The moon returned tonight, back on the western horizon after a brief absence. She shows only a sliver of herself, only a slice of her pale reflection. Soon, if the clouds allow, she will shine blue light across the sky, but not yet.
It reminds me of her, this night. The way the moon comes into view and discloses only a section of itself. She always showed me her smile, her cartoons and her off key laughter. Occasionally, I saw her concentration as she worked on homework. The wince as she adjusted her bike lock. But those were rare cues into her serious world. Mostly I saw her face beaming and her eyes bright. I never got past that confectionary exterior.
"You don't need to see me sad ya know"
That's what she used to say, and she was wrong. I think if I had seen that part of her, we might have connected more. I keep thinking she would have seen I could stand it, that I could deal with dark clouds and surly moods. She never let me get that close to her orbit and now I'll never know. She'll never know.
It was several phases ago, and many miles as well.