Under the Moonlight

By Elle Pellano


It's that time of the month again.

I walked fast and kept my head low until I reached that part of the park that had busted lamp posts. The city government did not bother replacing them due to the park's low foot traffic. The place was rarely maintained so the bushes had grown thicker and the trees had intertwined their branches in protest.

It was the perfect hiding spot for me especially for this occasion. People avoided this area for fear of being robbed or assaulted in the dark. I was not one of those people.

I sat down on one of the surviving wooden benches and stared at the full moon above. It had a dim yellow hue like it was pretending to be a dull sun. Regardless of the color, it still had the same effect on me.

I felt vulnerable.

All those stories about my race turning into vicious creatures of the night were overblown rumors from people who had seen our true forms.

We had always been hairy and wolfish but people saw us like normal human beings except once a month when the full moon rises and gives random people the gift of clarity. Sometimes it's temporary. Sometimes it lasts a lifetime.

The first person I encountered who received the moon's gift was an elderly neighbor. She was waiting for her granddaughter to visit around lunch time that day but the girl was a no show. Apparently, her grandchild had a habit of standing her up or arriving extremely late. I offered to eat lunch with her so as not to waste the meal she had prepared. I only intended to stay for an hour or two but the old woman was very endearing. We chatted for hours about her family and her escapades during her youth. We did not notice how much time had passed and when we finally said our goodbye, the full moon was beginning to rise on the horizon.

My young and reckless self didn't think it would be a cause for concern. There's no way the moon would grant the gift of sight to someone already at the prime of her life. Yet the world always had a way of fucking you up. The moment the moonlight shone upon my face, my new found friend began to scream in terror as my true form was suddenly revealed to her. Another neighbor called the police thinking I was harassing the poor old lady but after hearing both our sides, they let me go and advised the elderly woman's relatives to have her checked. I found out later that doctors had diagnosed her with dementia.

I was shattered because I knew better.

The moon's gift is a curse for both my race and the recipient. Humans tend to become frightened if they see something beyond what they can comprehend so they invent stories to satisfy their need for answers. That's why I resulted to hiding once a month.

Because under the moonlight, I am nothing but a monster to them.


A/N: Cover image from /photos/background-nature-moonlight-emotion-4991825/