Mayluna

by Kelley McNeil

“My mum used to dream of having a little cottage nearby with a view of the sea.” “Did she ever get it?” “She did, as a matter of fact. It was one of the first things I bought her.” I wanted to buy her the moon and the stars and a palace. But she just wanted that little cottage with a garden where she could grow old peacefully, with an eye toward the sea and plenty of constellations. I think of her there, imagining an old guitar hanging on a wall, mostly collecting dust these days.

I wonder now what it was like for him to live in a house haunted by someone else’s ghosts.

And I suppose that’s the theme here. From the moment I met her, it was too late to go back.

After that, I stopped looking up at the sky for a long time.

If it’s possible that tomorrow could be sad, then perhaps it’s equally possible that it could be joyful.

Peace in the quiet that is left as I exhaled the last of my ghosts and secrets.