![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mlqvxkzbvkqy.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/lunacy-alert-image.jpg\")
\u201cWhat the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two more texts come in. I ignore them for now and swipe on the emergency notification. ALERT: DO NOT LOOK AT THE MOON. STAY INDOORS AND CLOSE ALL SHADES. REPEAT\u2014DO NOT LOOK AT THE MOON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fear strikes like lightning through my body. \u201cTarek?\u201d I call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twenty missed texts. The number climbs as I watch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gorgeous out tonight!<\/em> \u201cTarek!\u201d I can hear the panic in my voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whoa, the moon is HUGE!!!<\/em> A message from my mom appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LOOK AT THE MOON<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I jump out of bed, flinging the phone to the floor where it continues to buzz. The curtains are closed, but I yank them tighter, to be safe. Bright, white light beams in through the gaps. \u201cTarek!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMae,\u201d he calls from the living room. His voice sounds odd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m halfway across the room before I notice the curtains are pulled back from the picture window. I shout, reaching for the nearest panel; it catches on the joint in the curtain rod and jerks to a stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The light is dazzling. The moon must be close. Big. How it must loom on the horizon, dwarfing the skyscrapers. My eyes make it to the sill before I realize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tarek stands eerily still, arms limp at his sides, chin tilted upward. His face, bathed in moonlight, is practically beatific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I reach past him for the other curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His fingers around my arm are steel. \u201cMae,\u201d he says, eyes on the sky, \u201clook outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTarek, get away from the window! There was a warning\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMae. Look at the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear shudders through me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stella trots in from the kitchen, golden fur silver in the moonlight. I see the moment the change takes place. She loses the arthritic limp and steps primly to the window. Her pupils dilate, becoming a vast black mirror. The moon, a giant orb, shines from their depths. I tear my gaze away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stella starts barking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook at the moon!\u201d Tarek commands. He forces me towards the windows, bruising my arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTarek\u2014please!\u201d I cry. I am sobbing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stella\u2019s bark turns deeper, more vicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook at the moon!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tarek seizes my chin, turning me slowly towards the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLOOK AT THE MOON!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I look.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cool air slinks between the blankets, startling goosebumps from my skin. Tarek must have opened the window sometime in the night. I reach across the bed, expecting to feel his warm, bare shoulder. My hand meets cooling sheets. On the nightstand, my phone buzzes and I jolt. The sound claws away the hush of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[30,47,75,84,85,108,111,140,142],"class_list":["post-528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-short-stories","tag-creepy","tag-flash-fiction","tag-moon","tag-original-characters","tag-original-fiction","tag-scary-story","tag-short-story","tag-writing","tag-writing-prompt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1696,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528\/revisions\/1696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gabriellecontelmo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
check out the sky<\/em>
Look at the moon!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guys, are you seeing this?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n