I’m three in this memory. My baby brother has recently been released from the hospital after his heart surgery. Though he can now stay with us at home, he is only allowed to feed a small amount each day despite his large body. Every evening, he cries out of hunger, and that’s when my mother takes both of us for a walk. She calls it “our evening walk.”
My brother secured on my mother’s back, the three of us walk out of our tiny apartment, into the fresh evening air of early Autumn. The familiar path to the playground is empty except us. There is something exciting about being the only ones on the street. Before I know it, I’m skipping and singing as I lead the way.
A few moments in, my own shadow on the street snags my attention. Above me, shining bright in the sky is a round full moon.
“Mommy, look!” I stop, looking up at the sky. “We’re not alone. The moon is here, too!”
When I start walking again, the moon follows me. I start running, and the moon also seems to speed up. Suddenly, a sense of wonder fills my heart.
“Why?” I ask my mother. “When I walk, it walks. When I stop, it stops, When I run, it also runs! Why does it do that?”
“I wonder why,” says my mother from behind me. I don’t hear my brother’s cry anymore. “Maybe the moon wants to walk with you.”
“Really?”
I start moving again. This time, I make it harder for the moon. I walk, stop, then run. I do it quickly. But the moon follows me without missing a beat.
“The moon follows me!” I exclaim as I run. “The moon follows me!”
My brother is now all but quiet on my mother’s back. Together, we continue our walk under the magic of the evening sky.