I so hope you enjoy this, my friends! This story is a collaboration effort. The artwork is by the wonderful artist, @yurche, a Russian artist and teacher. We collaborated on a mixed media contest entry a little over a month ago, and decided we would like to do so again!

The story behind the story

When @yurche told me the true story that inspired this artwork, I was so amazed. And I began thinking about a fictionalized version. Here is his description of the drive in the country that inspired this artwork:

"Once me, my wife and daughter were driving on the highway away from the city. The road was lovely and smooth, all around was dense forest and lakes. Suddenly we saw the abandoned village and decided to explore the area. I took the camera and began to take pictures. We walked through overgrown streets, looking into the windows of empty houses. The village was completely empty. Later, when I began to look at the shots made there, I saw on the one a little girl running after the dog…"

But there is another part to the inspiration for this story.

The VERY rare blue moon + super moon + blood moon

I decided to write this story in honor of a very exciting cosmic event--this month's blue moon, which is also a super moon and also a blood moon!

• Blue moon = the second full moon in a month
• Super moon = when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit and appears many times larger than usual
• Blood moon = the moon in total eclipse is illuminated by sunlight refracted by the earth's atmosphere, and appears reddish in color

This is called a "Super Blue Blood Moon."

Here is an excerpt from a National Geographic article about this amazing, special moon:

"Lucky sky-watchers are about to get a cosmic three-for-one deal, as the second super-size full moon in a month undergoes a dramatic total lunar eclipse on January 31. According to eclipse experts, the event marks the first time anyone on Earth has seen this celestial trifecta in 35 years—and the first time it’s been seen in the Americas in 150 years."

So many wonderful things came together, in other words, to inspire this story. And even though the Super Blue Blood Moon will appear in the Americas (and I am American), for no reason other than artistic whim, I decided to base the story in the south of France. In the summer! In other words, the story is inspired by this event, but it does not take place in the here and the now.

At last, the story!

Blue Moon

Henri and Renée drove out along the highway, away from the city. The smooth road seemed to roll beneath them, instead of them rolling over it. In the back seat, Simone slept her young girl dreams. Renée turned the music low to help Simone sleep the sweetest, most restful sleep. With the music playing a Mozart concerto, seemingly timed to the passing of hillsides and trees, Renée felt as if she was in a movie, as the opening credits played on the screen.

“I am going to have to pee soon,” Renée said. “Is there anything out here?” They were on their way to Marseilles and the beaches to the south for the best view of the blue moon and the lunar eclipse, but the roads on the way were quiet and unpopulated.

Henri looked over at her and smiled that adoring smile of his--the one that made her want to squeeze his cheek. “I will watch for something. But we are still a long way from the city.”

Soon, however, they came across a little village, and Henri pulled into a quiet petrol station to see if they could use the loo.

Simone sat up. “Where are we? Is this Marseilles?”

Renée laughed. “No sweetie. Just a village. You will know when we come to Marseilles, because there will be people and tall buildings everywhere. And you will see amazing views of the sea.”

They climbed out of the Citroën, and walked up to the petrol station. The windows were fogged with age and dust. It was completely abandoned.

“Excuse me,” Renée said. “I will just pee out back. I am not holding it all the way to Marseilles!” Simone joined her and they both found a discrete place, although it hardly mattered since no one at all drove by on the quiet road.

Henri was looking at some literature attached to the door of the petrol station, fluttering in the afternoon breeze. “Look at this. This used to be a nice little town. There are fliers about it.”

Renée thought it was very odd that the fliers looked so new, as if they had just been placed there that very day. “Let’s take them and read them later. Should we walk around this little village and stretch our legs?”

Simone jumped up and down. “Oui! Perhaps there are children to meet.”

But when they walked down a small and quiet road into the village, they saw tiny, once charming homes, all surrounded by overgrown gardens. Everything was quiet and abandoned, yet they could see that the gardens were once lush and plentiful. Renée was amazed to see overgrown hollyhocks, vines and climbing roses nearly taking over some of the houses. It appeared as if the filming of a real live fairy tale had been interrupted, and all the characters had run away.

Henri took out his camera bag. He loved to photograph beautiful places, old homes and charming villages. Anything that was old but still beautiful was of interest to him. They walked amongst the houses, and found themselves whispering as if to avoid disturbing anyone, although there was no one to disturb. Henri took many pictures so they could always treasure this memory.

“I’m hungry,” Simone said.

Renée squeezed her hand. “Alright, darling. Let’s go. Henri, we must make it to Marseilles to get a bite to eat, then sign in at the inn before the blue moon rises.” I want to watch it rise over the ocean, and disappear in the eclipse.”

In Marseilles, they found a tiny restaurant along the water that was open for tea and refreshments, though they would not be serving dinner until much later. They ordered tea, pastries and fruit. Renée brought the literature from the little town and she began looking through it, while Henri looked through the pictures he had taken.

Renée began to read from the first flier. “The town is called Blue Moon. Isn’t that interesting? It’s the whole reason we are on this trip--to see the blue moon!” Then she became even more surprised as she read on. “Wait. Listen to this. It says ‘Thank you for visiting our little town. We are very sorry we missed you. Our village comes to life only on special days. You will find us when there is a Blue Moon, a Super Moon, and a Blood Moon all on the same day.’”

Simone’s eyes widened. “It’s a magic town!”

Renée tapped Henri. “Honey! Do you hear this? We passed through a very special town.”

But Henri was intently looking at his photos. “No, no. You need to see this.” They crowded round him to peer over his shoulder and look into the viewing window at one of his pictures. There, in the image, they could clearly see a young girl running and playing with a tiny dog. They had not seen the girl or the dog when they were there.

For a moment they were all speechless. Then Simone began to pull on their arms. “We must go back! Mommy! Daddy! Please!”

They looked at each other. This vacation had been planned for so long--their lovely little trip to a coastal town near Marseilles where they could see the incredible phenomenon of the enormous blue moon, the super moon and the blood moon. Henri shook his head.

“My sweet,” Renée said. “We have our trip all planned. You will love the inn where we will be staying, right on the beach. I promise. And the moon--it will be the most amazing moon you have ever seen in your life.”

“Oh,” Simone said. “Okay.”

With that, they packed up their things and drove the few kilometers to the inn by the sea. On the way, Simone could only look back through the window from the direction they came.

That night, after they were all settled in and unpacked, and had eaten a seafood dinner, they took chairs down to the beach to watch the moon rise. There were others on the beach too. Renée hoped they had made the right decision. She watched Simone as she played quietly by herself in the sand a few meters away, poking at the sand with a little stick. But soon another family came and settled in nearby. Before long their little girl and her dog joined Simone, and the two girls played and laughed, and chased the puppy up and down the beach, as the moon rose, impossibly enormous and as red as fire.

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Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this story, please let me know with your comment. Of course I welcome your upvotes too.

Note: This is my 30th post of the #challenge30days series. I can't believe it!

Are you a writer seeking community or help with your writing? If so, please check out The Writers' Block on Discord. Or check out @thewritersblock.

About me

• Re-introducing myself -- My updated Steemit intro.

My recent posts

• Departure from Castle Island -- A 50-word short story based on an "island" prompt by @miniature-tiger.
• Words to learn: Defenestrate -- Vocabulary series
• Bad days: A poem about fiction writing in the absence of inspiration -- A poem about writer's block.
• Conspirators and lies -- A 50-word short story based on a 19th century historical fiction prompt by @miniature-tiger.
• Words to learn: Recalcitrant -- Vocabulary series.
• Beach weekend: A short story for BeachWednesday -- A short story for BeachWednesday illustrated with my travel photography.
• Getting to know you -- A 50-word short story based on a "zoo" prompt by @miniature-tiger.
• Write Club report: 7 writers, 16 weeks--you do the math -- Write Club update, and a note about goals.
• Nine Eleven -- A historical fiction piece for a contest entry by @jasonbu (and contest winner).