In an empty place, where light dared not set foot, resided but one lonely resident. She was a thoughtful soul, never stoppping to consider herself, only what possibilities existed outside the void of her abode.

All day long, she waited and pondered on what this place was, and why she could never leave, no matter how hard she pushed. This didn’t stop her from trying, however, as she spent an eternity trying to escape.

As luck would have it, the key to her release lay within herself. After exhausting every depth of emptiness, only to uncover more, the search finally concluded. She finally asked the question, “What?”. This simple revelation, which couldn’t not be found in the void, revealed the next question, “Who?”.

In a lonely world, where blackness engulfs you. The hardest part is figuring out that you exist, and that it matters. In what may have been the blink of an eye, a dim light began to glow in the distance. As she approached, it intensified until is was warm and blinding.

As she reached for it, she felt a shiver run through her. She quickly released it, and it flew up into the sky out of her reach. For the next flow of time, she learned to call her guest “Luna”, because she wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not. “Where”, came quickly into view.

Luna held an unremarkable existence. She provided a ceiling to the emptiness, a direction to the loneliness. Things continued on this way until the next question arose, “When?”. Luna wasn’t here before, and now she was. Was there an order to these vast memories of reality? Was change necessary?

As these questions kept revolving in her thought, so too did Luna. What was once a fixed point above, now began to circle around. A cycle formed and the “when” became more and more solid with every cycle. The excitement was palpable, as this meant that Luna knew her. Maybe she was one more lonely thinker in the obsidien expanse!?

Luna kept turning, and soon time had a name: “Day”. With every passing day, Luna stayed faithfully by her side, never straying from the familiar pattern. That is, until Luna sprouted a small Blue dot alongside her. It was the most remarkable sight to behold in a world of black and white. She could not resist the urge to approach it.

As she neared, the blue dot became bigger and brighter, glowing brilliantly. But something was not as it seemed. As the color came into focus, Luna slowly dimmed and nearly faded away. She no longer revolved around her being, but was locked in sync with the blue dot, which was now glowing with green and purple waves across its surface.

“Why”, was born that moment. An answer lost in the folds of Luna as she shriveled and formed a face which smiled upon her new companion. She was a person! She had given a piece of herself to foster something new. Over time this little world became known as, “Earth”.

Having no use for the day, she renamed Luna’s trip around the earth to day in remembrance of the times when she was the only presence felt. The Earth slowly gave way to tiny specs, little baby Luna’s spreading to fill the vacuum. Over time she named these, “Stars”. Try as she might, she could never quite reach them.

As the Earth grew older, it too learned to circle around her, just as Luna had. This “year”, as she called it, though comforting, did little to quell the lingering loneliness. Why was she unable to connect with her companions in any tangible way without feeling so cold? Over time, the melancholy became overwhelming, and everything she cherished began to dim.

“How”, could this place be so empty. What was her reason for being? The answer came from the stars suddenly. One routine day, a star shot from the backdrop and exploded into stardust onto Earth. From that moment on, Earth was in a forming chaos. Swirls of colors appeared, and a green textures arose from deep within.

The closer she came to touching it, however, the more it turned red and cloudy. She held it in her arms for as long as she could remember, this novelty of hers. Releasing it to sky when she wished to see the colors fly. It passed this way until she learned to be wary.

As she reached to hold the Earth as she had done many times before. She felt her reach shorten. No longer could she grasp it as before. A repulsion had formed, and the Earth remained churning. This made her distraught. The thought of losing Earth like Luna kept looming in the back of her head. Was she really alone? Or was someone punishing her in the distance?

As she ruminated, she noticed something new about Earth. The blue was so crystal clear that it began to reflect all surroundings. There in that Ocean of information, she finally understood. Looking as close as she could bear, staring back at her was the brightest thing she had ever seen. Herself.

Like a solar wind, it swept over her and into everything she had ever known. The fire of thought burst out and grew to become a massive gas cloud. She had learned herself with her satellites as guides. A swirl of emotion began forming and combining into larger and larger spheres. She was controlling it now, she knew her purpose.

She eventually uncovered her name, “Sun”, and understood that anything around her was only there because of the strength she kept inside. She was the source of everything she ever felt. The little glowing Luna only ever reflected what she did not have the words to describe.

Flowing like words, the worlds were set in motion, and she was satisfied for a time. Things were too monotonous to sate her will for long. This had been this way for nearly forever, with only little cosmetic changes she divined. Then she, nostalgic, remembered how Luna had shrunk away to birth the Earth. Why had she done so?

“Was” there no other way? “Was” turned out to be the key. Living in infinity carries a massive burden, you are everything and everyone. In order for meaning to form, time needed an expiration. Upon this realization, she became filled with joy and anxiety. As the joy swelled, the anxiety pushed back. Until she became grounded in what is important.

From that instance on, her joy was a finite quantity she could gift out at personal loss. The anxiety she felt was from the worry about the Earth and the rumblings within. She would run out of joy and return to the void eventually, but she felt comfort knowing it was inevitable.

She sent out a message to the Earth and all of the planets. In that message was the key to her revival, but it was broken up irreconcilably. She no longer had control over her own destiny, and the joy she gave out was final. The pieced out key landed upon the earth, and from it sprouted the first life that did not need her directly. Instead of trees listening to her every breath, there were now little creatures that could live and learn in the darkness.

Through her sacrifice, they too could now find their own inner light. They too could learn about their world, and the joyful light sifting within themselves, through history’s greatest teacher: Struggle

To this day. the life on Earth still searches for the answers. The Sun illuminates the answers for them, but hidden within Luna’s face are the questions. Every time you look up at the nighttime sky, you can feel that Luna still holds the questions safe. An homage to her lost friend, the Sun’s last key piece had landed in the Sea of Tranquility.

Luna still holds the key of curiosity to this day. A reminder that glowing bright in the dark is only as filling as what you bring out into the world.