In the winter chill under the full moon where snowflakes glitter like stardust sprinkling down from the heavens, I stand outside my humble home and think of the days when I was young. My daughter, Priscilla, holds my hand and snuggles her jacket as she too stares up at the sky.
‘Look!’ she says, pointing to a dash of light, a shooting star.
‘That must be Kelly Jade,’ I tell her, crouching down. ‘Officer Kelly Jade, and her space-dog Laika’.
As for the moon, I at last notice a darkness descending upon it, and in the shadow a fiery red that scars the silver surface.
‘What’s happening?’ Priscilla asks.
‘It’s the bandits,’ I reply, matter-of-factly. I knew all too well of the bandits on the moon – I used to be one. ‘They’ve come to steal Selene’s moonstones, but don’t worry, Officer Jade will chase them away, she always does.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Well, remember what I told you about my adventures? Long ago, before you were born, I was a traveller, and a bit of a rabble-rouser. And I was a bandit who tried to steal from Selene, the girl who lives on the moon.
‘But first I’ll tell you about Officer Kelly Jade and her faithful companion Laika. Kelly Jade was a good person, with long scarlet-red hair which she kept tied up in a bun, as all good police officers do, but she was in many ways, if you’ll allow the expression, a very down-to-earth girl. Laika was a scruffy-looking fellow and though you might think of him as just a dog he was much more than that – he was Kelly’s co-pilot. Together they flew all around in their ship – their space ship, I mean – keeping people like you and I safe from misfits, bandits and the like. Not only here on Earth, you see, there are trouble makers scattered all throughout the stars.
‘It was just another day for Kelly Jade, she was flying home from Omega Station, the space academy – oh yes, there are academies in space; it’s only fitting for an Earth policeman to be trained on Earth and a space policeman to be trained in space – when she received a call on her radio:
‘“Listen up Officer Jade, we’ve had some troubling news from the girl on the moon.”
‘“What is it this time, Captain?” Kelly replied.
‘“Looks like space-bandits, from Mars”, said the Captain.
‘“Space-bandits, again?” Kelly looked at Laika, who barked seriously. “Well okay,” Kelly went on. “We’ll be right there.”
‘In case you were wondering, I was indeed one of the bandits from Mars. Yes, Mars, just fifteen minutes up the road, so to speak. At the time I ran with a rather unpleasant gang of thieves, cheats and cut-throats, and my friend and I were on our way to steal us some moonstones. Ah yes, the moonstones, imagine holding the stars in the palm of your hand. Each as precious as a diamond and as mystical and powerful as a sorcerer’s gem, the moonstones of dear Selene’s gardens were worth more than a pretty price, and as far as we could tell they were free for the taking.’
‘And so, when I first set foot on the moon all those years ago I had expected to see something grey and barren, a vast expanse of craters and dust. I was wrong. The surface of the moon… it was alive! A great ocean of light as far as the eye can see. My companion and I set out from our shuttles in search of the moonstones and sooner or later we came to the village. It is difficult to find the words to describe it, but I think ‘unreal’ shall suffice… yes, it was unreal.
‘In the centre of the village was a single hut, which would seem out of place on the surface of the moon if not for the shining forests of stone all around us. Beside the hut was a garden, but of course there were no Earthly plants on the moon. These plants were more like crystals, sparkling of all colours. There were animals, too. Little moon critters dashed hither and tither, looking like rabbits with their long ears, pale fur and twitching sniffling noses.
‘“There she is,” muttered my friend as he peeked over a rock. The door of the hut swung open and she stepped outside. I had no business being so awestruck by a woman like her. Selene, the girl on the moon, was tall and fair and she wore a dazzling white dress that covered her feet so she seemed to float through the gardens rather than walk. Her hair was silver and her eyes were the colour of a winter storm, mystical and dangerous.
‘“What’s that?” said my companion quite suddenly. “Who?” He pointed skywards at an incoming ship that I now know belonged to Officer Jade and Laika.
‘In that moment my butterflies turned into bats and I was overcome with a new sense of urgency. “Come on,” I said, turning away. “The moonstones are in a cave not far from here. We should hurry.”
‘“Too late!” cried my companion, and to my dismay I saw that Officer Jade was looking right me.
‘I had to think quickly. The first thing I did was run back to my ship – no, don’t assume I was running away, you have to give a thief a little credit. “To the cave,” I told my companion. “Go!” And he ran off towards the cave and I was left to divert Kelly’s attention.
‘Once I saw that her ship was flying behind me I knew that the smart thing to do was to lure her as far into deep space as possible, giving my companion enough time to take off with the moonstones, but for the life of me I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead I hovered over the lunar surface, still leading Kelly away, and then I set my ship down in a crater.
‘I hopped out of my ship and greeted Kelly in person, though she didn’t seem at all pleased to see me, and Laika lowered his head and growled fiercely in my direction. I raised my hands and admitted defeat.
‘“What do you think you’re doing?” Kelly demanded, striding towards me.
‘“It’s too late,” I said, quite heavily. “By the time you get back the moonstones will be gone…”
‘Suddenly the ground, which was ashen white in colour, began to glow deep red, and the stars above disappeared. I stepped back in perplexed terror, feeling nothing but overwhelming grief, and shame. “What’s happening?”
‘“I think you’ve made Selene angry,” said Kelly, answering my question even though it wasn’t exactly addressed to her. “It’s not the first time.” She looked at me now as if she knew something that I did not. “This is bigger than you. If you have even a shred of decency you’ll help me make this right.”
‘I am yet to understand what manner of force it was that drove me to do what I did, but in the end, I told Kelly where my man and the moonstones could be found, and she left me standing in that crater without a second word, and without a clue as to what to do with myself.
‘I went back, traversing a red moon – a dark moon – towards the village where the critters caught sight of me and dashed off into the gardens. I found Selene sitting alone outside her hut, with her hand propped up against her cheek as if she were in quiet contemplation, although I caught a hint of severe grumpiness in her features. And I had done this to her!
‘I heard the roar of Kelly’s ship flying overhead and she landed just outside the village. When she hopped out I ran up to her and asked, “Is it over? The moon is still red.”
‘“It is,” said Kelly, “how very observant of you. Laika chased down your friend – and gave him a nasty bite, didn’t you Laika?”
‘Laika barked in response.
‘Kelly went on. “He was placed under arrest and taken away by another officer. I’m here to return these—” she hoisted up a heavy bag from the ground, “to Selene. With the moonstones back in her possession I’m sure she’ll be able to return everything to normal in no time.”
‘“And what about me?” I asked.
‘“Oh, you’re still under arrest. You caused all this, after all. But I’ll let everyone know you’ve been cooperative, for the most part. Thank you, by the way. You did the right thing.”
By now as Priscilla and I look up at the night sky we see the blood moon slowly fade away and the light return.
‘And then what happened?’ Priscilla asks me.
I think for a moment. ‘Well, I never saw Selene again, and the last I saw of Kelly Jade was when I left the police station a few days later. I gave up my mischievous ways and I’ve been here on Earth ever since. And that’s where the story ends.’
I turn and look at the warm glow of our house and I put my hand on Priscilla’s shoulder. ‘It’s getting cold,’ I tell her. ‘Come on, let’s get you inside.’
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