Chapter Text
As he looks up at the almost-full blue and white marbled bowling ball suspended in the dark, dark space, Shen Yuan cannot help but think dying from choking on expired noodles is almost worth it. Alright, it was messy and humiliating and he will never be not fucking mad about it, but…
But the Earth-rise.
Earth just looks so blue , such a vivid outremer in black space, clouded with pristine white. It looks like a Christmas ornament, the kind people break out of carelessness and cry over, all lonely in its colorfulness within the void, and Shen Yuan just can’t believe he once lived there.
It’s so small and yet, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of mankind lived there – on this blue marble he could hold in his hand.
Since he has been reborn – and wasn’t that a dizzy, why didn’t he got the forgetfulness soup, knowing his shitty luck some underworld cleric made a mistake in the schedule – sitting in the garden to watch this pale blue dot slowly climbing out in the horizon is his new favorite moment of the day.
His family occasionally went to gape at the Moon rising, when they had time and they felt into the mood. Meimei always bemoaned about not being an astronaut, feeling it was boring to merely sigh at some country instead of visiting in person.
She would go green from envy if she could see her san-ge right now, Shen Yuan wistfully muses as he lays down in a soft embrace. He can feel a hum behind him, his back vibrating from the woman’s breathing.
His mother in this new life also really enjoys Earth-gazing. She’s the one who introduced him to it, actually.
Shen Yuan isn’t complaining. And all these layers of silk robes are very comfortable as she puts his physically four-year-old self on her lap when they’re doing it.
Sometimes she will hum lullabies or poetry, most of the time she won’t say anything in order to fully appreciate the spectacle. Sometimes she’s in a storytelling mood, and today is one of these days.
« Once upon a time » she begins and her voice is smooth as the glassy surface of a pond under the moonlight, « there was a skilled archer, and he and his wife were very much in love with each other. »
Shen Yuan scrunches his nose. Please not a romance, it’s icky.
« When he heard about the Lord Archer’s prowess with the bow and arrow, King Yao commanded for him to go and slay the sun birds, for these beasts refused to heed his wisdom and were about to scorch the world in their flames. And the archer kowtowed and said the King would be obeyed. »
Not a romance after all. It’s much better.
« And so he went, to find the sun birds and beseech them to have mercy on the world, for he was a man who didn’t enjoy killing if he could avoid it. But the birds refused to listen, and so he pretended to shoot at them for intimidation. Still they wouldn’t hear his warnings, and he began to shoot them one by one, until a single three-legged crow was left. »
Shen Yuan gives a small kick with his right leg.
« Did he shoot this one too, a-Niang ? » he asks in spite of already knowing the answer – obviously there’s a sun shining down on Earth.
« King Yao and the sun’s mother, the noble lady Xihe, bade him to spare the surviving sun for the prosperity of mankind. But for his great service to the gods and the men, they offered to grant him immortality. The archer accepted if only his wife could ascend to the Heavens with him, and his wish was granted. »
Again with the romance. This story is nothing but a see-saw, why can’t it choose between its genres ?
« He went home, and showed to his beloved the pills of immortality he had won, but he just needed to go on a last hunt and settle his estate before consuming it. And while he was away... »
Her voice grows even softer, almost a whisper.
« The Lord Archer has an apprentice, and he was envious of his master’s talent with the bow. When he heard of the great reward that the gods had bestowed on the sun-slayer, his heart’s demons raised their hideous strength within him, and he broke into his master’s house to threaten his master’s wife. Give them to me , he screamed, give me the pills of immortality or I will gut you like the sow you are ... »
Ah, Shen Yuan already heard this story, didn’t he ? Not exactly this way, not exactly this same story, but the characters, the bare bones of the plot…
« And she couldn’t let such a man stealing another, more righteous one’s reward, but she couldn’t fight him either, and so the woman did something awful. »
« What was that ? »
« She ate both pills, hers and her husband’s. And as she ascended to the Heavens where the apprentice couldn’t reach her, she threw a long, last look at the world… and she saw her beloved alone on the road home, and she knew she would never touch him again. »
Her breathing hiccups.
« No matter how much she tried to go back afterwards... »
Shen Yuan squirms, but without any energy. He just wants to express his disapproval with this ending.
« This is sad , a-Niang » he complains.
« All stories cannot end on a happy note, Yuan’er. »
« Well, they should . This one should » he insists with all the tyranny of a pampered, spoiled little emperor. « Now you’re sad, and that’s because of this stupid story. »
His second mother’s laugh makes him shiver, wrapping him in the snowy freshness of its silvery chimes.
« How could I be sad, when Yuan’er is with me ? My little moondrop. »
« Not little . I am going to grow up and up and I will be so big I will have to sit on the roof » he boasts.
She laughs, aware that he’s completely ridiculous. As long as she’s laughing, he can take it.
« Alright then. But not today, your bed isn’t large enough for this size and I have no time for ordering another. »
Shen Yuan happily hums as the blue and white Earth is almost reaching above their heads.
« Not today » he concedes as if it was a really huge deal, and receives a kiss on the head.
It’s weird to have so much hair now, and snowy white, but when you’re living on the Moon, you don’t really give a damn about looking weird.