Dreams of The Moon

Sleep never came easily. Every night it was an uphill battle that Ink would barely win in order to get a few hours of rest before having to get up and perform his daily chores around the rectory. His mind was constantly flooded with various thoughts, worries, emotions, nonsense. Usually he would simply pay Oleander a visit, physical exhaustion usually forced him to fall asleep after dealing with the other’s libido. Tonight, however, Ink didn’t think it would be a good idea to go out of his room.

While there was nothing stating that one had to remain in their home when offering mochi to Allocer, Ink had noted that all buns with a vision had been in their own abodes alone that night. The priest turned to face the opposite wall. The booming of fireworks and the chatter of buns outside the church monastery carried all the way to Ink’s room. The noise bleed into the various thoughts that raced through the priest’s head. It all mixed together to make a jumbled white noise that Ink couldn’t decipher or stand. All the man wanted was to just fall asleep.

With hesitation Ink moved to reach under his bed. Moving aside a few trinkets before the clink of crystal on glass told him he had reached the item he was looking for. Pulling his hand back, Ink studied the large bottle with trepidation. As a gift, Mercy had given all the priests and nuns in the church alcohol. Ink had been given a bottle of fine whiskey, something about all the ‘good’ work he had put in earning him a finer vintage. In truth it was a small bribe to ensure his silence about Mercy’s small misappropriation of church funds. Not that they needed to give Ink anything. Ink hardly cared about where the carats went. He simply found it funny Mercy thought alcohol would buy his silence.

Drinking wasn’t something Ink partook in. Alcohol did nothing to soothe him and in truth, Ink was a lightweight. However, right now that was a good thing. If Ink couldn’t fall asleep naturally or go out and tire himself out then drinking till he passed out sounded like a good idea.

Ink studied the dark liquid for a moment before twisting open the top. The smell was strong and had Ink wrinkling his nose in disgust. Taking a deep breath, Ink tilted his head back and started chugging the whiskey. It burned. It burned so badly. Ink pulled back after maybe ten seconds. He choked, coughed and spelt some of the alcohol on his nightshirt. Ink was panting as he tried to keep himself from throwing the alcohol up instantly. Once he caught his breath, Ink quickly went back to chugging. Slowly the whole bottle was emptied in Ink and the priest could only shakily try to catch his breath. The bottle fell and rolled across his room.

Laying on his back, Ink’s vision began to get hazy. His head was swimming and his limbs felt heavy and tingly. His plan was working, though Ink feared how he would feel in the morning as he slowly closed his eyes. Unconsciousness never came quicker.

It felt like an eternity had passed. Ink’s mind couldn’t tell how long it was, maybe it truly was forever and a day or maybe it was only a few moments. Regardless, something had caused Ink to stir. The sensation of something hard underneath him.

Slowly, Ink started to open his eyes as his hands grabbed at the grass underneath them. Grass? Ink’s eyes snapped open as he sat up with a jolt. There was no reason for there to be grass in his bed. Ink looked at his hands, grass stains and dirt under his nails greeted him. “What the hell?” The priest cursed before looking around. Ink found himself sitting on some sort of hill. The bun’s eyes widened as he remembered the notes he had taken. All of the bun’s who had been blessed with a vision from Allocer, they all dreamed about waking up on a grassy hill. Ink’s eyes instantly went up as he looked out towards what he expected to be a cavern wall.

In front of Ink was no distant wall. There was nothing that seemed like a boundary at all. No, the area was a inky black and midnight blue expanse that stretched on for forever. It wasn’t just the mingling of colours though. Mixed in were specks, tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, an infinite number of white specks of light that formed a slight swirl and pattern in front of Ink. Ink could feel his heart racing as his eyes frantically scanned all of that was in front of him. Sweat started to bead down his forehead as he tried to capture a whole picture.

“Oh little bun, why don’t you look up?” An amused whisper brushed against Ink’s ear. “You’re missing the best part at seeing the night sky in all its beauty.” A chuckle behind him had Ink turning his head up. Red eyes went huge as Ink stared up at a humongous object of blinding white light. It hurt a bit to actually look at this rocky floating object but Ink couldn’t turn away from it. “I-Is that the moon?” The priest’s voice trembled as he questioned the unseen presence. Fear, anxiety, excitement all rolled in Ink’s chest.

“It is. Beautiful, isn’t it? There’s so much more than just the moon, but those aren’t important. It’s not like any of your kind would care, you’ll never get to see it.” The voice was amused as it regarded Ink’s small existence. Ink could feel his stomach drop out as he just took in the moon and all its glory. “See the dark shape on its front?” A shadowy hand pointed at the spot for Ink. “Don’t you think it resembles a bun?” Ink could hear the mocking tone in the voice as he studied the shape. “It… Looks more like a rabebe.” Ink squinted his eyes a little. A haughty chuckle was his reply as the demon looked down at Ink. “I suppose it does to you.” Allocer placed a hand on Ink’s shoulder. The priest didn’t dare to look at the hand as he kept his eyes to the sky and moon.

“Do you know what the worst thing about seeing the moon is?” Ink swallowed back his vomit as he shivered. A cold sweat broke out as he refused to vocalise an answer. “You’ll never see it in the waking world.” Allocer whispered right into Ink’s ear. They sounded so close that Ink almost thought they were in his head. “With a thirst for knowing comes the price of reality. The reality that you will never get to feel the moonbeams on your skin, that the stars will never shine down on you, that you will look into the endless abyss and know that it has looked into you.” Ink could feel tears rolling down his cheeks as his eyes hesitantly started to look towards Allocer. The demon smiled as Ink looked at them. “Oh little bun, how hard you worked. How tirelessly you pounded out that delicious mochi for me. I truly hope that this was a sufficient reward for you, priest.” Allocer laughed at Ink’s tears as the grip on his shoulder tightened into a sickening, horrible pain.

Ink screamed as he sat up in his bed. His face was ghostly pale as sweat drenched him and his bed. His hair stuck to his face and his sheets felt like they were strangling him. Ink’s hands scratched his cheeks as he ran them over his face roughly. His heart was pounding out of his chest, it felt like it might explode as he leaned over the side of his bed and stumbled to grab the trash bin. The whiskey came rushing out of Ink’s mouth as he threw up into the can. The memory of the moon and stars rushing through his head as he heaved.

A dark bruise in the shape of a hand helped to remind Ink later as he wrote of his vision of the moon and his encounter with the demon who graciously allowed him to see it.