Moonbeam

By Katie Simmonds

Moonbeam is a boy with beautiful dark skin and big eyes as deep blue as a stormy ocean. He has freckles scattered across his face like a constellation of stars. His curly hair glows silver just like the moon and he can usually be seen wearing a cheeky smile with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Moonbeam is just like a normal boy, except his home is the sea and his legs form an exquisite tail. His tail is covered in silver scales just like a fish; light bouncing and reflecting off it like an underwater disco ball.

During the day, Moonbeam is found fast asleep; nestled in his soft seaweed bed with his head resting on a giant sea sponge. Moonbeam opens his eyes and stretches out his tail just as the ocean starts to turn a shade of juicy orange and fairy floss pink. The sun is setting, and this means it’s time for an adventure. He is going to visit his friend, Winifred the Whale.

The water feels cool and soft on Moonbeam’s skin as he gracefully swims through the darkening water. He looks up towards the ocean’s surface and the huge, shining silver moon reflects back in his beautiful eyes. Moonbeam smiles and winks back at Mr Moon.

While swimming, Moonbeam sees a friend of his nearby: Pippy the Penguin! Pippy is shiny and sleek, his feathers look like an oil puddle on the surface of the water; rainbow and fluorescent. Pippy is dancing through the water and trying to get some dinner, the tiny fish dart past him. Moonbeam giggles at this sight.

“Go get ‘em Pippy!” he calls.

The ocean has now turned a cool midnight blue and is sparkling like it’s filled with stars. All the luminous plant life and creatures are starting to glow electric colours like strawberry pink, lime green and plum purple. The way the glow-in-the-dark fish are swimming around look like exploding fireworks. Moonbeam joins in the fish dance, swirling and twirling around the glowing fish, laughing and whooping with joy.

As he continues to swim through the cool water the scenery begins to change. Giant seaweed trees stand up all around him and the ground is scattered with rocks and bright coral. Moonbeam sees another friend, Steve the Starfish, on a nearby rock. Steve is suctioned on the top of the mossy rock but his star-shaped body is swaying in the strong ocean tides. He is bright orange with pink patches on his bumpy skin.

“Where are you off to, Moonbeam?” says Steve in a deep voice.

“To see Winifred! Can’t stop to talk, Stevie!” called Moonbeam.

Moonbeam has reached his favourite part of the neighbourhood, they call it the Wave Palace. Giant waves are curling and swirling all around him, like great, twirling tunnels. Moonbeam loves to surf. He swims into one of the waves and glides through the shining water tunnel, swaying his tail in order to move with the water. He loves this feeling, like flying underwater.

After all this surfing, Moonbeam feels his stomach rumble…time for a snack. He dives out of a crystal wave and sees some shiny, and yummy, looking seaweed nearby. He swims down and picks some from each bush to ensure he doesn’t disturb anyone’s home. The slippery seaweed tastes salty and sweet, it satisfies Moonbeam’s hunger perfectly.

Finally, Moonbeam reaches his destination. A great open space filled with big, beautiful creatures. They are dark and sleek like midnight, they have big smiling mouths and tiny beady eyes. Whales. A pod of whales. They are all singing a beautiful, uplifting tune. Moonbeam searches for Winifred. She is a sapphire coloured blue and has glistening green eyes.

There, in the middle of the pod of whales, Moonbeam sees Winifred. Underneath her great belly, Moonbeam can see the shadow of something moving. Moonbeam swims closer, weaving his way through the singing whales, greeting friends as he goes.

When Moonbeam reaches Winifred, she breaks out into a huge, beaming smile and continues singing even louder. She moves slightly so Moonbeam can see the tiny creature underneath. Underneath her belly is a newborn whale calf. He is a glistening, sapphire blue just like his mother. He has big, searching eyes and a long tail.

Moonbeam cannot contain his joy. As the whale song grows stronger, Moonbeam swims through the whale pod and up through the water, the mesmerising whale song following him. The sun is beginning to rise and the water is turning a light, crystal blue. Moonbeam breaks through the top of the water and jumps into the air, whooping with joy. Suspended in the air, he feels the warm morning breeze on his skin and sees a flock of seagulls flying past. He lands back down into the ocean with a splash. Moonbeam floats on his back, softly swaying his tail and watching the bright orange sun rising on another beautiful day.

- Total nr. of readings: 1,770 Copyright © The author [2020] All Rights Reserved. This story may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the author except for personal use.