubby came from. She was not really aware of where she was going for she was concentrated on the music she had turned up from her iPod. She was mentally singing along with the song when she realized that she had walked all the way to the playground.
The playground was one of the few places that she and Grandma Sandy used to visit. Before, it had a colorful swing set with pastel-colored slides. There were also green-painted benches where Grandma Sandy used to sit as Luna, while going down the slide, was calling to her. Now, the colors have faded away and the children were clogging a few benches as they watched a fighting game in their PSP. Luna had the urge to see what they were very enthusiastic about but she just chose to sit next to a boy who was around her age. The boy was busy typing and smiling at his iPad. Luna looked curiously at the red-haired boy. He did not notice Luna staring at him and so, Luna decided to peek at what he was doing. Luna stood from the bench and acted as casual as she could while she walked behind the boy to see what he was doing. Luna guessed it was a game or something related to it.
billyjames14: i'm 18
i live in utah
u?
prettysam41: cool
i'm 17
new jersey
what are your hobbies?
billyjames14: the usual
net, chatting, music
u?
Before Luna could read prettysam41's reply, billyjames14 seemed to have noticed someone behind him and so he turned his head as Luna walked away as fast as she could. Of course the boy saw her, but she still convinced herself that he did not as she tried to escape behind a crowd of children. Luna laughed at herself for a while then walked away from the ruckus of children playing by the benches and towards a different street.
It was quite a sunny day, and the sky was splashed with thin feathery clouds. Luna turned down the volume of her iPod then sat down by the curb on the street. She was trying to figure out her way back home from the playground. She felt a little lost and so she looked around for any landmark or familiar sites. She found none. The only familiar site there was the playground. There were a few people passing by, but she was too scared to ask anyone. She took her mobile phone from her pocket then swiped it. The wide-screened touch phone illuminated when Luna swiped her thumb over it. She clicked a circular icon with the colors red, yellow and green around a smaller blue circle and then she clicked on Google maps. She typed the playground and then the window showed her a map where a bubble pointed at location of the playground; she swiped over it then found the route going back to their house.
Luna walked back slowly to the playground, careful that she might bump into billyjames14. The boy seemed to have left. A slight feeling of relief overcame Luna, and then she briefly smiled at this light feeling. She walked out of the playground and into the direction that the map said would lead her back home. After a few minutes, Luna found herself in a familiar street. She placed her mobile phone in the front pocket of her jacket then continued to walk homeward. She was sure of her path. But, half way through the street, Luna stopped. She saw a short old lady with silvery gray hair close the door of her house. She froze on her track. It was Mrs. Chandler, her scary neighbor.
Mrs. Chandler was the librarian of the rundown library in town. She had the habit of scaring children with her growl-like voice, which was why Luna stopped walking. Mrs. Chandler fixed her button down blouse and her thick round glasses that seemed to magnify her gray eyes, and then she walked out to the same street where Luna was walking.
Luna became rooted on her spot when Mrs. Chandler started to walk towards her. Her heart was hammering against her chest and her eyes began to water that she wanted to close them, but her eyes just widened with horror as Mrs. Chandler drew closer and closer towards her. Luna's mouth dried as M
rs. Chandler stopped a few steps in front of her to straighten a wrinkle on her tight, peach, knee-high skirt. Luna bit her lower lip to make sure she does not make any noise. Mrs. Chandler hated noise, especially when it comes from a thirteen-year-old, like Luna. Why does she like wearing that? Luna thought as she recalled her first encounter with Mrs. Chandler.
Luna was five when Mrs. Chandler moved to their neighborhood. She and Grandma Sandy baked a dozen muffins and placed them in a basket for Mrs. Chandler, as a new neighbor present. When Mrs. Chandler opened her wooden door, she was wearing that same tight, peach, knee-high skirt that she was wearing. She looked painstakingly uncomfortable in those that Luna stared at it and then Luna noticed Mrs. Chandler's magnified eyes and her tight bun.
“Do you find me amusing, child?” Mrs. Chandler asked in a tone that seemed like a tiger holding its growl as she looked from the small child with her bespectacled magnifying eyes.
“N—n—no ma'am.” Luna stuttered in her little girl's voice as she held tightly on Grandma Sandy's rough hand.
“Welcome to the neighborhood, miss.” Grandma Sandy smiled, offering the basket of muffins to the growling woman, “I am Sandy and this is my granddaughter, Luna.” Grandma Sandy continued, looking pointedly at Luna, “We live just around that red-roofed house, so if you need anything, you can just call us and we'll do our best.”
Mrs. Chandler took the basket and then gave them a pained look wherein she stretched her thin lips. Luna started to pull at Grandma Sandy's hand as she looked at the woman holding the bundle of warm, sweet muffins that she and her jolly grandmother made. Luna was expecting to see fangs come out of Mrs. Chandler's thin lips. Apparently, Mrs. Chandler turned out to be a normal human without any fangs. She was just downright scary for five-year-old Luna.
Eight years from that first day encounter with Mrs. Chandler, Luna still felt that fear. She was still expecting that, at some point, Mrs. Chandler's fangs would come out and she would be ready to bite off a chunk from Luna's arm. As Mrs. Chandler approached Luna on that street, Luna could not move or even blink. She held her breath, probably thinking that if she did so, Mrs. Chandler would not see her there and then she could escape the roar of the tiger next door. Apparently, no one could escape Mrs. Chandler's magnifying-glass-eyes. She saw everyone right through and she saw Luna standing and staring at her with wide eyes. Mrs. Chandler stood in front of Luna and then gave the girl what seemed like a stifled yawn. Luna nodded her head and then Mrs. Chandler continued to walk.
Did she just smile? Luna thought as she tried to replay Mrs. Chandler's expression in her mind's television. In Luna's mind, she saw Mrs. Chandler slightly opening her mouth and then her thin pursed lips stretched, forming wrinkles at the side of her mouth. I guess it was a smile.
Luna shrugged and when she was about to continue walking home, a thought crept into her mind. She turned around and then looked for Mrs. Chandler's figure. Just before Mrs. Chandler could disappear on a corner, Luna walked briskly towards the old woman, keeping a safe distance between them. Luna followed Mrs. Chandler.