The Lonely Guardian of the Moon

I still remember my last vacation to the moon. Other than a few remnants of civilisation, it had been completely desolate. I spent days wandering through overgrown roads, abandoned streets, and collapsed buildings, until finally arriving at the tallest landmark left standing —— the ancient lunar tree. 

Curiously, the garden around the tree appeared to have been better maintained than the surrounding area. The land beneath was meticulously weeded, mulched, and watered, with only a few star-shaped flowers allowed to grow. There were also several pieces of colourfully woven cloth wrapped around the tree and hung from its branches, having been well cleaned and mended. From my studies, I learnt that it was a tradition to honour trees that provided blessings. 

As I moved closer to the tree, I noticed a little white rabbit picking out pests from the tree top, only pausing as soon as it heard me approaching. The rabbit peeked down with curious anticipation, then seemed to come to a realisation when its ears flopped down disappointedly to its sides. 

Happy to have met somebody, I eagerly broke the silence by introducing myself, “Hello. I’m a traveller, here to learn about life on the moon. Would you care to tell me your story?” 

“Over here? I haven’t done much other than take care of this tree.” 

“What’s the reason you stayed here then? Even after everyone else has left?” 

“That’s because I’m waiting… for someone to come back.” I expected the rabbit to continue talking, but her hesitation hung on for a minute. 

I folded my legs and sat underneath the tree’s shade. “I know it must be frightening to share so much of yourself with a stranger, but I’m here to listen to everything you tell me. No matter what, I’m curious about you.” 

We proceeded to talk for several rotations around the planet, where light left and then returned to the moon again. I could only hope to record down as much as possible concisely. 

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After a calamitous event back on their home planet, a small colony of rabbits were the only ones quick enough to safely escape to the moon. Their arrival required a large blossoming tree to open a pathway through the atmosphere. Therefore, they made sure to plant seeds in the center of their newly established settlement in the hopes of returning back to a more peaceful planet. 

As the rabbits rebuilt their settlement, their population recovered and the tree grew tall alongside them. However, they faced many troubles with the environment unsuitable for growing food and medical resources, and a lack of natural materials to use in manufacturing and construction, as well as less fuel for energy production and transportation. 

In two decades, the original tree had fully matured and begun to blossom in a cycle every two years. The rabbits had also prepared a scout team on a mission back to their planet, to return with useful supplies and updated information on their old lives. Four years, or two cycles, went by with no contact from the crew. By the third cycle, another team was sent out and went missing again, including the father of the current guardian rabbit. 

The rabbit remembers the following period of her life as the toughest. Approximately one year after her father’s disappearance, mother rabbit fell sick as well with no available medical treatment, leaving her the only one left responsible to take care of their remaining family. She also began taking the task of maintaining the garden around the tree, growing a few starflowers to regularly take back to her bedridden mother, and lightening her mood. Eventually, her younger brother left on the fifth cycle in search of adventure and their father while she ultimately remained out of concern for their mother’s debilitating condition. 

Mother rabbit passed away on the seventh cycle, with only the guardian rabbit near her deathbed. In her final moments, she appeared haggard and miserable from the years of concern over their family’s unknown safety. “Darling, I regret not being a better mother to you, and also to your older siblings who didn’t survive before it was possible to escape to the moon. You may not remember them anymore, but I wish that you would be able to visit their graves back on our home planet.” 

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As the guardian rabbit poured me a warm cup of tea, she continued with her story, “Well, the thirtieth cycle is coming up soon, meaning that I’ve been on this moon for close to 80 years. Everybody left long before the tenth cycle ended, but I’m the only one who remained in case somebody still remembers to come back, that way we’ll have the tree healthy enough to continue blooming. And maybe I could finally find out what happened to my father and brother, or visit my siblings’ graves.” 

By then, I felt close enough to the rabbit to offer her a chance, “Since I’m here now, we could leave together. We won’t even need to rely on the tree anymore.” 

“I’m sorry but that’s not what I waited here for. My family needs to come back, or even just a rabbit from the colony who still remembers me. I’ll be ready to leave then.” 

I knew that wasn’t likely to happen. The fallout had long subsided from the disaster eighty years ago, and most rabbits would have preferred to stay on the planet over the moon now. There was no way the guardian rabbit would abandon her garden now, she was contradictorily trapped together with her comfort and suffering. With a heavy heart, I packed up what little could be considered my belongings and bid farewell to my new friend.