Garden
- Plants grow in gardens.
- Eve was tempted by a serpent in the garden of Eden.
- An untended garden will grow wild.
- Vertical gardens save space.
- Hydroponic gardens use water instead of soil.
Moon
- Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon.
- The moon controls the ocean tides.
- Some flowers only bloom in moonlight.
- The moon has eight phases.
- Selene is the name of the Greek goddess of the moon.
Swap
- Moons grow in gardens.
- The garden controls the ocean tides.
- Neil Armstrong was the first man in a garden.
- An untended moon will grow wild.
- Selene is the name of the garden.
- Vertical moons save space.
- Eve was tempted by a serpent on the moon.
Secret Truth:
The Wild Moon
An untended moon will grow wild. Its wildness can take many forms.
It might refuse to conform to celestial beauty standards by changing its colour or shape.
It might become aggressive and capture passing debris in its orbit for eternity.
It might turn lazy and neglect its tidal duties or forget to escort the sun to sleep.
Or it might do what a moon I once knew did.
It might grow curious about the universe surrounding it. What else is out there? Breaking out of its orbit, the wild moon sought to explore the depths of space and all its inhabitants.
But the wild moon was young and naïve. It wasn’t aware of the dangers that exist in the dark void. Only 50 million years into its intended infinite journey, it met a star. Its name was Uy Scuti, and it was 1,700 times larger than the sun this wild moon left behind.
Uy Scuti, being so massive and not at all wild, did exactly what it was meant to do. It tempted the moon closer with a gentle gravitational force. As the moon came nearer, the star’s pull increased slowly, imperceptibly, deceivingly.
When the wild moon realized what was happening, it was too late. Escaping the grip of this starry giant was impossible. For four years it was slowly torn apart, and at year five it reached tidal disruption – complete annihilation.
Between the moment it was captured and its final moments, the wild moon had a lot of time to contemplate its decision to explore the universe. About 43,830 hours, in fact, and it came to this conclusion.
No matter its ultimate fate, a moon should always be wild.
Melissa Whitten is a mostly successful gardener and a self-professed bird nerd. Professionally, she’s a freelance writer for technology companies. This is the first creative piece she’s written in 20 years. She enjoyed it very much. You can learn more about her at https://melissawhitten.contently.com/