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literature
The Moon Farm
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Literature Text
-1-
“Once there was one moon but then there were many.”
He said. He was sat on his weathered arm chair opposite Mama S wrapped in his navy blue dressing gown. His skin was crinkled like old paper, and his eyes twinkled the silvery grey that was reserved only for storytelling and Mama S.
“They were grown at the Moon farm. There were fields of them – crescent moons, and half-moons, and moons that when they were at their most ripe, glowed bright and full and cast a ghostly light over the rest of the crop.”
He told them in a car journey towards Whitby at sundown, his strong youthful hands guiding the small tin machine that he and Mama S. had spent the last eight years saving up for – their ten year old daughter listened attentively in the back.
“A new moon would be put into the sky each night and plucked out of it each morning”
Mama S. -before she was known as Mama at all – laid her head on his shoulder. She wore a shimmering orange evening gown which spread out around her on the grassy playing field. Papa L. pointed up to the moon.
“You see the Moon, the original Moon, fell in love with the Sun – and she with him. And though they loved each other very much they could never be together, for when the Sun must rise, the Moon must fall – and when the Moon must rise, the Sun must set.”
It was their honeymoon. They danced on the coldly lit beach – the song of the waves accompanied them as he whispered in her ear.
“But their longing for one another was so strong, that eventually a local farmer heard their sorrow, and took pity on them. He planted the moon seeds, and tended to them each day, until finally he had grown a whole crop of moon in his farm. “
She was crying – it was the night of her father’s funeral. They lay between the starched white sheets of a motel, her tears soaking his nightshirt. Papa L. spoke in gentle tones and slowly she drifted off to sleep.
“And then the farmer gave it to the Moon as a gift. So that now, though the Sun must still rise each day, when she set the Moon could release one of his harvested moons into the sky, and she could come to him – and they would have at least that night together.”
Mama S. lay exhausted on the hospital bed. He told the story as he rocked their new born baby softly to sleep, perched beside her. They shared a smile and he kissed her on the forehead.
“They did this every night, and were happy, for many years. “
It had been her first day at the factory. She was sixteen. He took her home on the back of his bicycle and the story was almost lost in the wind as he sped down the hill in the streetlight.
“But then the StarEaters came.”
He gestured wildly with his hands to be heard over the clunky mechanical carnival music as Mama S. gasped in amusement. They had managed to sneak out of school to attend the local Christmas fair. Papa L. had used up all of his pocket money to buy them a box of popcorn. It was sweet and salty and Mama S. crunched it with delight.
“They had eaten all the shine from the stars in their galaxy, and on seeing the moons – which shone abnormally bright due to their proximity to the Sun – mistook them for a glowing constellation.”
Mama S. tried to supress a tear as they said goodbye to their daughter as she boarded the train that would take her to University. He hadn’t time to finish the story before the train whistled and they watched it take her away.
“They sailed down through the skies on their ships – and on landing were angered to find no stars at all – just fields and fields of growing moons. The StarEaters were enraged and they had no way of getting back home – for their machines ran only on the shine of a star. But they knew of one star. For the Sun herself was a star – and she shone the brightest of them all. “
They were children. Their families huddled in the underground shelter with the rest of the neighbourhood by the faint light of a flashlight and they listened to his story whilst the bombs fell from the sky.
“So they waited.”
He wrote in a letter he had sent when he had to spend those months away from her to fight in the War. She kept it beneath her pillow and read it over and over again in the weeks before his return.
“But the Moon knew that they waited, and that to take the shine of the Sun was to take her life, and he could never let that happen. And so, that night, he himself rose into the sky– so that she would know not to come to him. And she saw him there and wept for she thought he had abandoned her. “
They were on the train to London. They couldn’t afford seats so spent the eight hour long journey stood up. A man in uniform played the accordion and a hip flask filled with whisky was passed around the carriage.
“But still the StarEaters waited – so though he longed for her, and she for him, he did this each night since – because he knew that until she saw a moon harvested from his own fields, she would think he had forgotten her – and she would not come.”
He was on his deathbed. His voice was croaky and his eyes did not twinkle as brightly as they once had done. Mama S. clung to his hand as tightly as her frail fingers would allow – not permitting him to slip away. With all the strength he had left, he tenderly wiped away a tear which slipped from her eye and down her wrinkled cheek.
“But he did not forget, and neither did she. And she waited. She waited each night from the beginning to the end, for the night when the harvest moon would rise in the sky – for that was the night when she could finally return home to her one true love.”
His hand lay gently on her pregnant stomach as they sat on the porch of the caravan. The reflection of the moon shone brightly from the surface of the water just past the holiday park gates. He turned and looked at her with eyes that were filled fiercely with love – and she could not imagine a single day without him.
-2-
Mama S. sat in her weathered armchair. She wore a dark blue dressing gown that was a number of sizes big for her and consumed her small frame. A year after his death her daughter had insisted that she wash it. It had taken away his scent.
Since, she had sprayed it with his aftershave, but with time, that too had faded.
The armchair before her gaped like an empty hole.
“I miss you Papa L.”
I miss you too bumblebee
The slippers that she wore were too big for her and shuffled against her feet as she fidgeted. She looked out of the window before her.
“The moon is bright tonight”
The harvest moon is coming
“I know”
She put her hand to her chest where the crescent shaped necklace Papa L had given her hung but it wasn’t there.
“I keep forgetting things”
I know sweetheart. But they come back to you in the end.
Slowly she raised herself up from the armchair and walked to the telephone. It was late but she had lost track of time long before.
The receiver picked up.
“I want to go the Moon Farm” she said softly.
“It’s late mum. I’ll talk to you in the morning”
-3-
She dozed for a few hours in her chair, and then looked outside.
Spotlighted by Midnight’s glow, was a small girl looking up at Mama S’ window.
In her hand was a bright yellow balloon, elevated above her head. It bobbed gently in the evening air.
Mama S creakily opened the window, letting in a gentle breeze.
“I know your face” she said softly.
The young girl nodded.
“Have you come to take me to the Moon Farm?”
The young girl nodded again.
Mama S carefully closed the window and, still wearing Papa L’s dressing gown and oversized slippers, made her way through the house and out onto the lawn.
She looked confused for a moment.
“Have you come to take me to the Moon Farm?”
The young girl nodded again.
“Yes” she replied “but first we have to get your shine back”
-4-
They walked in darkness across the fields, the stars leaving small pools of glow on the land.
They passed along muddy tracks and grassy hills, and over wooden styles that took them through fields of high reaching corn.
The night was quiet, filled with the ghostly light that is only ever seen by the moon and stars – and the balloon, still clutched by the young girl, swayed to and fro in the breeze that ruffled the crops.
Soon, the faint sound of an accordion filled the sky and Mama S could see bright, colourful lights flashing and flickering in the far right hand corner of her peripheral.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing.
“That is the carnival the dream folk call Supernova” the girl replied “And that is where we must go to get back your shine.”
-5-
A sign in white twinkling lights read: Supernova.
Behind it were rows and rows of red and white tents. And there were fairground rides and food stalls too, stretching far into the distance.
There were lots of people moving between them but they looked strange – hazy and ethereal-and they wore peculiar outfits.
The ladies wore suit jackets, over stiff long sleeved shirts which seemed to suck in their waists, and billowing skirts which brushed against the carnival ground, and protruded out from behind them.
The gentlemen on the other hand wore flouncy, lacy blouses– the top, pearl buttons left undone – with smart suit trousers at the bottom and shoes so shiny the carnival lights were mirrored in them.
They each wore either a top hat, or a bonnet – though the preference did not discriminate between the genders.
There was chatter in the air, but the faces of the people seemed smudged and blank, and on closer inspection it would appear they had no mouths at all from which they could be speaking. There was the sound of music too – clunky and mechanical.
The young girl walked into the carnival, the yellow balloon bobbing out of time with the disjointed melody.
Mama S followed.
-6-
“Where do we go now?” asked Mama S as she stepped over the threshold. “How do I get back my shine?”
“I am your guide only” replied the young girl “You must find your own path through the Carnival Supernova.”
Mama S nodded and closed her eyes for a moment.
“I think I would like a snack” she said.
-7-
They approached a black and red striped stall.
A faceless member of the dream folk stood in the centre.
On one side of him was a machine that spun sugar into clouds.
On the other side of him was a machine that popped tiny seeds into sparkling stars.
The male tilted his head and appeared to look at Mama S – though he had no eyes with which to do so.
“Cloud-floss, or Star-corn?” he said “One gives shine, the other supresses it. Which shall it be?”
Mama S looked to the little girl with the yellow balloon, and then back to the dream folk.
She thought deeply for a moment.
“Stars give shine. Clouds hide the stars” she replied “I will take the Star-corn”
The faceless being nodded his head below his top hat.
“Very well” he replied.
He scooped the stars into a red and white cardboard carton and handed it over to Mama S.
She took it and popped a piece into her mouth.
It was sweet and salty and Mama S. crunched it with delight.
From her fingertips, a faint glow began to shine.
-8-
Mama S made her way towards the Merry-go-round next.
It stood majestically in the centre of the stalls. The clunky music accompanied its graceful pirouettes.
The carousel top reflected different stages of the sky – one part the deep, black of midnight, one part the bright light of morning. Another showed the pink of sundown, and the last held the warm light of the afternoon.
There were lots of different types of car making their way around it; each belonging to one of the stages of the sky.
There were bright, shiny and new ones that reflected the time of day they belonged to.
And there was one old, rusty, tin can of a car – that looked like it belonged in a museum.
“Which will you choose?” asked the little girl-munching on a piece of star-corn, the yellow balloon bobbing in the wind.
Mama S made her way towards a shiny, red, Mercedes that belonged to the midnight sky.
But then she stopped and turned towards the tin can of a car.
That car belonged to sundown.
“When the Moon must rise, the Sun must set” she whispered, climbing into the old car.
It began to move.
A faint shine omitted from the glove compartment. She opened it and took out the glowing keys.
She slipped them into the ignition and drove the car off the twirling Merry-go-round and into the depths of the carnival at high speed –weaving in and out of the stalls.
She laughed.
“I know this car!” she said gleefully.
The glow from her fingertips travelled up to her forearms.
-9-
Mama S parked the car by the hook-a-duck tent – and stepped out with slippered feet.
The young girl followed.
A female being stood by the entrance flap which rippled in the breeze.
She wore an extravagant bonnet and in her hands she held a clipboard.
“Would you like to play?” she asked, tilting her head.
Mama S nodded.
“First you must sign the disclosure” she replied “Not all who enter return. We do not wish to be liable”
She handed Mama S a pen and she signed her name in ink that look like starlight. The being inspected the signature and nodded.
She passed Mama S a long wooden pole with a large lasso on the end.
“What are the rules?” asked Mama S.
“One duck has some of your shine” she replied “Hook that duck. But beware – if you hook the wrong duck you cannot return. If you hook the wrong duck, they will eat all the shine you have left.”
Mama S nodded and, pole in hand, walked through the silky entrance flap – the young girl close behind.
-10-
They emerged out onto a coldly lit beach.
Mama S shivered and clutched the oversized dressing gown closer to her.
The gentle song of the waves accompanied their footprints as she led them towards the water.
Swimming in the ocean were hundreds of giant, yellow, duck like creatures – many times bigger in both height and breadth than Mama S herself.
But they weren’t quite ducks.
They had dark eyes that seemed to contain infinity and inside their beaks were razor sharp, jagged teeth.
“Which one of you is the right duck?” she asked “Which one of you has my shine?”
As she spoke, one of the creatures turned its head sharply towards her. And then simultaneously they all looked at her and began to swim swiftly towards shore – baring their jagged teeth.
As they advanced – Mama S saw it.
Around one of the beast’s necks was a necklace that omitted a ghostly glow.
She raised an arm and began to swing the lasso as the creatures came closer.
“Hurry!” said the young girl.
She aimed.
And then released.
The lasso slipped around the neck of the creature, and tightened.
As it did so, all of the other giant ducks disbanded from their united mission against her, and swam, disinterested, back into the ocean.
Mama S approached the correct duck, and unclasped the glowing necklace from around its neck.
It had a charm in the shape of a crescent moon hanging from its chain.
“My necklace” she said.
She smiled, and put it on.
Then she petted the monstrous looking creature on the beak and it let out a happy purr.
Where the silver moon had touched her chest, a shine began to spread across her skin.
-11-
The duck bent down in the sand, and Mama S climbed onto its back.
The little girl climbed on in front of her.
They took off into the sky.
The carnival looked small below – like a toy.
Its twinkling lights looked faded and lifeless compared to the glowing of the stars so close by.
After a while they dropped in height, heading towards the ghost train, and suddenly the whole sky was filled with falling objects; objects that whistled as they hurtled across the night.
The sound of loud explosions surrounded them.
“Darn” said the duck “We’re on the wrong side of the coconut shack.”
Mama S and the little girl clung tightly to its yellow neck – the girl clasping the balloon close to her.
“What do we do?” asked Mama S.
“Don’t worry” replied the duck “There is another entrance to the ghost train. The Helter Skelter will take you to where you need to go. You can wait for the train there.”
The creature dropped them off on the ground and took off back into the night – swerving its way out of destruction’s path.
The explosions were more forceful now and Mama S grabbed the young girl’s hand – pulling her towards the sign reading Helter Skelter.
There was an opening in the ground.
They jumped through and twirled down the slide into the darkness.
-12-
They tumbled out onto the floor of an underground room. It was pitch black.
The sound of the explosions could still be heard as the coconuts fell from the sky.
On the floor was a small flashlight.
Mama S picked it up and, pointing it downwards, turned it on.
It shone ghostly white – and as its rays touched her feet – the shine absorbed through her slippers and made its way up her legs.
She pointed it upwards and saw they were on the ride’s station platform.
They took position in the queue and they waited.
-13-
The whistling ghost train, when it arrived, took them on a track though cardboard buildings where fake cardboard ghosts sprang out mechanically.
It took them past a two dimensional factory building first.
Then a flat motel building.
And then through a pretend hospital ward.
Mama S did not like this ride. It reminded her of something.
A kind gentleman wearing a green lacy bonnet noticed her distress. He passed her a hip flask as the accordion music played through the speakers.
“Care for some shine ma’am?” he asked.
She drank and the warm glow hit her stomach and spread up towards her cheeks.
-14-
They disembarked by a host of caravans, hidden away at the very heart of the carnival.
“I would like something nice to wear for when we get there” said Mama S.
She walked towards a caravan that had a sign reading dressmakers hung above it.
She entered.
Inside was a lady working at a spinning wheel.
She looked up with her featureless face.
“I weave dresses out of all kinds of light” she said “starlight, moonlight, sunlight. Which shall it be?”
Mama S smiled.
“Why sunlight of course” she replied “for the sun is a star, and shines the brightest of them all”
The being nodded under her top hat.
“Very well” she said – and began to weave with threads of sunlight.
When she was finished she handed Mama S a glimmering orange evening gown, alight with warmth and sunbeams.
She put it on underneath the dressing gown and as she did so, her whole being shone with light.
Mama S smiled.
“I can feel it” she said. “I have back my shine.”
-15-
Outside the caravan, Mama S looked upwards.
Beyond the flashing lights of the carnival, amongst the night stars, was the moon.
But it was a different moon.
Mama S pointed.
“It’s the Harvest moon” she said. “It is time.”
The little girl nodded.
“Yes” she agreed “It is time to go to the Moon Farm.”
-16-
By the log flume was a gentleman.
He helped them climb into one of the small, wooden boats.
“I trust you have found what you were looking for?” he asked – though he had no mouth.
Mama S nodded.
“Very well” he said “Follow the flume until you reach the fork in the river. Take the left turn. It will lead you to your destination.”
-17-
They whooshed down the rapids, beads of water clinging to the fabric of Mama S’ dark blue dressing gown as they splashed into the frantic waves. The yellow balloon bobbed about uncontrollably in the air.
When they reached the fork in the river, Mama S and the girl pulled out the oars that were stored inside the vessel and steered themselves left – fighting against the pull of the current.
Soon they found that they were in the middle of the dark countryside – the carnival far behind them.
The river became a stream, and they paddled onwards through the night.
They reached a small, wooden pier and disembarked.
Mama S pointed into the distance.
“The Moon Farm” she said.
-18-
There was a quaint bridge that led to the front of the stone farm building.
Past the building, Mama S could just about see the faint glow from the growing fields of moons.
In front of the building – were the StarEaters.
Stood in the doorway of the building – was Papa L.
-19-
The StarEaters were twice as tall as the farmhouse.
They wore black suits, and their faces were skeletal.
It was hard to determine if they had skin, or if the bright whiteness came from their bones.
They had bendy bug like legs, which made them walk with a slow, hunched grace – bouncing one leg up and crashing it down, and then doing the exact same thing with the other.
Each arm was shaped like the blade of a large, white plough.
When they saw the little old lady, stood in an enlarged dressing gown and slippers, they looked down at her with black hollow eyes – and they laughed.
-20-
Papa L looked at her with his glassy silver eyes.
“Mama S” he shouted frantically “It’s a trap. They mean to take your shine. And I can never let them do that”
Mama S looked back at him.
“I’ve missed you Papa L” she called “I’ve missed you so much”
“I’ve missed you too bumblebee” he said “But you have to go. They mean to take your shine”
She looked back up at the StarEaters as they moved back and forth between her and Papa L.
-21-
The biggest of the StarEaters addressed her.
“We wanted a star” it boomed “and instead we get you? Who are you? What good are you to us? We. Want. Our. Shine.”
Mama S pushed the little girl behind her, and took a hesitant step forwards onto the edge of the small stone bridge.
With all the bravery she could muster, she looked up.
“I am Mama S” she said, her voice shaking.
The StarEaters laughed.
Mama S coughed then looked up again – she took another small step forward.
“I am Mama S” she repeated – and this time the wobble in her voice was gone “And I have not forgotten.”
She took another step forward.
“I am Mama S.” she said- louder “And I have waited. I have waited each night from the beginning to the end.”
She strode forwards.
“I am Mama S” she shouted “And I have come for my one true love.”
She took another step forward so that she was stood at the top of the bridge.
“I am Mama S” she cried forcefully “And I am the Sun. And I shine the brightest of them all”
She dropped the dressing gown to the floor, exposing her orange shimmering evening gown, and bright warm shine shone from every part of her being.
The StarEaters cowered in its glare.
“Now take your shine” she screeched “And leave us be.”
And then suddenly they were gone – and it was dark once more.
-22-
Mama S flung herself forwards across the bridge.
Papa L hurtled across the farmyard.
They flew into each other’s arms and they held onto each other – not allowing the other to slip away.
“Can I stay?” she asked, through sobs “I want to stay. I want to stay with you”
“Yes bumblebee” he said weeping “You can stay”
-23-
Papa L broke from Mama S’ arms and looked over the bridge to the little girl with her yellow balloon. When she saw him looking she bounded across the bridge and into his arms
They all held each other close in a long embrace.
But then the sky began to change.
Papa L looked up.
“It’s almost time for the Sun to shine” he said, smiling at the young girl. “And you cannot be here when the night is over.”
Mama S crouched down in front of her.
“It’s up to you now” she said softly. “I know you will do wonderfully. I am so proud.”
She kissed her on the forehead and then stood next to Papa L, slipping her hand into his.
They smiled and the little girl nodded.
She let go of her yellow balloon.
There was a flare of light as it floated upwards into the sky and settled into the dawn.
-24-
The next day Mama S was found in her armchair by her daughter Poppy. They said her heart gave out.
-25-
A couple of weeks later Poppy drove to Whitby with her partner, James, and their little girl to scatter her mother’s ashes.
“Where are we going again?” asked James, studying a map on the dashboard.
“My parents used to always tell this story about a farm. It was silly really. I think my dad made it up based on an abandoned farm building up here” she said “I’ve never been but I’m sure it’s here somewhere. Mum mentioned it the night she died- said she wanted to go there” she added sadly.
They twisted down country roads until in the distance the ruins of an old stone building, stood behind a quaint stone bridge, came into view.
Poppy parked by the side of the road, and headed onwards.
When they reached the bridge James held back with their daughter – allowing his partner a moment of privacy. She nodded in gratitude and made her way towards the ruins.
She wept as she scattered the ashes.
-26-
And then she remembered.
Though she knew she had never been here before – she recalled with perfect clarity being stood here in this very spot as a child.
She remembered the farm building in all its former glory, and a ghostly glow coming from the fields behind it.
She remembered the feeling of a stomach full of popcorn, and her clothes being slightly damp from a ride on the log flume.
And she remembered her mother and father stood together – older than she had ever seen them – beaming hand in hand, as she released a yellow balloon into the sky.
She looked back at her family and smiled.
-27-
“You ok?” asked James, coming over and kissing her on the forehead.
He put his arm around her and led her towards a crumbling wall. They all cuddled up together on it, snuggling against the cold sea wind.
Poppy nodded.
“Hey, did I ever tell you the story of the Moon Farm?” she asked.
He shook his head, and her daughter looked up at her curiously.
Poppy wiped her eyes and grinned.
“Once there was one moon” she began “but then there were many….”
“Once there was one moon but then there were many.”
He said. He was sat on his weathered arm chair opposite Mama S wrapped in his navy blue dressing gown. His skin was crinkled like old paper, and his eyes twinkled the silvery grey that was reserved only for storytelling and Mama S.
“They were grown at the Moon farm. There were fields of them – crescent moons, and half-moons, and moons that when they were at their most ripe, glowed bright and full and cast a ghostly light over the rest of the crop.”
He told them in a car journey towards Whitby at sundown, his strong youthful hands guiding the small tin machine that he and Mama S. had spent the last eight years saving up for – their ten year old daughter listened attentively in the back.
“A new moon would be put into the sky each night and plucked out of it each morning”
Mama S. -before she was known as Mama at all – laid her head on his shoulder. She wore a shimmering orange evening gown which spread out around her on the grassy playing field. Papa L. pointed up to the moon.
“You see the Moon, the original Moon, fell in love with the Sun – and she with him. And though they loved each other very much they could never be together, for when the Sun must rise, the Moon must fall – and when the Moon must rise, the Sun must set.”
It was their honeymoon. They danced on the coldly lit beach – the song of the waves accompanied them as he whispered in her ear.
“But their longing for one another was so strong, that eventually a local farmer heard their sorrow, and took pity on them. He planted the moon seeds, and tended to them each day, until finally he had grown a whole crop of moon in his farm. “
She was crying – it was the night of her father’s funeral. They lay between the starched white sheets of a motel, her tears soaking his nightshirt. Papa L. spoke in gentle tones and slowly she drifted off to sleep.
“And then the farmer gave it to the Moon as a gift. So that now, though the Sun must still rise each day, when she set the Moon could release one of his harvested moons into the sky, and she could come to him – and they would have at least that night together.”
Mama S. lay exhausted on the hospital bed. He told the story as he rocked their new born baby softly to sleep, perched beside her. They shared a smile and he kissed her on the forehead.
“They did this every night, and were happy, for many years. “
It had been her first day at the factory. She was sixteen. He took her home on the back of his bicycle and the story was almost lost in the wind as he sped down the hill in the streetlight.
“But then the StarEaters came.”
He gestured wildly with his hands to be heard over the clunky mechanical carnival music as Mama S. gasped in amusement. They had managed to sneak out of school to attend the local Christmas fair. Papa L. had used up all of his pocket money to buy them a box of popcorn. It was sweet and salty and Mama S. crunched it with delight.
“They had eaten all the shine from the stars in their galaxy, and on seeing the moons – which shone abnormally bright due to their proximity to the Sun – mistook them for a glowing constellation.”
Mama S. tried to supress a tear as they said goodbye to their daughter as she boarded the train that would take her to University. He hadn’t time to finish the story before the train whistled and they watched it take her away.
“They sailed down through the skies on their ships – and on landing were angered to find no stars at all – just fields and fields of growing moons. The StarEaters were enraged and they had no way of getting back home – for their machines ran only on the shine of a star. But they knew of one star. For the Sun herself was a star – and she shone the brightest of them all. “
They were children. Their families huddled in the underground shelter with the rest of the neighbourhood by the faint light of a flashlight and they listened to his story whilst the bombs fell from the sky.
“So they waited.”
He wrote in a letter he had sent when he had to spend those months away from her to fight in the War. She kept it beneath her pillow and read it over and over again in the weeks before his return.
“But the Moon knew that they waited, and that to take the shine of the Sun was to take her life, and he could never let that happen. And so, that night, he himself rose into the sky– so that she would know not to come to him. And she saw him there and wept for she thought he had abandoned her. “
They were on the train to London. They couldn’t afford seats so spent the eight hour long journey stood up. A man in uniform played the accordion and a hip flask filled with whisky was passed around the carriage.
“But still the StarEaters waited – so though he longed for her, and she for him, he did this each night since – because he knew that until she saw a moon harvested from his own fields, she would think he had forgotten her – and she would not come.”
He was on his deathbed. His voice was croaky and his eyes did not twinkle as brightly as they once had done. Mama S. clung to his hand as tightly as her frail fingers would allow – not permitting him to slip away. With all the strength he had left, he tenderly wiped away a tear which slipped from her eye and down her wrinkled cheek.
“But he did not forget, and neither did she. And she waited. She waited each night from the beginning to the end, for the night when the harvest moon would rise in the sky – for that was the night when she could finally return home to her one true love.”
His hand lay gently on her pregnant stomach as they sat on the porch of the caravan. The reflection of the moon shone brightly from the surface of the water just past the holiday park gates. He turned and looked at her with eyes that were filled fiercely with love – and she could not imagine a single day without him.
-2-
Mama S. sat in her weathered armchair. She wore a dark blue dressing gown that was a number of sizes big for her and consumed her small frame. A year after his death her daughter had insisted that she wash it. It had taken away his scent.
Since, she had sprayed it with his aftershave, but with time, that too had faded.
The armchair before her gaped like an empty hole.
“I miss you Papa L.”
I miss you too bumblebee
The slippers that she wore were too big for her and shuffled against her feet as she fidgeted. She looked out of the window before her.
“The moon is bright tonight”
The harvest moon is coming
“I know”
She put her hand to her chest where the crescent shaped necklace Papa L had given her hung but it wasn’t there.
“I keep forgetting things”
I know sweetheart. But they come back to you in the end.
Slowly she raised herself up from the armchair and walked to the telephone. It was late but she had lost track of time long before.
The receiver picked up.
“I want to go the Moon Farm” she said softly.
“It’s late mum. I’ll talk to you in the morning”
-3-
She dozed for a few hours in her chair, and then looked outside.
Spotlighted by Midnight’s glow, was a small girl looking up at Mama S’ window.
In her hand was a bright yellow balloon, elevated above her head. It bobbed gently in the evening air.
Mama S creakily opened the window, letting in a gentle breeze.
“I know your face” she said softly.
The young girl nodded.
“Have you come to take me to the Moon Farm?”
The young girl nodded again.
Mama S carefully closed the window and, still wearing Papa L’s dressing gown and oversized slippers, made her way through the house and out onto the lawn.
She looked confused for a moment.
“Have you come to take me to the Moon Farm?”
The young girl nodded again.
“Yes” she replied “but first we have to get your shine back”
-4-
They walked in darkness across the fields, the stars leaving small pools of glow on the land.
They passed along muddy tracks and grassy hills, and over wooden styles that took them through fields of high reaching corn.
The night was quiet, filled with the ghostly light that is only ever seen by the moon and stars – and the balloon, still clutched by the young girl, swayed to and fro in the breeze that ruffled the crops.
Soon, the faint sound of an accordion filled the sky and Mama S could see bright, colourful lights flashing and flickering in the far right hand corner of her peripheral.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing.
“That is the carnival the dream folk call Supernova” the girl replied “And that is where we must go to get back your shine.”
-5-
A sign in white twinkling lights read: Supernova.
Behind it were rows and rows of red and white tents. And there were fairground rides and food stalls too, stretching far into the distance.
There were lots of people moving between them but they looked strange – hazy and ethereal-and they wore peculiar outfits.
The ladies wore suit jackets, over stiff long sleeved shirts which seemed to suck in their waists, and billowing skirts which brushed against the carnival ground, and protruded out from behind them.
The gentlemen on the other hand wore flouncy, lacy blouses– the top, pearl buttons left undone – with smart suit trousers at the bottom and shoes so shiny the carnival lights were mirrored in them.
They each wore either a top hat, or a bonnet – though the preference did not discriminate between the genders.
There was chatter in the air, but the faces of the people seemed smudged and blank, and on closer inspection it would appear they had no mouths at all from which they could be speaking. There was the sound of music too – clunky and mechanical.
The young girl walked into the carnival, the yellow balloon bobbing out of time with the disjointed melody.
Mama S followed.
-6-
“Where do we go now?” asked Mama S as she stepped over the threshold. “How do I get back my shine?”
“I am your guide only” replied the young girl “You must find your own path through the Carnival Supernova.”
Mama S nodded and closed her eyes for a moment.
“I think I would like a snack” she said.
-7-
They approached a black and red striped stall.
A faceless member of the dream folk stood in the centre.
On one side of him was a machine that spun sugar into clouds.
On the other side of him was a machine that popped tiny seeds into sparkling stars.
The male tilted his head and appeared to look at Mama S – though he had no eyes with which to do so.
“Cloud-floss, or Star-corn?” he said “One gives shine, the other supresses it. Which shall it be?”
Mama S looked to the little girl with the yellow balloon, and then back to the dream folk.
She thought deeply for a moment.
“Stars give shine. Clouds hide the stars” she replied “I will take the Star-corn”
The faceless being nodded his head below his top hat.
“Very well” he replied.
He scooped the stars into a red and white cardboard carton and handed it over to Mama S.
She took it and popped a piece into her mouth.
It was sweet and salty and Mama S. crunched it with delight.
From her fingertips, a faint glow began to shine.
-8-
Mama S made her way towards the Merry-go-round next.
It stood majestically in the centre of the stalls. The clunky music accompanied its graceful pirouettes.
The carousel top reflected different stages of the sky – one part the deep, black of midnight, one part the bright light of morning. Another showed the pink of sundown, and the last held the warm light of the afternoon.
There were lots of different types of car making their way around it; each belonging to one of the stages of the sky.
There were bright, shiny and new ones that reflected the time of day they belonged to.
And there was one old, rusty, tin can of a car – that looked like it belonged in a museum.
“Which will you choose?” asked the little girl-munching on a piece of star-corn, the yellow balloon bobbing in the wind.
Mama S made her way towards a shiny, red, Mercedes that belonged to the midnight sky.
But then she stopped and turned towards the tin can of a car.
That car belonged to sundown.
“When the Moon must rise, the Sun must set” she whispered, climbing into the old car.
It began to move.
A faint shine omitted from the glove compartment. She opened it and took out the glowing keys.
She slipped them into the ignition and drove the car off the twirling Merry-go-round and into the depths of the carnival at high speed –weaving in and out of the stalls.
She laughed.
“I know this car!” she said gleefully.
The glow from her fingertips travelled up to her forearms.
-9-
Mama S parked the car by the hook-a-duck tent – and stepped out with slippered feet.
The young girl followed.
A female being stood by the entrance flap which rippled in the breeze.
She wore an extravagant bonnet and in her hands she held a clipboard.
“Would you like to play?” she asked, tilting her head.
Mama S nodded.
“First you must sign the disclosure” she replied “Not all who enter return. We do not wish to be liable”
She handed Mama S a pen and she signed her name in ink that look like starlight. The being inspected the signature and nodded.
She passed Mama S a long wooden pole with a large lasso on the end.
“What are the rules?” asked Mama S.
“One duck has some of your shine” she replied “Hook that duck. But beware – if you hook the wrong duck you cannot return. If you hook the wrong duck, they will eat all the shine you have left.”
Mama S nodded and, pole in hand, walked through the silky entrance flap – the young girl close behind.
-10-
They emerged out onto a coldly lit beach.
Mama S shivered and clutched the oversized dressing gown closer to her.
The gentle song of the waves accompanied their footprints as she led them towards the water.
Swimming in the ocean were hundreds of giant, yellow, duck like creatures – many times bigger in both height and breadth than Mama S herself.
But they weren’t quite ducks.
They had dark eyes that seemed to contain infinity and inside their beaks were razor sharp, jagged teeth.
“Which one of you is the right duck?” she asked “Which one of you has my shine?”
As she spoke, one of the creatures turned its head sharply towards her. And then simultaneously they all looked at her and began to swim swiftly towards shore – baring their jagged teeth.
As they advanced – Mama S saw it.
Around one of the beast’s necks was a necklace that omitted a ghostly glow.
She raised an arm and began to swing the lasso as the creatures came closer.
“Hurry!” said the young girl.
She aimed.
And then released.
The lasso slipped around the neck of the creature, and tightened.
As it did so, all of the other giant ducks disbanded from their united mission against her, and swam, disinterested, back into the ocean.
Mama S approached the correct duck, and unclasped the glowing necklace from around its neck.
It had a charm in the shape of a crescent moon hanging from its chain.
“My necklace” she said.
She smiled, and put it on.
Then she petted the monstrous looking creature on the beak and it let out a happy purr.
Where the silver moon had touched her chest, a shine began to spread across her skin.
-11-
The duck bent down in the sand, and Mama S climbed onto its back.
The little girl climbed on in front of her.
They took off into the sky.
The carnival looked small below – like a toy.
Its twinkling lights looked faded and lifeless compared to the glowing of the stars so close by.
After a while they dropped in height, heading towards the ghost train, and suddenly the whole sky was filled with falling objects; objects that whistled as they hurtled across the night.
The sound of loud explosions surrounded them.
“Darn” said the duck “We’re on the wrong side of the coconut shack.”
Mama S and the little girl clung tightly to its yellow neck – the girl clasping the balloon close to her.
“What do we do?” asked Mama S.
“Don’t worry” replied the duck “There is another entrance to the ghost train. The Helter Skelter will take you to where you need to go. You can wait for the train there.”
The creature dropped them off on the ground and took off back into the night – swerving its way out of destruction’s path.
The explosions were more forceful now and Mama S grabbed the young girl’s hand – pulling her towards the sign reading Helter Skelter.
There was an opening in the ground.
They jumped through and twirled down the slide into the darkness.
-12-
They tumbled out onto the floor of an underground room. It was pitch black.
The sound of the explosions could still be heard as the coconuts fell from the sky.
On the floor was a small flashlight.
Mama S picked it up and, pointing it downwards, turned it on.
It shone ghostly white – and as its rays touched her feet – the shine absorbed through her slippers and made its way up her legs.
She pointed it upwards and saw they were on the ride’s station platform.
They took position in the queue and they waited.
-13-
The whistling ghost train, when it arrived, took them on a track though cardboard buildings where fake cardboard ghosts sprang out mechanically.
It took them past a two dimensional factory building first.
Then a flat motel building.
And then through a pretend hospital ward.
Mama S did not like this ride. It reminded her of something.
A kind gentleman wearing a green lacy bonnet noticed her distress. He passed her a hip flask as the accordion music played through the speakers.
“Care for some shine ma’am?” he asked.
She drank and the warm glow hit her stomach and spread up towards her cheeks.
-14-
They disembarked by a host of caravans, hidden away at the very heart of the carnival.
“I would like something nice to wear for when we get there” said Mama S.
She walked towards a caravan that had a sign reading dressmakers hung above it.
She entered.
Inside was a lady working at a spinning wheel.
She looked up with her featureless face.
“I weave dresses out of all kinds of light” she said “starlight, moonlight, sunlight. Which shall it be?”
Mama S smiled.
“Why sunlight of course” she replied “for the sun is a star, and shines the brightest of them all”
The being nodded under her top hat.
“Very well” she said – and began to weave with threads of sunlight.
When she was finished she handed Mama S a glimmering orange evening gown, alight with warmth and sunbeams.
She put it on underneath the dressing gown and as she did so, her whole being shone with light.
Mama S smiled.
“I can feel it” she said. “I have back my shine.”
-15-
Outside the caravan, Mama S looked upwards.
Beyond the flashing lights of the carnival, amongst the night stars, was the moon.
But it was a different moon.
Mama S pointed.
“It’s the Harvest moon” she said. “It is time.”
The little girl nodded.
“Yes” she agreed “It is time to go to the Moon Farm.”
-16-
By the log flume was a gentleman.
He helped them climb into one of the small, wooden boats.
“I trust you have found what you were looking for?” he asked – though he had no mouth.
Mama S nodded.
“Very well” he said “Follow the flume until you reach the fork in the river. Take the left turn. It will lead you to your destination.”
-17-
They whooshed down the rapids, beads of water clinging to the fabric of Mama S’ dark blue dressing gown as they splashed into the frantic waves. The yellow balloon bobbed about uncontrollably in the air.
When they reached the fork in the river, Mama S and the girl pulled out the oars that were stored inside the vessel and steered themselves left – fighting against the pull of the current.
Soon they found that they were in the middle of the dark countryside – the carnival far behind them.
The river became a stream, and they paddled onwards through the night.
They reached a small, wooden pier and disembarked.
Mama S pointed into the distance.
“The Moon Farm” she said.
-18-
There was a quaint bridge that led to the front of the stone farm building.
Past the building, Mama S could just about see the faint glow from the growing fields of moons.
In front of the building – were the StarEaters.
Stood in the doorway of the building – was Papa L.
-19-
The StarEaters were twice as tall as the farmhouse.
They wore black suits, and their faces were skeletal.
It was hard to determine if they had skin, or if the bright whiteness came from their bones.
They had bendy bug like legs, which made them walk with a slow, hunched grace – bouncing one leg up and crashing it down, and then doing the exact same thing with the other.
Each arm was shaped like the blade of a large, white plough.
When they saw the little old lady, stood in an enlarged dressing gown and slippers, they looked down at her with black hollow eyes – and they laughed.
-20-
Papa L looked at her with his glassy silver eyes.
“Mama S” he shouted frantically “It’s a trap. They mean to take your shine. And I can never let them do that”
Mama S looked back at him.
“I’ve missed you Papa L” she called “I’ve missed you so much”
“I’ve missed you too bumblebee” he said “But you have to go. They mean to take your shine”
She looked back up at the StarEaters as they moved back and forth between her and Papa L.
-21-
The biggest of the StarEaters addressed her.
“We wanted a star” it boomed “and instead we get you? Who are you? What good are you to us? We. Want. Our. Shine.”
Mama S pushed the little girl behind her, and took a hesitant step forwards onto the edge of the small stone bridge.
With all the bravery she could muster, she looked up.
“I am Mama S” she said, her voice shaking.
The StarEaters laughed.
Mama S coughed then looked up again – she took another small step forward.
“I am Mama S” she repeated – and this time the wobble in her voice was gone “And I have not forgotten.”
She took another step forward.
“I am Mama S.” she said- louder “And I have waited. I have waited each night from the beginning to the end.”
She strode forwards.
“I am Mama S” she shouted “And I have come for my one true love.”
She took another step forward so that she was stood at the top of the bridge.
“I am Mama S” she cried forcefully “And I am the Sun. And I shine the brightest of them all”
She dropped the dressing gown to the floor, exposing her orange shimmering evening gown, and bright warm shine shone from every part of her being.
The StarEaters cowered in its glare.
“Now take your shine” she screeched “And leave us be.”
And then suddenly they were gone – and it was dark once more.
-22-
Mama S flung herself forwards across the bridge.
Papa L hurtled across the farmyard.
They flew into each other’s arms and they held onto each other – not allowing the other to slip away.
“Can I stay?” she asked, through sobs “I want to stay. I want to stay with you”
“Yes bumblebee” he said weeping “You can stay”
-23-
Papa L broke from Mama S’ arms and looked over the bridge to the little girl with her yellow balloon. When she saw him looking she bounded across the bridge and into his arms
They all held each other close in a long embrace.
But then the sky began to change.
Papa L looked up.
“It’s almost time for the Sun to shine” he said, smiling at the young girl. “And you cannot be here when the night is over.”
Mama S crouched down in front of her.
“It’s up to you now” she said softly. “I know you will do wonderfully. I am so proud.”
She kissed her on the forehead and then stood next to Papa L, slipping her hand into his.
They smiled and the little girl nodded.
She let go of her yellow balloon.
There was a flare of light as it floated upwards into the sky and settled into the dawn.
-24-
The next day Mama S was found in her armchair by her daughter Poppy. They said her heart gave out.
-25-
A couple of weeks later Poppy drove to Whitby with her partner, James, and their little girl to scatter her mother’s ashes.
“Where are we going again?” asked James, studying a map on the dashboard.
“My parents used to always tell this story about a farm. It was silly really. I think my dad made it up based on an abandoned farm building up here” she said “I’ve never been but I’m sure it’s here somewhere. Mum mentioned it the night she died- said she wanted to go there” she added sadly.
They twisted down country roads until in the distance the ruins of an old stone building, stood behind a quaint stone bridge, came into view.
Poppy parked by the side of the road, and headed onwards.
When they reached the bridge James held back with their daughter – allowing his partner a moment of privacy. She nodded in gratitude and made her way towards the ruins.
She wept as she scattered the ashes.
-26-
And then she remembered.
Though she knew she had never been here before – she recalled with perfect clarity being stood here in this very spot as a child.
She remembered the farm building in all its former glory, and a ghostly glow coming from the fields behind it.
She remembered the feeling of a stomach full of popcorn, and her clothes being slightly damp from a ride on the log flume.
And she remembered her mother and father stood together – older than she had ever seen them – beaming hand in hand, as she released a yellow balloon into the sky.
She looked back at her family and smiled.
-27-
“You ok?” asked James, coming over and kissing her on the forehead.
He put his arm around her and led her towards a crumbling wall. They all cuddled up together on it, snuggling against the cold sea wind.
Poppy nodded.
“Hey, did I ever tell you the story of the Moon Farm?” she asked.
He shook his head, and her daughter looked up at her curiously.
Poppy wiped her eyes and grinned.
“Once there was one moon” she began “but then there were many….”
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