THE LITTLE COMPANION
1437 Words
I woke to a soft humming—like the moon itself was singing me awake.
For a moment, I forgot where I was. My eyes fluttered open, expecting the tall crystal windows of my room in the palace, the silk curtains dancing in the morning breeze, the quiet footsteps of my maids preparing my bath.
But instead, there were trees—towering ones with glowing leaves, sparkling like someone had dipped them into moon dust. The air smelled like wildflowers and rain. Dew clung to my hair. My cloak was wrapped around me like a thin blanket.
And then I remembered.
I was no longer in my kingdom.
I was in… another world.
A place no one had ever told me existed.
A place where a strange moon spirit had appeared before me.
My heart thudded as I sat up, scanning around. The spirit—tiny, shimmering, glowing like a miniature moon—floated only a few inches from my face.
“Good morning,” it chimed in a soft, musical voice.
I blinked. “You’re still here.”
It giggled, a sound like silver bells. “Of course I am. I told you—I’m going to guide you.”
I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders, warmth spreading through me despite the chill. “Guide me… where?”
The spirit twirled in the air, leaving behind wisps of pale light. “Back to your destiny. Back to who you are. Back to why the moon chose you.”
“But I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why am I here? Why did the moon bring me?”
The tiny creature floated closer until it gently brushed its light against my cheek—almost like a caress. “Because your kingdom is in danger. And because you, Princess, are the only one who can restore its light.”
My breath caught.
Something inside me—deep, deep inside—already knew.
The fading moon.
The cold wind that blew across the palace grounds.
The way the stars looked dimmer the night I disappeared.
Something terrible was happening back home.
And somehow… it was connected to me.
I swallowed hard. “Spirit… what should I call you?”
The small glowing being paused. “Me?”
“Yes.” I touched my chest nervously. “I can’t just keep calling you spirit. You deserve a name.”
It hummed, twirling again. “A name… I suppose I do.”
I watched it dance in the air, leaving soft glimmers in its wake. It looked so innocent, yet powerful. So small, yet ancient.
“Then…” I smiled softly. “How about Mira? It means ‘light that guides.’”
The spirit froze—then glowed so brightly that I had to squint.
“Oh! I love it!” it squealed. “Mira! Mira! Mira! That’s my name now!”
A small laugh escaped my lips. For the first time since I woke up in this strange world, I felt a flicker of comfort.
Mira zipped in circles around my head, her excitement contagious. “Luna, Luna, Luna! I love your name too! It feels like moonlight!”
“I suppose it fits,” I admitted shyly.
Mira suddenly stopped in front of me and placed her tiny glowing hands on my forehead. “Come. We have much to do.”
A gentle warmth spread through my body—as if she had sprinkled moonlight into my veins.
“What… did you do?” I asked softly.
“I strengthened your bond with the moon. You need it to survive in this realm.”
This realm.
The words sent a shiver down my spine.
“Where are we, Mira?”
Mira floated backwards, her glow dimming to a softer shade. “We are in the Moon’s Hidden Forest—a place between worlds. A place only chosen souls can enter.”
“And I was chosen,” I whispered.
“Yes.” Mira nodded. “Because you carry the moon’s blessing.”
The moon’s blessing…
A gift I had possessed since birth.
A gift my parents had always told me to hide.
“Why did the moon choose me?” I whispered, though the words trembled out of me.
Mira drifted closer and tapped my forehead gently. “Because you were born with its voice inside you. Because you are the princess fated to protect the light of your kingdom.”
My stomach tightened.
“So my disappearance… was not an accident?”
Mira shook her tiny head slowly. “No. The moon brought you here to prepare you for what lies ahead.”
My fingers clenched around my cloak.
This wasn’t a dream.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
I had been taken—no, chosen—for something bigger than I ever imagined.
Mira tugged at my sleeve. “Come, Luna. There is something you must see.”
I stood, brushing dirt off my dress. Mira floated ahead of me, her glow lighting the forest floor. The trees gently parted as we walked—as if bowing to Mira, or perhaps… to me.
We walked toward a clearing, where a small pool of water shimmered like liquid silver.
Mira pointed. “Look.”
I knelt and leaned over the pool.
My reflection looked back at me…
…but the eyes staring from the water were not my usual soft brown.
They glowed—white, like moonlight—pulsing softly as if something inside them was alive.
I gasped and stumbled backward. “What… what is happening to me?!”
Mira floated down and rested on my shoulder. Her tiny glow felt warm against my skin.
“This is the power you always carried inside you. But now that you are in the moon’s realm, the truth cannot hide.”
“My eyes…” I whispered, touching my face. “They look like—”
“Like the moon,” Mira finished gently. “Because you are connected to it more deeply than any princess before you.”
My breath trembled.
I didn’t feel like a princess.
I felt like a lost girl trying to make sense of a world that wasn’t mine.
Mira sensed my fear and curled herself into a tiny glowing ball in my hands—like a firefly calming a frightened child.
“You are not alone, Luna,” she whispered. “I am here. I will be your companion. Your guide. Your friend.”
Friend.
I held her gently, my fingers trembling.
No one in the palace had ever been allowed to be truly close to me. I had guards, maids, teachers—but no real friends. I was always too protected, too watched, too important.
Yet here was this small spirit, choosing me without hesitation.
“Thank you, Mira,” I whispered.
We sat together like that for a long moment—me holding her softly, her light warming my palms—until the wind shifted.
A soft breeze swept through the trees, carrying something that wasn’t flowers or dew.
It smelled like smoke.
My chest tightened. “Mira… what is that?”
Mira’s glow dimmed. “Trouble.”
She darted out of my hands, glowing brighter. “Someone is coming.”
My breath hitched.
“Someone?”
“Yes.” Mira floated back to me quickly. “Not a friend.”
I stood, my heart pounding. “Who? Who is coming?”
Mira’s voice trembled, only slightly. “A hunter of light.”
A hunter?
“What do they want?”
“To capture you,” Mira whispered. “They can sense your moonlight.”
Fear froze my legs.
But Mira grabbed my hand—her tiny glow tightening around my finger like a protective ring.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m with you.”
I stared at her, my fear easing only a little.
“You’re so small,” I whispered.
Mira puffed up angrily, glowing brighter. “I may be small, but I’m powerful! And I won’t let anything harm you!”
She flew in front of me, tiny but fierce—my first friend, my first protector.
My little companion.
The trees suddenly shook as something approached—heavy steps, breaking branches, moving fast.
My heart raced. “Mira—”
Mira turned her small face toward me. “Trust me.”
Her voice was calm.
Reassuring.
I nodded, breathing hard.
“I trust you.”
Mira’s glow exploded into a bright sphere around us—a shield of moonlight wrapping both of us in its gentle embrace.
And just as a dark figure stepped out of the trees.
- Writer
