I gazed at the purple afternoon heavens and looked at the discolored clouds which seemed to have blended with the atmosphere. The sky was awesome. It was still a few minutes before the beginning of night, but I was already there, standing at the ample fields, waiting for Crystal. The afternoon breeze touched my skin, and it was colder than usual. Day by day, I could feel the arctic chill slowly taking over the air. Winter was nearing and nearing as each day passed. I gazed at lavender horizon which extended on both sides infinitely. At the center, I could see the same foggy mountain I saw on that day when I first talked to Crystal. That mountain was Moon Peak. I could not wait to see Crystal. I could not wait to see her charming face once again. I could not wait to hear her sweet voice echo throughout the silent night. I could wait to tell her that I was willing to go and venture to Moon Peak just for her. I could not wait to see the expression on her face when I tell her that I will get the Moon Flower for her mother. I was able to convince Harold’s father to lend me his old wooden boat. It was not in a very good condition; it had a few cracks and holes on the sides. Harold’s father told us that those were because he fought a bunch of pirates who attacked him at sea, but I think he just made that up. With a few modifications, Harold and I were able to make it the old vessel good as new. I was ready to go to Moon Peak, as soon as the next full moon comes.

Tired of standing on the same spot for quite some time, I slowly walked beside the edge of the cliff, looking at the extensive calm ocean beside me. I could hear the sounds of the subtle waves hitting the bottom of the cliff. As I looked at the point where the water touches the bottom of the overhang, I saw something below at the edge of the land. It was a boat. It wasn’t there before. I was sure it was not there before. The boat probably meant that Crystal’s friend had already returned from his voyage in Moon Peak. I felt a mixed emotion of disappointment and happiness in my heart. I was disappointed because I lost my chance to show Crystal how I loved her. But overwhelming that sadness was the overflowing sentiment of happiness, because I knew that finally, Crystal’s mother would be cured of her disease. I knew that it would make Crystal happy. It would definitely make her happy. That was, if her friend was successful in getting the Moon Flower. But what if he wasn’t? What if the Moon Flower did not exist? What if the boat I saw was not his boat? Those questions made me long to see Crystal even more. I would ask her about her friend and if he has returned with the legendary blossom. The sun had finally set and hidden itself behind Moon Peak. The fog surrounding the mountain remained, even when the night had already begun.

An hour or two had passed. The night was gradually getting deeper and deeper. The crescent moon had dominated the skies. I heard soft footsteps behind me slowly getting louder and louder, breaking the tranquility of the night fields. I looked behind and saw Crystal, the girl I had been waiting for what seemed to be a very long time. Her long black hair was gliding with the chilly breeze of wind as she ran towards my location. At first, I thought that the reason why she was running was because she was thrilled to see me. It did not take long before I realized that that thought was nothing but a fantasy. Why would she be that excited to see me? It was all an illusion. As she neared me, I noticed an uncanny expression of anxiousness painted on her face. She seemed like she was in a hurry to see me that night, as if there was something important that she needed to tell me. I wondered if it had something to do with the boat I saw at the bottom of the cliff.

“Neil,” she called out to me, gasping for breath. “I thought you would not come tonight.” I was delighted to find out that Crystal was actually expecting to see me that evening.

“Of course, we promised each other, right?”

“I dreadfully need your help, Neil,” Crystal said in a troubled voice. She was sweating. She looked troubled and desperate. I started to worry about what happened to her that made her ask for my help.

“Calm down, Crystal,” I tried to comfort her. “What is the matter? What happened?”

“Lawrence… Lawrence is in prison!” she said. I started to get confused. She was in a state of panic, unable to explain things properly.

“Wait… wait a minute, Crystal, calm down first,” I said. “I don’t understand. Who is Lawrence and why is he in prison? Why are you so worried?”

“He’s the friend I told you about last night,” Crystal replied. “He… he returned from Moon Peak earlier this morning. But I forgot to put a cake with the message last night and… and I was not able to warn him and… now he’s in prison! It was my entire fault!”

There was a sudden pinch I felt in my heart. I didn’t know if I could stand seeing Crystal so miserable and depressed. I could feel her pain. Lawrence must have been a very good friend to her, for he risked his life to venture to Moon Peak and get the cure for her mother’s disease. He must have cared for Crystal and her mother so much. And Crystal brought him to a dangerous situation. If I was Crystal, I would have felt so guilty as well. If only I could take away all the pain from Crystal and put them on shoulders, I would do it. I’d rather suffer than suffer seeing Crystal suffer. Wait a minute, I and Crystal talked the whole night at the fields last night. She thought that I was Lawrence. That was why she didn’t bring a cake. It was my fault. If I didn’t pick up that chocolate cake on that cold autumn night, that thing would not have happened. It was my fault. My conscience was killing me. The pain I feeling in my heart went more and more excruciating. For some reason, I felt like I wanted to jump off the cliff and drown myself under the subterranean sea. What have I done? I had hurt the one I love. What kind of person was I?

“Please, Neil. You have to help me get Lawrence out of jail. I cannot forgive myself if he suffers in there because of my stupidity.”

Tears fell from Crystal’s eyes and she cried. Her gentle heart could not contain all the guilt and pain she was feeling. I placed my arms around her, placing her head on my shoulders. I embraced her and let her tears of pain flow on my shoulder. I felt a sudden chill overpower my whole body, like a surge or electric current flowing through my veins. My heart started to beat faster and faster. Crystal was crying on my shoulder, with no one around but the serene reverberations of the oceanic waves and the pallid moon above the sky, watching us. The autumn wind blew all around us, as if it was enveloping us with a mysterious breeze of love. I felt cold in my whole body as I looked up at the heavens and saw the millions of twinkling stars shining their faint light down upon us. The radiance shed light on the auburn weeds and vermillion grasses swaying alternately on opposite directions, enlivening the rich autumn fields. The fallen brown leaves of the lone Acacia tree at the middle of the fields were carried by the cold wind to the air, making them float around the atmosphere. How I wished I could freeze that moment. How I wished I could forget about all the other things in life and just think of that very moment, when Crystal was on my arms. As I looked up the sky, I stared at the white moon. It was beautiful. It was truly beautiful, like Crystal. I slowly closed my eyes and watched my vision fade to darkness.

“I will,” I softly told Crystal. “I will help you. I promise I will help you.”

I slowly opened my eyes. I saw a group of black birds fluttering in the sky, flying around in circles. I could see their silhouette against the face of the sallow moon.

“Look,” I told Crystal. “I’ve never seen those kinds of birds before. They look beautiful against the night sky.”

Crystal looked behind and up the evening heavens. The sadness on her face seemed to have been replaced with an expression of fear. She slowly walked a little bit forward away from me, perhaps to get a better look of the flying creatures.

“What’s the matter?” I curiously asked her.

She looked back at me, looking frightened. “We have to get Lawrence out of prison as soon as possible. Those black birds are not a good sign. They always appear whenever something bad would happen. I saw those birds before the council discovered that a man was murdered in our town. And my mother also saw those birds before my father died.”

“Neil, please help me. I’m sure that Lawrence did not murder anyone. How can he do such a vile thing? He is innocent. He should not be in jail. He’s innocent!”

“Did you try telling the authorities that he was not guilty?”

Crystal turned her back and slowly made a few steps away from me. I slowly followed her, puzzled at what she might be thinking. “I’m not sure if I should tell you,” she said. That somewhat wounded me. I thought she was ready to give me all of her trust. But perhaps I was dreaming too much. After all, we’ve only met for a few days. I knew it would take quite some time before I could make her open up to me. I hoped that someday, she would be ready to tell me more of herself. I never expected that someday to happen on that night.

“Neil,” Crystal began. “We’ve only known each other for a few days. But in those days, I felt your kindness and your sincerity every time we would talk in these lonely night fields. You have made me happy… honestly. I know you are trustworthy. I hope I won’t be making a mistake as I tell you the secret of my identity.”

Her identity had a secret. At that point, I could not understand what she was talking about, but I was very interested at the things she would say. I was eager to listen to her and learn more about the secret she was talking about. “You won’t,” I said. “I promise that you’re secret would remain a secret with me.”

Crystal let off a soft sigh that reverberated throughout the quiet evening. She began to narrate her tale. “My father, Gerald, died before I was born. I never got the chance to meet him. Since I was a young girl, my mother had always forbidden me to go outside and let the other people of our town see me. I was supposed to stay inside my room for the rest of my life. She told me that someday, I would understand why she wanted me to do that. And on my eighteenth birthday, she told me everything I needed to know.”

There was a moment of silence – a moment when nothing could be heard but the waves of the sea. I stood in anticipation, ready to listen to the continuation of Crystal’s story. I could see tears starting to form again at the edges of her eyes.

“It turns out that my father was not my mother’s real husband. Her legal husband was a man named Simeon. I never saw him. He left my mother for another woman and he was never seen in the town again. I was an illegitimate child – a bastard. That was the reason why I should not let anyone in our town see me. In our town, bastards are considered as… a disgrace to the family and the community. They are burned to death without mercy at the town square. When my mother was pregnant, she made it appear that Simeon was the father of her baby. And she also made it appear that the baby died when she was born. But I am alive. My mother loved me so much that she had to hide me from the cruel worldviews of the society. I do not exist, Neil. In their eyes, I do not exist. My mother does not know that I am sneaking out of our house every night. She does not know that I have met two important people in my life – Lawrence and you.”

I was important to Crystal. I just smiled as I heard that, but my heart was crying in happiness.