The Shadows on the Moon

The Shadows on the Moon

Long ago, when the world was still young and people listened more closely to the sky, the Khasi told of a family that lived in the heavens. The mother had four children. Her eldest daughter was Ka Um, Water. Her second daughter was Ka Ding, Fire. Her third daughter was Ka Sngi, the Sun. Her youngest child, a son, was U Bnai, the Moon. All four were beautiful, and each had a power of their own. Water brought coolness and life. Fire gave warmth. The Sun lit the world by day. And in those ancient times, the Moon shone almost as brightly as the Sun. For a long while, there was harmony in the heavenly family. The children respected their mother and one another. But as U Bnai grew older, he wanted to live only as he pleased. He began to disappear for long stretches without telling his family. He travelled far away, made passing acquaintances, and laughed at his mother’s advice. “You have the right to choose your own path,” she told him. “But freedom does not mean forgetting the people who love you.” Ka Um and Ka Ding tried to speak with their brother calmly. Even Ka Sngi, who was always glad when he returned, asked him, “Do not lose yourself in other worlds, U Bnai. Come back to us as yourself.” But the Moon would not listen. One day he travelled to a distant, dark place. There was no clear water there, no warm fire, and no sunny morning. He stayed so long that he grew used to the gloom and almost forgot how bright his home in the sky had been. At last U Bnai grew tired of darkness. He remembered his mother and sisters, and he returned home. Ka Sngi was the first to meet him. She came toward her brother, and light filled the space around her. After his long wandering, her radiance seemed wonderful to U Bnai. At first he said nothing. Then his old pride rose inside him. “I have travelled through many worlds,” he told his mother. “No one shines as brightly as I do. Only Ka Sngi should stand beside me. Let her leave her own path and shine only with me.” His mother looked at him sternly. “Ka Sngi is your sister. Her light does not belong to you; it belongs to the whole world. You cannot claim another being as your own, even if you think yourself the most beautiful.” But U Bnai would not let go of his demand. When Ka Sngi heard what he wanted, she became very sad. “Brother,” she said, “you have come home, but you have not yet returned to yourself. You see my light, but you do not see me.” U Bnai spoke proudly again, as though he had the right to decide for her. Then Ka Sngi went to the household fire, took a handful of grey ash, and tossed it into the air. “Let this ash remind you that another person’s light cannot be made your possession.” The wind carried the ash to U Bnai’s face. It did not hurt him, but it left dark marks behind. The Moon fell silent. For the first time in a very long while, he did not argue. He looked at his mother, at Water, at Fire, and at the Sun. He understood how much worry he had brought to his family through his wandering and his pride. From then on, U Bnai did not try to compete with the Sun. Ka Sngi followed her path by day, and the Moon chose the night. His light became quieter and gentler, and dark shadows remained forever on his silver face. When Khasi people looked up at the Moon, they told their children, “Do you see those dark patches? They remind us that beauty and strength are worth little without respect for others.” And the Moon sailed quietly across the night sky, as if he remembered that lesson every evening.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨