The first night in a new city, you don't know anyone, and then you look up. That's this girl, or close enough — leaning at a window rail, moon blooming huge and white behind her, stars scattered through the dark like spilled salt, hair going everywhere in a wind that clearly hasn't been briefed on hair. I lived a whole month in a rented room once with a window exactly this proportions, and the moon was the only neighbor who introduced itself on day one. It doesn't matter what country you drag yourself to. The moon speaks the local language of every place at once and somehow also yours. She's smiling the small, private smile of someone who's decided the new place will be okay — not certain, not proven, just decided, which is how all of them start. The braid over her shoulder is still neat from the journey. The rest of her hair has already given up on neatness, which feels honest. Somewhere below, an unfamiliar street is learning her footsteps. Somewhere above, an old light is keeping watch like it does for everyone who arrives at night. New cities are only strangers until the first full moon.
#animeart #moonlight #newcity #nightwindow
