A World Without Shoes

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Chapter I
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The Birth of Luna





In a Portuguese port on the morning of June first of 1925, an eight month dream was sleeping protected by a rocking womb. Sweet Ana and noble Diego are the parents to be. They are taking their first steps in to The Santa Maria steam Ship. Shorten the distance between a hopeless past and an inspiring future.
The ship looks like a mystical monster of colossus size, which is wrapped in wood and steal, breathing loud, exhaling black clouds that mimic a forecast sky. Ana and Diego’s compartment is by the belly of the ship. The commoners area, it is called. There are so many people everywhere, no privacy or place to rest or lay. Rats and filth...a melancholic violin and a pungent, sticky and salty aroma are also travelers during the quest to the new world.
Only a small round widow would tell the time of the day or the proximity of the night to come. One month will be the passengers’ journey, one month at the hands and glory of the ocean...one month to have it all.
From miles away with screeching smile, Portugal seems to screams with bony hands...‘If I don’t have you no, one can. Almost as accomplices,Death, hand by hand with a mysterious disease, takes over the steel and wood island that dares to cruises the Atlantic Sea.
Too late Ana notice Diego’s sweaty palms, his sepia face, his hot tremors and glassy eyes. A force stronger than him; start piercing that delicate language of his life. Diego, claps his hand with Ana, asking her for forgiveness and also to his unborn child and with a gaze of defeat and surprise Diego kisses the eternal dream.
Ana cries pure, bitter and crystal tears. Most of the passengers are ignoring her pain, most of them...except for Olga, an old world woman, seems immerse by an invisible and strange halo that no one dears to guess its significance. Olga has been watching the young couple for days; something is telling her that the new life to be is special, protected by a strong a force that by all means she has to watch over.
The night is lugubrious without any stars or sparks almost like a giant bat of infinite velvety wings has covered the Atlantic sky. Suddenly the moon is not high at the firmament. The evening is filling up with expectations and secrets to come.
The moon for a century has been tracing a plan that would take place by the fall of this night. She would have a child, take human form during twilight and by dawn reach for the stars.
With Ana’s last push, the new baby found the outside life. Her little lungs are filled with scents of ocher blood, mist of ocean and strength of mystical love. Olga, the first stranger that would be part of the child's life, covered from ripped pieces of Ana’s dress the bronze skin of this new life.
Ana is dying. Ana is tired. Ana in a whisper says...
- Luna...Luna will be your name after the only lunar eclipse that I will see in my mortal life. And with her last strength Ana caresses Luna's azabache hair, the curved smile of the little one's mouth and finally she sets her eyes on the caramel toned naked tiny toes and with her last breath, almost absent of lucid thought Ana voices the question looking at Olga’s wise eyes, that it would hunt Luna for a big part of her life...
- How can a person make it in this world without shoes?...Olga looks around to find a couple rough strings and two square cuts of a former potato sack that she firmly attaches to Luna’s plump small feet. But all happened a minute too late, for the young mother to see her child's first rustic shoes. Ana has closed her eyes, and forever she would be part of the amaranthine sleep.
Olga picked up Luna and while rocking the new soul in her arms she sang to her...
- ♪♫•*♫♥♪*•♫♪You are the daughter of the Moon. You are the creation of a celestial feminine force, many hard challenges; many corpuscles are in your future because of this. But you, my sweet Luna, are meant to be human among mankind and tomorrow reach for the stars.♪♫•*♫♥♪*•♫♪
Finally, after such a unique evening, a first ray of light, from the goddess in her full size illuminates Luna’s baby face, now sleeping by the round small window at the ship belly side.