The falling moons

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Yet, what if one never saw or experienced the possibilities which exist far beyond this nightly display of iridescence.

For years since she was a child of eight, Amyna has had the same dream every night. At least she thought it was a dream.

She walked slowly along a dimly lit, enchantingly beautiful moonlit forest floor. The trees stood tall, dark and a bit ominous in their stately beauty. Leaves whispered among themselves in voices which the young woman did not fully understand, yet she heard the sounds as if they were midnight songs echoing down the halls of time. Beautiful and haunting songs, which told stories of years gone by, of beauty and art and love songs of lovers long passed into their eternal rest. Amyna felt a deep intrinsic and familiar yearning for the songs of the past.

The trees knew her name, they would call out to her.

"Amyna, we have been waiting for you".

"Amyna, come sit with us a while. We have so much to tell you".

The focus of her dream however was not the trees, but the quiet graceful deer. She always just stood there, in the middle of the tiny valley, antlers proudly crowning her head, much like a queen's crown. A deer who stood unmoving, still as a petrified breath, and totally focused on something that Amyna could not see. The deer never looked back at her, and Amyna wanted desperately to speak to her. The closer she got however, the farther the deer would seem to be, the deer never moved. Yet she could not touch her, was not able to satisfy her longing to be her friend.

"Who is she, and why is she standing there"? Amyna would ask the trees.

"Oh, that is Tamra, my dear, she can foretell your future, but only when she is ready to do so. You cannot rush her". Replied the great Mother tree.

"What is it that she looks at so intently, Mother tree"?

"She listens to the instructions of the purple clouds and blushing sky. When your time comes, all will be revealed".

Amyna reached up and touched her head, it was aching just a tiny bit. She was now seventeen years old. Two years ago, she had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. She apparently had it for years, but somehow it had not been discovered despite numerous visits to the doctors for headaches and memory lapses. Her favorite aunt on her mother's side had recently passed away with the same ailment. She knew the symptoms and what to expect. Against her mother's tears and supplication for more time with her child, Amyna had refused all the treatments that had been offered as a means of prolonging her life. Her steadfastness on the matter precluded any more arguments. So they had let her be, let her be the architect in deciding her own destiny.

Amyna was the one to cheer her family up, keep their spirits strong. She was brave where everyone else was falling apart. She had always had the fight and strength of a raging bull. Her father would joke in his own brusque way.

What the young Amyna never saw at night just before midnight, was the beautiful purple cloud which crept through her window each night to gently and quietly spirit her away to the forest. Outside the blushing sky awaited, eager to guide their path. They had a plan for this wonderful and brave young woman. The plan however, could not reach fruition until her inner eyes opened and she could see the cloud and sky. She had to be a willing participant in her fate.

"Why can't she see the beauty of the sky and cloud"? The trees would ask.

Mother tree knew the answer.

"She does not accept her fate, despite her outer bravado and her devotion to the happiness of her family, deep down in her heart of hearts, she silently cries alone".

The night of her eighteenth birthday, within her dream which was not a dream, Amyna saw the moons fall from the sky and come to rest in her little dream valley. Many moons kept coming to rest gently at her feet and on the ground everywhere. She looked up and for the first time saw the purple clouds and blushing sky. She was completely enthralled and amazed at the splendor of the night sky.

Tonight however, her aunt Aisha stood by the side of the deer, smiling and shining in a shimmering translucent glow. She did not speak, but beckoned to the deer to approach Amyna.

"Aunt Aisha". Whispered Amyna, both surprised and ecstatic to see her.

The deer turned and walked towards her. Amyna had finally made peace with herself and her illness. She reached out her hand and Tamra nuzzled it.

"It is time". Tamra said.

"See you soon Amyna". Aisha waved and disappeared into the night.

The deer bowed her antlered head low, and the trees shouted, "climb on Amyna"!

Awkwardly and timidly, she obeyed. She had barely touched the deer when she felt herself comfortably enveloped in purple clouds, and drifting peacefully upwards upon the back of the deer.

"Goodbye Amyna, open your heart to life". Mother tree called to her.

"Goodbye". The other trees echoed.

"Goodbye and thank you all". Amyna replied to the forest. She had no idea what was happening, but she felt completely free. A feeling she had not had for a very long time.

The next morning her family found her bed empty. A note had been left there by purple sky.

"Please do not worry for your daughter. She shall be returned to you within a fortnight. She is safe and soon you will all reunite. Enjoy that peace which surpasses all understanding".

A purple cloud of peace enveloped the mother, father and brother of Amyna. They knew deep in their hearts, without a shadow of doubt, that she was safe.

Still, what were they to expect when she finally returned to them?