The Moon Over the Porch

Chapter 1: Where Did the Moon Go?

The porch swing creaked in the dark. ⟨Character 1⟩ sat with his chai cup, and Moti lay at his feet.

⟨Character 1⟩: This is the best part of the day. Everyone else is asleep. The phone is quiet. Just me and my chai.

⟨Character 1⟩: And you, Moti. You’re the only one I don’t mind talking to. You never ask me about deadlines or bugs.

Moti looked up at the sky. His nose twitched. He whimpered and nudged ⟨Character 1⟩’s foot.

⟨Character 1⟩: What is it? A bug? A leaf? You’re not getting my chai, if that’s what you’re after.

Moti whimpered again and looked up. ⟨Character 1⟩ followed his gaze.

⟨Character 1⟩: Huh. The moon’s not there. That’s odd. It was there yesterday. Big and round.

⟨Character 1⟩: You want to find it, don’t you? Of course you do. You’re a puppy. You don’t know that moons come and go.

⟨Character 1⟩: Fine. We’ll look. But just for a minute. I’m not spending my whole night on this.

⟨Character 1⟩ picked up his chai and stepped off the porch. Moti trotted beside him, tail wagging.

⟨Character 1⟩: If I’d wanted to chase the moon, I’d have gotten a cat. Cats chase things. Puppies just look sad and make you do things.

⟨Character 1⟩: All right. Where would a moon hide? Under the bushes? Behind the shed? This is ridiculous.

Moti sniffed the ground and looked up at the empty sky. He whimpered softly.

⟨Character 1⟩: Hey. Don’t worry. We’ll find it. Or it’ll find us. That’s how moons work, I think.

⟨Character 1⟩: Let’s check behind the shed first. If I’m doing this, I’m doing it properly.

Chapter 2: The Moon in the Water

⟨Character 1⟩ pushed aside a bush and peered behind the shed. Moti sat down heavily, his eyelids drooping.

⟨Character 1⟩: Nothing back here. Just a bucket and a spider. The spider’s not talking. Smart spider.

Moti’s head dipped, then jerked back up. He shook himself and sniffed the grass.

⟨Character 1⟩: You’re falling asleep standing up. Look at you. Your eyes are doing that slow blink thing.

⟨Character 1⟩: Hold on. Here’s a cricket. See? Little guy. He’s not the moon either, but he’s awake.

Moti yawned so wide his whole body stretched. He looked at the cricket and yawned again.

⟨Character 1⟩: The cricket didn’t impress you. Fair enough. Let’s try the pond. Water reflects things. Maybe the moon’s hiding in there.

They walked to the pond. The water was still and dark. A bright white shape floated in the middle of it.

⟨Character 1⟩: Moti, look! There it is! The moon! In the water!

Moti jumped. Water splashed everywhere. ⟨Character 1⟩ got a face full of pond.

⟨Character 1⟩: Oh, very good. Very graceful. You found the moon and you found it with your whole body.

Moti paddled and looked down. The white shape was gone. Only ripples and dark water. He whined.

⟨Character 1⟩: Come here. It’s all right. That wasn’t the moon. It was the porch light bouncing off the water.

⟨Character 1⟩: Stay still. I’m drying you with my sweater. This sweater is now a towel. Don’t tell anyone.

⟨Character 1⟩ rubbed Moti dry. They sat on the grass. Moti shivered once, then leaned against ⟨Character 1⟩’s knee.

⟨Character 1⟩: Wait. Look. The cloud’s moving.

A cloud slid away. There, big and bright and round, was the moon.

⟨Character 1⟩: There it is. It was up there the whole time. It just had a cloud in front of it.

Moti’s tail wagged, slow and happy. He yawned and closed his eyes.

Chapter 3: The Moon Finds Them

⟨Character 1⟩ walked back to the porch with Moti in his arms. Moti was damp and heavy and warm.

⟨Character 1⟩: You weigh more wet. Did you know that? You’re twice the puppy when you’re soaked.

⟨Character 1⟩ sat down on the porch swing. It creaked and swayed. Moti curled up on his lap.

⟨Character 1⟩: There. That’s better. My chai’s gone cold, but I don’t mind. It was getting in the way of the swinging anyway.

⟨Character 1⟩: You see it? Up there. Still there. Big and round. It didn’t go anywhere.

Moti lifted his head just enough to look at the moon. His tail gave a sleepy thump against ⟨Character 1⟩’s leg.

⟨Character 1⟩: I used to think the moon was a big light. Just a thing that turned on and off. I never looked at it long enough to know better.

⟨Character 1⟩: I’m being soft. This is your fault. You and your sad eyes and your wet nose.

Moti’s eyes closed. His breathing went slow and steady.

⟨Character 1⟩: There he goes. Out like a lamp.

⟨Character 1⟩: I’ll tell you a secret. I’m glad we looked. I haven’t walked in my own garden in years. Not like that. Not looking for something.

⟨Character 1⟩: And the moon. It’s a good moon. Worth looking for. Worth finding.

⟨Character 1⟩ yawned. The porch swing rocked, slow and easy.

⟨Character 1⟩: Tomorrow we’ll look for the sun. Just kidding. The sun’s too bright. It finds you whether you want it or not.

The moon slid a little higher. The swing creaked. Moti twitched his floppy ear and slept on.

⟨Character 1⟩: Good night, Moti. Good night, moon.

⟨Character 1⟩ closed his eyes. His hand rested on Moti’s back. They both fell asleep under the moon.