Week 9 Story: The boy in the moon

            This story has been updated and added to my portfolio

(Crescent Moon, Wikimedia Commons)

              There once was a little boy named Timmy. His favorite holiday was Halloween and each year his mother made him the best costume. He was the envy of all other children on the street as he passed by on his quest for candy. One year he was a Harry Potter including hand sewn robes and a replica want, the next he decided he wanted to more unique and went with a gargoyle, which meant hours of grey makeup and shading. He was unaware of how much effort these costumes took so each year he pushed his mom for something more elaborate.

            This year as Halloween approached he figured out exactly what he should be, an astronaut, which had to have a realistic suit and head peace, not just some store bought plastic. His mother set off to work in early September to make his dream come true, but then one day he came home from school with a new idea.

“Astronauts are boring, mom,” he said as he entered the door, “ I am going to be Captain America.” So his mother scrapped the astronaut costume and dutifully began his Captain America. While this may seem like an easier task, he still needed plenty of props so she worked on collecting all that he needed. September came and went and soon it was October.

            As the beginning of the month came and went, Timmy ran inside one night after playing and exclaimed, “I cannot be a Captain America, Drew down the street is going to be him.” So his mother put away the costume.

            “Well what do you want to be then?” his mother asked.

            “ I want to be the moon,” he replied.

Now there was no way a moon costume could be bought and with only two weeks until Halloween, his mother worked tirelessly to building a moon costume. She paper mached and strung lights. She stayed up many nights after Timmy went to sleep making sure everything was perfect. Then two nights from Halloween, it was time for a dress rehearsal. Timmy’s mom helped him put on the huge costume and turned on the lights. She turned him around in front of the mirror and asked him what he thought, obviously proud of her accomplishment.

            “It’s kind of heavy, mom, and everyone at school is going as an avenger can I be the hulk?” he said. His mom’s heart sank. It was two nights until Halloween and there was no time for a new costume.

            “You have changed your mind again, and again, so no avenger for you. Maybe next year you will think before you decide, but this year you will be the moon,” she answered. Timmy knew that tone well enough not to argue and so that Halloween as people trick or treated, there was a boy in the moon.

Author's Note: In the original story, there is a man who goes to a wiseman asking to be someone else. He goes through being a blacksmith, stone, stonecutter, sun, and eventually is stuck being the moon. I thought this storyline perfectly fit an indecisive kid so I changed it the whole story but kept the sentiment. 

Bibliography: Laos Folk-Loreby Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).