Fiction Friday - Moon

There was once a little girl called Moon.

That's how these stories always start, isn't it? "There was a ..." boy, girl, queen, king... In this case it was a girl. Of course, Moon wasn't her real name. It's what everyone called her. She had big saucer-eyes and her head in the clouds. A girl with big dreams was Moon.

Just her luck, she was born in the wrong time and place. Moon's parents didn't know what to do with their dreamy-headed offspring. In an effort to bring her ambitions down to earth, her mom and dad kept Moon busy.

School, then after school more extra lessons in everything under the sun. Everything except what she wanted.

Moon could sing. She wanted to learn how to sing better.

Moon could draw. She wanted to learn how to be an artist.

Moon's neighbor played the piano beautifully. Moon wanted to learn how to play.

Instead of all these "flighty" pursuits, her parents filled her days with science, computers, languages. Book learning was the only way they knew to succeed in life. They had no idea how useful artistic talents could be and they did everything they could to squash it out of her.

Still, Moon sang. She studied hard and got good grades. She excelled in school, while singing, and drawing on every scrap of paper she could find. 

She sang while she studied. As she grew up, she had less time for even small drawings, but singing was innate. She couldn't help it. She sang walking down the street. She sang between classes when she went to university. She sang in the lab as she studied to be a scientist. 

Moon's parents were very proud of their rocket scientist daughter. They decided her nickname "Moon" was perfect for a woman working to send people to the moon. When her parents died, Moon sang at their funerals. They would have been surprised to hear how good she really was after all this time.

~~~~

After the funeral, I quit my job at the space center and began working as a cabaret singer. Because I was that girl. That little girl did her duty to her parents, made them proud within their lifetimes, but now that they're gone so is she. Now it is my time. Watch out for the bright light of the Moon!

It's FICTION FRIDAY!

Every Friday I write a new flash fiction piece. Today's self-indulgent little micro-fiction is actually inspired by one of my online English students (not my life).
If you have a writing prompt you'd like to see turned into a story, just leave it in a comment.