Introduction

 It’s the Harvest Moon, when the moon is pink, full and filling the sky, clouds and casting shadows everything around with its light. And Mary knew it was time her mother would pack them up again and move them to another town, another house, and maybe another state.

It wasn’t fair.

It just simply wasn’t fair.

Mary turned from the pretty, pink full moon and looked over at her bed, which she had crawled out of because the moon had woken her, and sighed. Why couldn’t they stay?

Every year, on the Harvest Moon, they moved.

Every single year. And it was just when Mary was making friends - solid friends - and when she was going so well in school. She hated her mother sometimes, but then, she didn’t want to tell her how she felt.

Mary was now sixteen and just wanted to live in one place for more than one year. But her mother was such a nomad she didn’t want to hear anyone’s opinions but her own, and this bugged the crap out of Mary like nobody’s business.

 

A bump from downstairs and mumbled of a curse broke her train of thought. Unfolding herself from her reading chair, and carrying her cat in her arms to the bedroom door, she opened it a crack to spot her mother madly packing boxes.

Yep, she knew it: they were were moving again.

She was never kept in the loop of where they were going to. Her mother never thought it was necessary to let her in on anything like that. Letting the cat out of her arms, onto the floor, she watched his dark form slink away to his bed near hers where he curled up in a ball and went back to sleep.

Another bump and curse came from outside the door. Jeez, how could Whisper sleep through this noise, Mary wondered looking at him. She opened the door more and walked out into the hallway, watching her mother as she taped up a box and shuffled it to one side then labeled it.

Standing up, she glanced up at the line of doors where the bedrooms were and stopped when she spotted her daughter watching her, “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” Mary said, “When were you going to tell me that we’re moving again? Oh hang on, it’s the Harvest Moon… it’s pink and full… there’s the secret.”

“Mary…”

“No. Why can’t we stay in a place longer than a year?” She snapped, “I’ve got a great school, great friends, and there’s a boy I like… I think he likes me.”

Her mother dropped the tape gun, “No boys!”

“That’s another thing: why can’t I date?”

The woman sighed, “It’s … look, Mary, it’s late, go back to bed.”

Mary walked down the stairs to her mother who looked exhausted and didn’t want to answer any questions about anything Mary had in mind, but knew her daughter was full of all of them, “You’re going to answer all of my questions at some point in time.”

Her mother looked at her, “Yes, honey, I will. But not now.” The teenager turned on her heel and walked back to her room and went inside, slamming the door, making her mother jump.

Mary climbed back into bed, turned her back to the pink moon and closed her eyes.

Yes, they were moving again.

No, she wouldn’t have a chance to say goodbye to her friends.

And no, that boy at school, Thomas, would never know she liked him.

At the thought of never being near him, she burst into tears and cried herself to sleep.

 

The next afternoon, when she arrived home, her mother had packed everything, gotten Whisper into his cage with the help of some catnip, and their old truck was ready to go.

“I can’t believe you never let me pack my things.” Mary said.

“If I did that, we’d never leave.” her mother said.

Mary turned around to the house, took a photo of it with her camera and sighed as she got into the vehicle, “Goodbye to house number fifteen.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.”

“Whatever.” she sniffed, “Where are we going?”

Her mother smiled, “It’s a surprise.”

“You always say that.” Mary mumbled, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll like it.”

Her daughter looked out the window, “You always say that too."