Luna Bee

It was a hot day, even for a Texas Summer. Or, maybe I was just particularly sensitive this day, raw with a broken heart and a disease that makes me essentially allergic to sunlight. I was used to the whole Lupus thing by now, but never did get used to being alone. It was the Summer of 2020, and I, along with everyone else on the planet, was shut off from the rest of the world, hiding away from something still new and scary. I had met a man a few months prior. It was one of those relationships that you throw yourself into in order to forget about something else. For me, this one was about forgetting a man I had loved for five years who decided that long-distance was too hard and I was no longer worth trying for. This new guy was great at first, a musician who adored me and thought like me, who saw a future with me. Until he didn't.

I could feel my heart harden. I stopped caring. I didn't care about work, I didn't care about people, I didn't care about anything. Anything but staying inside and staying safe. Safe from the virus, and safe from men who only wanted to break my heart.

My dog had passed away a few years prior. She was my best friend for 10 years. She stuck by my side through college, marriage and divorce, and a debilitating illness. And then she was gone. People told me to move on and get another dog but I never felt ready, I knew nobody could ever replace her and I felt like I could never love anyone again the way I loved her.

I hardly noticed the sun burning my skin as I stepped out to check the mail. I was too focused on her. This beautiful creature, a wolf or a dog, I wasn't sure. She looked scared as she scurried away from beneath my car. I asked around and my neighbors told me she had been there for some time, sleeping under my car every day to avoid the heat of the sun. I decided to do the decent thing and set out some food and water for her. I found out that others had tried to catch her and get her to safety, some had even called animal control, but she evaded them all. That's when I decided to be whatever it was she needed me to be. I sat outside for hours that first day as she watched me from across the street. She never took her eyes off of me. She was curious but cautious. I began to feel the sun draining my strength as I decided to head in and call it a day.

I could barely keep myself from running out the door the next morning as the sun began to rise. I hoped and prayed she would be there waiting for me, safe and sound. I opened the door and stepped out just in time to watch her back foot slip out from under my car as she sped away into the tall grass next to my house. I could barely see her little black ears sticking up and her eyes peering through the grass at me as I made myself comfortable on the sidewalk. As the days passed, I watched others pull over onto the side of the road and try to coax her with burgers and sweet voices. She wanted nothing to do with them, she ran away to the safety of the other end of my driveway. She had been inching closer to me each day, and now she sat about 10 feet away from me, next to the water and food bowls I had set out for her, and she watched me. I talked to her about my day, about the news and the weather, about my broken heart, and about how much I had already grown to love her. I named her Luna, because she reminded me of the dark night sky and the beauty and hope the moon brings me each night.

I enlisted the help of the online community by posting some videos about her and asking for advice. Before I knew it, Luna had generated quite a few fans, sending us well-wishes and tips, logging on each day and hoping to see good news.

I'll never forget the day she chose me. It had been two weeks, and I relentlessly sat, I did not pursue. I knew that if she was truly mine, she would come. I wasn't about to scare her away forever, and risk her running into the street and getting truly hurt. I had grown sicker each day, but I also had grown softer. I could see her wondering if it was time, her ears perked and her head tilted. As I approached her this time, she began to hop around. I had never seen her beautiful tail wagging around in all of it's furry glory, only hidden away tucked between her legs in fear. I sat down next to her as she stopped jumping and inched her way closer. She bowed her head, covered in sticker burrs, and as I reached over to pet her, an actual smile spread across her face. Her ears dipped and her body relaxed, you could literally see the stress melt off of her. I cried and cried and told her how loved she was. Millions watched and cried along with us, cheering that she was finally home. She chose me, she melted my hard heart, and she changed my life. I was no longer alone, and she never again would be.