Waning

Luna brushed blue glitter off her sequined mini skirt as she struggled to keep her balance. The poorly lit sidewalk just happened to also be poorly paved, so she feared that any minute now, her royal blue stilettos would crack under the pressure (and her ankle would go with it). With a dead phone and no wallet, all she had was a half-sobered mind and a dream.

As she continued down the sidewalk, hoping the forecast calling for rain would be inaccurate, she noticed that further down and across the street, there was a group of people.

Huzzah, she thought, kicking off her heels and scurrying through the dark streets. She rearranged her bleached blond hair and hoped her makeup was not too far from its prime status. If I look decent enough, maybe I can flirt my way into a free ride home. Or at least a phone charger so I can get to ApplePay. Ignoring the slimy unknown substances brushing the bottoms of her feet, Luna wondered what her friends would think if they saw her in this predicament. They would probably be proud. My family wouldn’t be. She wasn’t sure where that thought came from and wished she could take it back instantly. Because she didn’t care what they thought. She didn’t care about her family in the slightest bit.

She approached the group with dirty soles, just to see they weren’t a group at all. It was a few people standing outside of a dispensary with a blinking light on its last limb. But they didn’t seem to be interacting, except a few. One of the few boys, who seemed no older than 15, walked up to Luna, holding back a chuckle.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he began, struggling to look her in the eyes. He looked back at one of the other boys for a few seconds too long, as if he was waiting for approval, before continuing. “How old are you?”

“27,” she lied. Not on purpose, but because being 28 hadn’t hit her yet.

“Do you think you could buy us something from inside, ma’am? We’ll pay you back.”

I’m so old that kids nowadays are doing to me what I used to do to randos on the street.

“As much as I love to support the community, guys, I can’t. I don’t even have my—”

Before she could finish the boy quickly muttered something before scurrying away. Most of the other boys followed. The boy in the back sported a confused look before his jaw dropped. He looked like he wanted to run, but just stood there. He covered his eyes to shield them from an approaching headlight, and Luna slipped her heels back on, preparing to keep walking as the car came to a stop.

“Elio! What is wrong with you?” The driver said, with a scolding, maternal tone that almost made Luna whip around. His mother kept the lecture going, expressing her disappointment and her worry for the boy. He cocked his head back in exasperation, brushing his brown hair against the dispensary wall before dragging his feet toward the car.

“I’m sorry.”

“You can’t keep doing this to people. Do you understand how much energy I put into you having a good life?” With each word, her tone shifted closer and closer to tears. “I can’t tell who’s directing this whole operation, but you all need to change. Where did your friends even go?”

Luna turned around to point the boy’s mother in the right direction. She regretted it instantly.

“My moon, what are you doing here?”

“Celeste,” Luna sighed. “Hello.”

Elio opened the passenger car door and his mother glared at him. He shuffled toward the backseat instead.

“Do you need a ride, Luna?” Celeste said, wiping her eyes and patting the passenger seat of her red sedan.

Luna slightly shifted her hand, as if to reach for the door handle, but stopped.

“I insist. Where were you even coming from? Or going to?”

Luna opened her mouth to reply and felt every iota of energy she’d ever had leave her body.

“I insist.”

Luna was driven by another force, one that didn’t allow her to talk but she could walk. So she shuffled her heels over to the car door, entering in silence.

Before Celeste placed her hand on the wheel, she turned to Elio.

“Elio, this is my sister, your aunt. My baby baby baby sister,” Celeste said, smiling. Luna looked at the driver and didn’t see her sister. She saw a smiling woman with eye wrinkles and strands of silver decorating her brown hair. She saw a stranger fighting the urge to pinch Luna’s cheeks.

“I know. Her photos are all over the house,” Elio whispered before turning to stare out of the car window. “Pretty sure Mikey could tell it was her too. Just from the photos.”

“That poor Mikey.” Celeste said, looking at Luna before beginning to drive. “He’s over all the time.”

Luna said nothing.

“So where am I taking you?”

“Do you have a phone charger?” Luna replied.

Elio started shuffling around behind Luna’s seat, pulling out a short black cord.

“Thanks.”

“Mom, can we go home?”

Celeste looked at Luna for direction before answering. She had never done that before. Luna stayed quiet.

“Yeah, and then I’ll drop Luna off where she needs to go. It’s late and you need to be in bed.”

“You’re right, Mom.”

“And we need to talk later about your behavior.”

Silence found its home in Celeste’s red sedan for a stretch of time that felt too long for Luna’s taste. As they turned into a neighborhood, Elio’s unclinking of his seatbelt notified Luna that the agony was almost over.

“It is great to see you again, my moon,” Celeste sighed as the car came to a stop.

“How long has it been?” Elio asked, opening the car door. He didn’t stay for the answer.

Celeste tilted her head and turned to Luna. “A couple years?”

“Feels like it’s only been a couple months.”

“So where are we going?”

“Is Mom inside?”

“Yes. She’s probably still awake if you wanna—”

“I don’t.”

“Well,” Celeste shifted in the driver’s seat.

“What?”

“Maybe it would be good for her, but I understand if you’re not up for it.”

“I think I could only make things worse, Celeste.”

Celeste opened her mouth to respond, but Luna’s final thought fought to escape.

“Even if you don’t feel the same.”

“Where are we going, my moon?”

Luna held her hand out for Celeste’s phone, and Celeste gave her hand instead.

“I need to put in the address. Don’t save it.”

Celeste handed over her phone, and as Luna typed said, “Mom is not doing well. I’m taking care of her and the kids, and I think the kids aren’t doing well because of what’s happening with her—”

Luna’s glare stopped Celeste’s stream of words.

“And I don’t mean to put this all on you, I hope you don’t take it that way. But I’m sure Mom would love it if you—”

“Came to visit?”

Celeste simply nodded. It was the first time she had been silent in a long time.

Luna sighted before saying, “Let’s go. Please take me home.”

“Inside?”

“No. To the address.”

Luna didn’t give Celeste her real address, but instead the address for the 7/11 down the street from her apartment, a nice walkable distance. In all this time, her dirty soles had dried.

“But this is—”

“Just drive, Lestia.”

Celeste smiled and her eyes brightened in a way Luna hadn’t seen for a long time. She hadn’t seen that brightness in the mirror for a long time either.