I absolutely hated the sun.  Hated him with a burning passion brighter than the arrogant ball himself.  But wasn’t it natural, for the moon to hate the sun?  We were polar opposites, night and day, and that was how it was meant to be.  So perhaps it wasn’t the most justified, as I had never actually met him, but it was supposed to be that way.  In my ignorance, I would never admit that I was jealous of him.  He was brighter than me, and far more favored by the mortals of Earth.  They called him Rolas, an awful name if I had ever heard one.  Though I could never claim that I was much better.  The humans called me Narul.  Humans are so uncreative, giving us simple anagrams of their own words.  He was solar, and I lunar.  At least they made the words different enough that people can’t tell at a mere glance.   And sure, I had seen him in passing.  Many times over, in fact; but I never got close enough to see him as anything more than that orange, aggravatingly bright ball of light.  Not that I had avoided him intentionally, it was just that I never bothered to get close, and neither did he.  I assumed that he hated me just as much as I resented him.  The day I realized that he didn’t was the day my life changed.

It had just been a regular day.  One of the many occasions when Rolas and I occupied the sky together.  I was generally stationary, moving very little as the sun crossed the sky.  It was the same as it always was on days like this.  Rolas walked the length of the sky, East to West, until he set to rest and prepare to do the same tomorrow.  And I was always there; sometimes high in the sky with him, and sometimes out of sight below the horizon.  I was never quite in the same spot, and today it seemed that I was in his way.  But I stayed where I was, knowing that it was where I was supposed to be.  I saw him coming toward me, and I was more than a little displeased.  From this distance, I couldn’t make out his figure, only the blinding orb approaching me.  I crossed my arms, heaving a sigh and trying to seem indignant.  I figured that maybe he would leave me alone and keep his distance.

But he didn’t.  I felt a wave of nervousness wash over me as he approached.  I wasn’t one to hide my opinions, and I liked to make it known just how much I resented Rolas.  And even if we hadn’t personally met; word travelled quickly, and I would be honestly surprised if the sun didn’t know just how much I despised him.  I had never thought I would ever get close enough to him to see the man behind the light, to talk to him.  I had never wanted to.  But now, it seemed like a possibility.  I watched the ball of light get closer, and after a moment, began to be able to make out the figure within it. 

“Woah…” I mumbled aloud, eyes widening just slightly.  I had never imagined Rolas as having an appearance, the thought had simply never crossed my mind.  To me he had always been nothing but an orange spot in the sky, and I had certainly never thought that he would be so good looking.  I would deny to the end of the Earth that that thought ever came anywhere close to running through my mind.  But I knew I was lying to myself.

He was tall, perhaps half a head taller than me.  I wasn’t all that tall, but that didn’t make the difference any less annoying.  He wore a white suit, accented perfectly with warm colors that were bright but not difficult to look at.  From gold buttons to an orange tie—which had a pattern that looked almost like sunspots.  Still, it managed to look dignified and not noisy.  It was tied together by his flame red hair, smooth but sticking up in the best of ways.  I looked down at my own suit, silver with dull, cool colored accents.  Celestial bodies like ourselves have a certain standard to live to, and therefore dress formally.  I noticed how his appearance mirrored mine, and I felt my face grow warm.  No. This wasn’t anything odd.  It’s expected of us to dress like this, it’s no wonder that we look a bit similar.  It’s fine.  I looked up at him again, and that was when I noticed the smirk on his face.  He seemed to be noticing the same “coincidence” that I had.  I felt my face heat up, and I knew that it was noticeable on my pale skin.  The smirk grew, and I looked away, reaching up to run a hand through my hair.  My hair was somewhat messy, but still dignified.  His was smooth and perfect.  Perfect?  No.  Not perfect.  I would never, ever admit that he was perfect.  But as I glanced back at him… wow.  Rolas had always insisted on being better than me in every respect.  Or, I liked to think that he did it just to spite me.  I liked to think that I was important enough for him to even think about spiting me.  He was bigger than me, and he was definitely brighter than me—God, he was so bright.  I shook my head quickly, snapping out of my own thoughts.  Rolas had gotten closer, almost close enough that I could reach out and touch him.  Not that I would do that.  Our eyes met for the shortest of moments before I ripped my gaze away, settling it off to the side.  I heard his laugh.  It was a pleasant sound, sweet and warm, but it made me seethe.  He was laughing at me.

I barely saw him step forward in my peripherals, and I kept my eyes locked firmly on my feet until I felt his hand on my face.  My eyes went wide, cheeks growing redder as he tilted my chin up and our eyes met once more.  I didn’t try to look away this time, I was too lost in his eyes.  They were amber, with bright orange and red flecks that danced like flames in the light.  I found myself staring, only to be pulled from my thoughts when I heard his voice.

“So, you’re the one that I’ve heard so much about.  Narul, right?”  He asked, and it took me a few long moments to find my voice.  His hand was still on my cheek, and I could barely think.

“I, uh—yes!  That, that’s me…” I quickly stuttered out once I finally remembered how to speak.  “What… are you doing?”  I asked, reaching up to pull his hand away from my face.

“Just looking.  I always knew that the moon would be pretty, but you really do take the cake.”  I blinked a few times, trying to decide whether or not I had heard him right.  There was no way.  I decided to just disregard it, to pretend that I hadn’t heard it.
I cleared my throat loudly, taking a step back and putting just a bit of distance between the two of us.  “Yes, well, um. Don’t you have places to be?”

He only rolled his eyes, but nodded.  “Indeed.  It was nice meeting you.”  He spoke simply, shooting me a glare as he took a step back, only to move to the side and continue on his way West. He passed behind me, and I watched in shock as I cast a shadow over the Earth.  It was shrouded in darkness for a long moment, before he moved so that I was no longer in his way, and the light returned. 

Regret churned my stomach, for as much as I hated his smug grin, I hadn’t wanted him to leave.  I had to just stand there as I watched him slowly walk away, toward the horizon.  I could only reflect on what had happened, remembering the feeling of his hand on my cheek and the way his eyes sparkled. I wondered if we might ever meet again, and if he would even speak to me again.  I knew that he had only been toying with me, trying to get to me, and I couldn’t deny that he’d succeeded.  I was only pulled from my thoughts when I noticed him walk beyond the horizon and fade from my view.  Had I really been lost in thought for that long?  I felt my face heat up, but turned to the earth so that I could properly shine on her.  But again, I found myself thinking of Rolas, and I didn’t think that those thoughts would leave my mind any time soon.