Selene walked through the trees, careful not to get her lacy dress ripped. She was glad to get to off of the moon, to be on the cool grass of the planet people call Earth. She brushed back several strands of pale blond hair and sighed.

Selene soon came upon a clearing. Moonlight shined through the leafy canopy and shimmered on the green grass. Pale jasmine blossoms floated along the glassy surface of the small pond. She kneeled by the pond and dragged her hand through the icy cold water. Suddenly, somebody stumbled through the underbrush and fell several feet away from her. It seemed to be a young human. He didn’t notice her as he stood up and brushed off his cloak. His hair was the color of a raven’s feathers and was tied at the nape of his neck. His midnight blue eyes searched the clearing until they landed on her.

He stared warily at her as she came up to him and brushed a hand over his cheek.

“You are a druid?” Selene asked. The white cloak he wore was the same as the druids in the local village. The man nodded.

“Druid in training,” he muttered, then flushed as if embarrassed by it.

Selene lightly laughed. “Why are you out so late?”

He smiled suddenly. “The moon was so full and so bright that I couldn’t resist it.”

Selene glanced up at the moon. The glow that was always around the moon seemed more pronounced. Curiosity flared in her gray eyes. “Mother must be happy about something...”she whispered.

He arched an inquisitive eyebrow at her. “Your mother...?” he asked, confused.

Selene gave a small giggle. “My mother is Demeter.” His eyes widened. Demeter was the goddess of the moon. Helios, the god of the sun, was her father. Selene was as immortal moon goddess like her mother.

“You are a goddess...”he muttered and then he threw himself at her feet. He gently grabbed one foot and kissed top of it. Selene, surprised, jerked away.

She pulled him up to his feet. “What is your name, druid?”

“Michael,” he replied, still in a slight daze.

“Such a strong name...” she murmured while brushing a stray strand of hair away from his face. “Come. Walk with me.”

He smiled largely and his eyes shined brightly. “Okay.” They both walked through the trees, content.

Each night Selene came down to Earth and walked with Michael. He would wait by the pond, joyous when she would walk into the clearing. They always walked through the forest. Sometimes they talked, other times they didn’t. Months passed and they grew to love each other.

One night Michael had brought a stone to her as a gift. It was a cloudy moonstone. Selene had put it on a cord and then told him, “This stone will always show your life.” With that, she touched the tip of the stone to his forehead. Every time his heart beat, the stone’s glow would pulse.

It was on a night when the moon was large and full when Selene could sense something was wrong. She entered the clearing, hoping to her love and stopped. Michael was lying by the pond, blood gushing out of the many cuts and slices on his body. His blood swirled and darkened the water in the pond. Several elder druids stood over him, each holding a sword.

One stepped up to her and bowed low. “My goddess...”

Selene ripped the moonstone from her neck and saw that its pulse was slow, fatally slow. The other druids surrounded her. “What have you done?” she whispered.

One of the druids said, “He was only a druid in training. He did not deserve the honor of your presence.”

Rage overcame her. “I curse you all...” she muttered, “I CURSE YOU ALL!” They stepped away slowly. “You will come to hate and fear the moon!”

The druids stopped all movement. Their bodies started contorting. Fur covered their skin and an eerie luminescent glow appeared in their eyes. Hot saliva ran down their huge fangs and large jaws. Their forms became that of a canine. “Werewolves...”she breathed as they ran into the forest, snarling, growling, and fighting each other.

Selene rushed over to Michael, worried. “I’m sorry...” he coughed out. She brought his head into her lap and started weeping. “I will come back, love...”

A few feet away the moonstone pulsed once more, then faded. Tears ran down her cheeks. He was...gone. Selene sobbed loudly as she pressed the tip of her index finger to his forehead. The body disappeared and his soul flew away.

Tears continued to fall as she grabbed the moonstone and started walking away. He would come back. His soul would return one day. One day...

August 24, 2003- Selene tugged her braid again. The plastic seat was cold against her back, even through her clothes. The school bus pulled away from the curb and continued down the bumpy road. Another decade, another lifetime.

She reached around her neck for the moonstone Michael had given her so long ago. It pulsed. Lately, it would start pulsing, and then it would stop. It had been going on for a while. The pulse had been strongest around this area, so she enrolled in the local high school.

A hand tapped her shoulder. Selene looked up and had to repress a smile. Michael, a younger, modern version stared down at her, smiling. “Is this seat taken?”

She swallowed the knot in her throat. “No.” He sat down next to her and shifted his books.

“My name’s Michael,” he said and stuck out his hand for a shake.

“Selene.” She shook his hand. His eyes, she noticed, were lively and boisterous, with just a slight tinge of the magic he had before. They talked throughout the bus ride and Selene almost wept at how much he was the same as before.

As he walked away for class with a slight wave, Selene broadly smiled. They would become friends. They would fall in love. And one day she would tell him what she was and what happened between them in the past. If he truly loved her by then, he will accept it. She would make him a god, an immortal like her. Selene reached up and touched the moonstone around her neck with tears of happiness in her eyes. Then, the moonstone would pulse forever with his life.