Storytelling 9: Journey to the Moon

REKO & CHAR'S POVS

Day 55:
It's been almost two months and I still haven't reached the moon.  Leaving my family was hard, but we need food.  I must find the Raven to help me.

Day 60:
I still haven't found the Raven.  Where could he live?  There aren't many towns nearby.  I'm almost out of food, if only we had enough.

 

 (Raven's in the night sky.  Pixabay.)

~~~

Day 10:

It’s been ten days since my mother passed and I’m not quite sure what to do now.  I’m an only child and it has always been just my mother and I.

Day 12:

I keep thinking about what could bring people together and celebrate my mother’s mourning.  FOOD!  I shall throw a feast for all of the tribes in the town.  But where can I get food during this time of season.  Winter hasn’t come to an end yet, the Groundhogs haven’t peaked from below.  Hmmmm…

Day 13:

I’ve got it!  The Moon!  In all of its beauty, the moon has plenty to share.  We had a rough last meeting, but I’m sure he will understand and help provide for me.  I must fly to the west when his wife, the Sun, is ready to sleep.  I shall reach a lamppost, in the town of Great Stone, that will beam me to the Moon.  My journey begins tomorrow!

***

Day 70:

Finally!  After all of the questions asked and obstacles encountered, I have finally met the Raven!  What a nice bird he is as he goes by the name of Char since his feathers shine a deep charcoal grey when the Sun beams on him.  He explained how to reach the Moon, though no human has ever done it before.  He believes that I could be the first with his help of course!

Day 74:

We’ve reached the lamppost just in time as the Sun sets.  Because I am human, Char tells me to turn my back towards the lamppost as he is unsure how I will react to the beam that will lead us to the Moon.  I do so, trusting Char whole-heartedly.  He grabs the hood of my coat and we begin to float up the beam, fast enough that we reach the Moon’s home within seconds.

~~~

Day 20:

This journey is much longer than anticipated.  Though I ran into an Eskimo.  Reko is his name and he's a friendly fella.  He's looking for food within the Moon just as I am, we have become great help to each other on this journey.

Day 24:

We're finally inside the Moon's home!  They're surprised to see that a human has made it through the beam alive.  Though the Moon is in his usual form, Sun hides behind her fire.

They praise me and welcome Reko into their home with a delightfully, strange dance.  We tell them of our reason and they help us choose from their bountiful food.  They beam all the food I have chosen, through their crater, for they owed me a great favor.  I noticed that Reko was able to only chose two animals of which were the deer and seal.

***

Day 75:  

The Moon and Sun were a pleasure to have met.  I am now at ease with what I was able to choose.  Now my family and I can feast leisurely, without worry. 

As we came back down to Earth, the Sun is about to awaken from her nap after meeting us.  Char invites me and my family to his feast in celebration of the food we were able to replenish, for the life his mother lived, and the new found friendship that we gained.

Day 90:
My family and I have arrived at Char's home.  He kindly waited for me to celebrate with his feast.  Because he did so, I offered him a hat filled with many jewels and crowns as well as a blanket, all of which my wife had made and knitted herself.  He received it graciously with tears flowing down his face.

Reko:  After the years have passed, because of our journey, all Eskimos had every deer they could have and every seal they could find companionship in as well as every town and tribe feasting together they mourn the loss of someone and celebrate the life they lived.

Author's Note:  I chose to write about these two stories intertwined into one big story based solely on the fact that they gave the certain events and things in life a meaning.  In Raven's Feast, a Raven's mother passes away and he tries to gather up food when the season is ready and have a feast with all the tribes he could invite, especially one special person.  The Raven specifically wanted to invite a chief of a tribe, because of his special Chilkat hat and blanket.  Because this chief showed up with many crowns in the hat and blanket, they had to have feasts in mourning from then on.  With The Man in the Moon's story, the Eskimo travels to the Moon and actually goes inside of the Moon's home.  He sees many things that the Moon has, especially the herds of deer/deerskin and meeting the Sun, which happens to be the Moon's wife.  They dance for the Eskimo and don't offer him any deer to eat, but the chance to choose an animal to take back to earth.  The Eskimo sees a pool of seals swimming and chooses a seal.  From thereon, the seal and deer are on earth with the Eskimos.
I chose to encompass both stories as a journey that leads to friendship through their struggles and why we do the things we do in modern day, because of them.  I took away some elements of the stories to focus more on their purposes of the journey.  I also chose to write in journal/diary form for each character, because I wanted to give the perspective of how the journey is for each of them based on the days they begin their journey.  Though I decided to finish with the Eskimo's entry in order to show what he decides in the end.

Bibliography:   Raven's Feast and The Man in the Moon by Katharine Berry Judson.