“The moon is a loyal companion. It never leaves. It’s always there, watching, steadfast, knowing us in our light and dark moments, changing forever just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light. The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain. Alone. Cratered by imperfections.”
― Tahereh Mafi
…
For Hiro’s first (and hopefully last) experience inside a helicopter, it wasn’t really that terrible to be honest.
Sure, he had spent most of the time initially freaking out that Lunamor might make a sudden mistake or crash the helicopter on purpose and end up killing the two of them in a spree of fire, charred bones and blood, you get the drift–but the view had been rather therapeutic (and very much needed) to say the least…
Hiro might have enjoyed it all the more if a professional had been behind the controls instead of a young woman who used to be his student.
But hey, they had survived!
And that had been his main concern… of course, now that the helicopter had finally landed in the middle of nowhere, somewhere high up in a mountain, Hiro was back to wondering if this was just some elaborate scheme to murder him and to get rid of the body as well.
After all, Lunamor’s filthy rich, she’s also smart to boot–he was so sure she could definitely get away with murder if she really put her mind to it and Hiro was torn to think he was being overreacting or paranoid (and yes, maybe Lunamor was kind of right about him watching too many movies. He really should quit binge-watching horror movies on Netflix) but Hiro had always been inclined to think that Lunamor would be the type to assassinate someone in an overly complicated sort of way just like the ones you’d read from mystery novels.
Lunamor got out of the helicopter without a word, leaving the headphones behind on the seat and with a shrug, Hiro did the same as he stood beside her, looking around with vague interest.
“So,” he began, “…where are we?”
The helicopter had landed in a clearing near a lonely parking lot that only had a number of cars and Lunamor walked through the parking lot like she already knows where to go, beckoning him with a tilt of her head to follow her straight to a marbled gray staircase built on the other end of it.
“Welcome to Mt. Moon,” she answered, curtly.
Once he was standing at the foot of the stairs, Hiro craned his neck slightly to look up… only to find that the steps appeared to weave back and forth up the side of the mountain in what seemed to look like a spiral sort of staircase.
There were tall, see-through glass walls on either side of the stairs that made Hiro seriously glad he wasn’t remotely scared of heights.
“So many stairs…” Hiro muttered.
It looked like a stairway to heaven.
Lunamor, who was already a few steps ahead, paused at hearing his remark, glancing at him over her shoulder before gazing upwards, a non-committal hum escaping her lips, “I suppose it is… it’s a fifteen-minute walk, after all.”
Hiro gawked, “Maji?” (For real?)
She only shrugged at him, and Hiro huffed out a breath when he realized she wasn’t going to stop to chat before jogging a bit to keep up with her stride. He cleared his throat, “So… I take it you’ve been here before?”
“Occasionally,”
A beat of silence followed…
And Hiro shook his head when he instantly realized that Lunamor wasn’t planning to say more, “How did you know about this place? I never pegged you for the adventurous type.”
“…I’m not,” Hiro released a loud exasperated sigh at that, causing Lunamor to glance at him… though this time, her stare lingered longer on him before she decided to add: “My brother brought me here when I was eleven.”
His brows shot upwards; a bit curious.
“What for, Lunamor?”
Lunamor looked away and Hiro’s shoulders slumped, thinking that Lunamor may decide to play mute again… because really, she likes to do pretend that she was one a whole awful lot–
“For my birthday,” she muttered.
“Oh,” Hiro managed to say, suddenly feeling very awkward that he even bothered to pry–and more like an intruder over an information that was something so delicate and something he should not know, “That’s… very nice of him.”
“Mm,” a small smile curled at her lips, “He is.”
“So… when’s your birthday?”
“Last day of October,” she glances at him, “Yours?”
He smiles, “November 13.”
“Huh,” She blinks, “…we’re both Scorpios.”
“Oh wow… you sound like Professor Anderson. Didn’t really pegged you to be into that stuff,” Hiro chuckled.
“He won’t stop rambling about it,” she groused.
As they walked up the stairs in relative silence after that, Hiro looked over at Lunamor, eyeing her gloved hands which are partially closed by her sides as she continued to move which reminded Hiro of something he had read in a psychology textbook once about how secretive people kept their hands partially closed or clasped into fists when walking or something like that… and once again, he wondered why she was even wearing gloves in the first place.
It was kind of intriguing but at the same time, he couldn’t find it in him to actually ask her about this out loud because what if she was hiding something? What if her hands are scarred so badly, she didn’t want to, let alone anyone else see it?
Then again, for all Hiro know, Lunamor just happened to be averse towards dirt or human contact… but for some reason that doesn’t sit right with him. She seemed okay earlier, and she even initiated the handholding after all.
A sudden idea struck him.
Slowly, Hiro reached his hand out, hesitating when his trembling fingers brushed the back of her hand and then, ever so slowly, he slid his fingers against her’s, wrapping them with his own.
Then he quickly looked away when he noticed her eyes darting right over his direction at the touch, something like surprise or wonder flashing across those piercing eyes of dark gray. Lunamor almost looked like she was caught off guard.
And almost instantly, Hiro can feel his face growing warm that he almost began to seriously regret reaching out to her hand out of the blue like that…
But then, Hiro also felt the way her gloved fingers wrapping around his palm at the next second, almost instinctively, not quite enough to squeeze him but enough to just hold it back. Lunamor said nothing.
It… it felt nice.
When they finally reached the top of the stairs, Hiro gazed in wonder at a cozy-looking cottage with a matching large terrace designed with lush-green plants and flowers of different kinds and sizes were weaved upwards on the clear glass walls, showcasing the mountain view.
The place looked like a fancy greenhouse or a fairy’s secret lair or… or something out of a children’s fantasy book.
No wonder Lunamor’s brother had thought it was a good idea to bring her here as a child… it seems like the kind of place that little girls would love to celebrate their birthday parties for. Although Hiro can’t imagine Lunamor as a too-little kid.
Interestingly enough, upon closer inspection, Hiro noted that there was only a small, single table in the middle of the terrace although the place looked like it could accommodate more than one or two customers which is quite strange that there was only one table… still, it was a beautiful, wonderful place.
“Sugoi…” Hiro whistled. (Amazing…)
Lunamor blinked at him before walking over to the cottage and an older woman who seemed to be in her fifties stepped out, as though expecting them, bowing her head as soon as the two of them came near.
“Welcome back to Chalet Lune, mademoiselle Lunamor and of course, monsieur Zen.” the woman said, her French accent thick and very much noticeable when she addressed them, “Your secretary just called ahead, and we were able to prepare something for you and the monsieur. We hope it will be all to your liking.”
“…nous impressionner,”
Impress us, Lunamor had said.
Wait.
Wait a minute.
Hiro felt his eyes widen at that, glancing over at Lunamor… just now, that was French, wasn’t it? Seriously, just how many languages does this girl know?!
“Oui, if you’ll please follow me…”
They followed behind the woman without another word and Hiro couldn’t stop himself from looking around the place in awe, admiring the view as the two of them stepped into the fairytale-themed terrace. It’s like stepping into a land of enchantment, into another world.
Oh man, he wished he brought a camera.
“…You know what? Forget what I said about your office,” Hiro blurted out, smiling lightly when Lunamor raised an eyebrow at him, “This place is awesome for stargazing. You must have a perfect view of the stars from up here even without using a telescope!”
Lunamor’s gaze trailed up, almost thoughtfully.
“…I guess,” she murmured.
Shaking his head at such a bland reply, Hiro released her hand to pull back a chair for her to sit down. Lunamor, who appeared to be a bit taken aback by the sudden gesture for a moment, sat down quietly and Hiro pushed the chair back for her before occupying the other seat.
Hiro snorted at the slightly surprised look on her face–though he was secretly pleased to catch her off guard for once, “…j'ai encore des manières, tu sais,” (I still have manners, you know.)
Her eyebrows shot upwards.
“Oui. Je peux voir ça,” (Yes. I can see that)
Hiro grinned at the intrigued look she was now giving him, “La chevalerie n'est pas morte, ma cherie,” (Chivalry is not dead, my dear)
She scoffed, “…Non ti credo.”
His brows furrowed at that, “What?”
And Hiro mentally reminded himself that he was going to seriously start reading and memorizing some Italian phrases over the net if Lunamor seriously decides to keep on pulling stunts like this. For real, why does she always have to be five steps ahead over anything?!
“Nothing,” she shook her head, looking faintly amused, “I’m just… surprised that you speak French so fluently though I have to admit… l'accent était mignon,” (the accent was cute.)
He can feel his ears growing warm at the unexpected compliment. Hiro forcefully rolled his eyes at that before crossing his arms, though he was a bit flattered and irritated–was Lunamor, of all people, seriously hitting on him? Now? Really?
What’s next, monster hunters?
“So… what exactly do we need to discuss that you have to kidnap me all the way up here?” he asked, “Your office could work just fine, you know.”

“I did not kidnap you,”
He raised an eyebrow, “I beg to differ.”
“Let’s just agree to disagree.’
“No.”
“Semantics,” she waved a hand.
“Whatever you say, Lunamor.”
Then the older woman returned, this time with a wooden board that she placed on the edge of the table, “Notre pain et fromage fraîchement préparés et le chef Camille recommande ici du vin blanc pour accompagner vos deux premiers plats.” (“Our freshly made bread and cheese and Chef Camille here recommends white wine to go with your first two courses.”)
She gestured to the pretty young woman hovering behind Lunamor’s chair, beckoning for her to come forward.
Hiro cannot stop himself from gawking at the two of them when he heard, when his brain finally processed and translated the word ‘wine’… and while he wasn’t sure if they noticed his startled reaction or are just too professional to even point it out because Chef Camille was already placing two wine glasses on the table and had held out an expensive-looking bottle for Lunamor’s inspection.

Lunamor read the label silently before nodding in approval after a beat… which seemed to be the go signal because their lady chef filled both glasses before backing away after another bow.
Meanwhile Hiro stared at the glass of wine before him like it was a scorpion about to pounce on his face for a moment and then at Lunamor who was already holding one, not even hesitating as she takes a sip.
“…I am quite sure you are too young to drink, Ms. Lunamor,” he finally commented as he watched her take another delicate sip from her glass.
She raised an eyebrow, “I just told you I’m twenty.”
His stare flattened for a moment. You don’t look twenty to me. You felt like a freaking immortal. “I just… I never thought you drink.”
“Occasionally,” she shrugged.
“It’s too early for this, don’t you think?”
She inclined her head, “You don’t drink?”
“No, not really, not often these days, I mean, I was often busy with work anyways so no, I don’t have time to drink,” Hiro admitted as he finally decided to take a sip of his wine. Then, he paused, looking down at his glass, “…huh, it’s good.”
“I’m not fond of alcohol,” she blurted out.
And Hiro couldn’t stop the amused snicker from his lips as he teased: “Then why did you even ordered wine in the first place? Trying to impress me, huh?”
She seemed to consider his question for a moment as she twirled the wine inside her wine glass, her expression relatively relaxed for once, “Force of habit, I guess… we were taught to offer wine if we’re having one on one discussions.”
“Why is that?”
“It loosens the tongue, or so they said.”
Hiro busted out laughing at that, “Are you… are you serious? You’re not planning to get me drunk to make me spill my secrets, are you, Ms. Lunamor? Because let me tell you this, I don’t get drunk quite easily. I can hold my liquor just fine.”
“Neither am I.”
His eyebrows shot upwards at that, a smirk beginning to play at his lips. “Ho? Are you challenging me to a drinking contest, Ms. Lunamor?”
Lunamor scoffed, the sound almost sounding like an amused laugh but not quite as she suddenly leaned a bit forward, hands intertwining as she placed her chin on it, pinning him with her gaze alone.
“I would rather keep you sober for the rest of our discussion, thank you very much… and as I mentioned earlier, I am not fond of alcohol,” her eyes sharpened, “…let alone drunks.”
“How did you even get used to it if you don’t like it?” he retorted. At the same time, Hiro tried picturing an unimpressed Lunamor standing motionlessly in the middle of a sea of hormonal teenagers getting drunk and wild in some fancy party.
Lunamor made a face.
She looked like she was seriously relieving a horrible memory. Hiro snickered as he reached for some of the white cheese-glazed bread, “I’m sure you have to be seen drinking at least once or twice during parties or something.”
“Unfortunately, yes,” she muttered.
“So… I take it you drink in formal settings?”
“…I try not to.”
His hand hesitated and he curiously looked back at Lunamor rather than at the bread. She was pointedly looking away from him now but after a moment, she begrudgingly answered the question, her hesitation to answer all too obvious–or maybe she didn’t bother to hide it, this time.
“My grandfather… when we were young,” she immediately cleared her throat when her voice sounded like it was going to crack, “…he wanted to ensure we’d never embarrass him in public.”
“He forced you to drink wine?” Hiro asked, softly.
She winced, “More or less…”
“That’s… awful.”
“Oh, spot on,” Lunamor inclined her head at him although the amusement did not quite reach her eyes this time, “It was only when the guests are that important and… why are we even talking about that sad, old man? You might want to try some of these too, here,” she suddenly said, obviously changing the topic as she pointed to the bread he had been reaching for before leaning back on her seat and taking another sip of her wine, her eyes decidedly not meeting his.
Hiro blinked as he watched her avoid his gaze, but he obeyed without a word for a moment… that is until he noticed one of her gloved hands that were resting on the table was faintly trembling and then clenching into a fist.
And almost instantly, guilt and shame bloomed into the pit of his stomach–Hiro had always assumed that Lunamor, being a rich kid and all that, had an almost perfect childhood, even as an orphan… but hearing that, it might not be the case, after all. Why must he be too judgmental on the kid?
Without thinking his hand reached out and wrapped around her fisted hand, making her jolt. A second later, her hand unfurled, and fingers intertwined with his.
She squeezed his hand in silent gratitude.
And Hiro…
Hiro thinks this might not be so bad, after all.