College Life 3: The Moon's Presence

On a lonely evening after my evening class, I walk across the campus and gaze at the full, spherical moon sitting atop the clear nighttime sky. Taking in its round shape, I sit on the stone platform, curl my knees up to me chest and continue to stare at the moon. I am at the lawn, a place where students could hang out with their friends and play a wide variety of sports and hold events. Tonight there is nobody as I sat here. The space is devoid of any sound but the faint cry of the crickets and the passing of cars in the distance. The surrounding lights from the lampposts remind me of the closeness of the holiday season and, if I look at it in another way, I see them as tiny white beads. The moon gives out a strong shine throughout the sky as the hidden clouds leisurely drift away.

The atmosphere of this tranquil setting is gently halted by my sensing of someone's presence. I receive a tap on the shoulder as I look behind and it is the girl from last time. The brightness of the moon purely shines her face.

"Hi," she says. "Why are you all alone?"
I look at her and back at the moon. "I'm taking in the moon and its spherical wonderfulness."
She chuckles and sits next to me, her woody fragrance tagging along with her flesh. "Have you never seen a full moon before?"
"As if I never actually did," I say, still looking at the moon.
She quickly looks at me as if evaluating my figure and says, "You're hilarious, Sean. Looking so amazed just by the moon."
"Well there isn't a time where I can see one this clear."
"You little city boy," she teases.
She rests her head on my shoulder. Although far away, I could still feel her heartbeat. No matter how far away things are from us, they still feel closer than they really are, I say in my mind.
"How far away do you think that moon is from us," she says, as if she just read my mind.
I sit there and ponder. "Many, many miles away from us."
"Yet close enough that we can actually still see it in our very own eyes," she finishes off.
I nod.
"I find this interesting, Sean," she says, "that the moon actually seems so close to us. I feel like I can take a plane and fly there in a few minutes."
"Few minutes?" I question. "It's one of those moon illusions."
"It's one of those moon illusions," she repeats my words.
She readjusts herself yet still has her head gently resting on my shoulder.
"It's so far away," she blurts.
"Yeah it's not a side mirror."
"Hunh?"
"Objects are not closer than they appear."
She laughs. "Sometimes I don't get you."
I look at her and smile.