Moon Palace - Follow Up Stories

Despite the fact that Moon Palace's courses are over, Mrs Bowley asked us during the holidays to imagine how Marco Fogg's future would look like, how Moon Palace would be if it had a sequel. Here are some wonderful and interesting follow up stories written by Mrs Bowley' students : 

Hind :

Then the moon came up from behind the hills. It was a full moon, as round and yellow as a burning stone. I kept my eyes on it as it rose into the night sky, not turning away until it had found its place in the darkness.

I had the impression that she told me to follow her example, not to turn away until I, in turn, found my place in the world.

Despite my reluctance to resurface in the world, the fact that I found some of my family members who I thought were lost gave me hope. The hope of wanting to live a life full of joy and happiness. The numbers of abandonment I experienced this year put a huge hit on me, and created a void in me. A void that I don't want to fill out of fear that have abandoned me again. But let's look at the positive side of the thing, these reunions have fills me with happiness and now allow me to move on.

TWO YEARS LATER...

I am a new man, I start all over again. I became the father of a wonderful little girl with my first love of youth, Kitty WU. We are very happy together, we went through a lot together when we were younger. And despite all these trials, fate has reunited us again to give us a second chance that we have not hesitated to seize.

The nights before I went to sleep, I look out the window of the living room, at the moon and I remember the last time I looked at it. That was two years ago now, when she spoke to me. That memory is extremely precious to me and I will not soon forget it.

 

 Ainhoa :

Then the Moon came up from behind the hills. It was a full moon, as round and yellow as a burning stone. I kept my eyes on it as it rose into the night sky, not turning away until it had found its place in the darkness.
It was only 3 years later that I decided to re-build my life again. After being devastated by what have happened in my life in the past, when I was only a university student, after losing many people around me and after doing a trip to find myself, only then, I found motivation to re-start my life. I travelled around the world after my trip to the West of the United States but I finally decided to settle down in a small town near New York. I was tired of living in a big city. My experiences in the past had shown me that in big cities nobody knew one another and everyone seemed not to care about others problems and difficulties; that’s why I decided to move there. I found a job offer in a newspaper by total chance, for working in a library. As uncle Victor loved books and reading, I thought about giving this work a chance, I thought that if my uncle loved books so much it was for a good reason. As a surprise for myself, I started enjoying working with books. I decided then, that even if I lost everything around me at some points of my life, it was only up to me to decide what to do with it. I was the only one to decide to take my life between my hands and organize it or keep in sadness and incomprehension for the rest of my life, it’s at that moment that I understood that my happiness only relied on myself. After struggling for some years and after finding the charm of literature I decided to start a new chapter in my life and became an author. I decided then to write my life, as an example of personal achievement and inspiration for other young people that struggle as I did myself one day.

Armand :

Then the Moon came up from behind the hills. Days went by. I don’t know how many but I felt every night and day passing by. It was as if nature had gripped me and taken over my soul. I just sat on the warm sand, comforted by the blowing wind, which was touching my dried skin, while listening to the waves crashing swiftly. At night, I laid down and contemplated the stars with nothing on my body apart from my dirty clothes to protect me from the cold. My eyes were half opened as I was tired and I was whispering to myself “I beg your pardon Barber, Effing, Victor, Mum, Kitty, Zimmer. I didn’t mean all of that to happen. From up there, you probably see how lost of a case I am, but I can’t suffer any more and I need to turn the page, I need to be happy. I’ve accomplished my quest now, I know who I am!”. While I said these words, a dreadful headache invaded me. All of my memories, from when I met Kitty to the last call I’ve had with her, were mixing. These images wouldn’t leave my mind, it was as if I was in the middle of a storm. I don’t remember if I managed to rest on the beach. I believe I did close my eyes but I kept on waking up.

My eyes were slowly opening when I unclearly saw two silhouettes defined by the early morning sunlight approaching and leaning on me. I still could see their basic features – the young woman looked Asian, she had dark short hair and the young man looked white with brown curly hair. I was about to die from starvation and miraculously, these two strangers saved my miserable and irresponsible self.

When I actually woke up, I was laying on a couch. A delicate and soft voice awakened me “Excuse-me sir, are you alright?” she said. I slowly opened my eyes and I gently smiled. Somehow, my wish came true, I was starting a new life and I could feel my soul being recharged. “Yes ma’am I’m fine. A bit tired. Thank you, whoever you are. You saved me.” I replied back.
“You’re welcome but you still have a lot of explaining to do. Who are you? Where are you from? What were you doing on your own there?” the man replied with a low yet elegant voice. She giggled and told him it was a bit early to ask questions as I had just woken up. “I’m Tiki” she said. “and I’m Mercy” he said back. “We regularly have walks on the beach in the early morning and yesterday, we saw you lying there and thought you were resting. However, this morning, we saw you didn’t move from there, we knew something was wrong! Thank god Tiki is a nurse and knew what to do!” Mercy really was worried about me. Fair enough, what would I have done if I found an unconscious man lying on the beach? Tiki giggled and was delighted someone complimented her skills. “Well everything is alright now, he just needs some rest and a meal!”

While they were talking to each other, I stared thoroughly at them, at their movements and features. I knew this scene had happened before in my life, some kind of “déjà vu” as the folks would say. I couldn’t tell when it had happened as I’d lost all my memories, including my own name. The only thing I remembered was the road trip which led me to here. To be honest, I couldn’t care less at that moment. These people saved me and deeply inside I knew I could trust them. “I’m Robinson Samuel Columbus*. I’m originally from NYC but I’d like to stay here. Where are we again?” I asked. “San Francisco. Look at the window behind you” she answered. As I turned, I saw the sea, a “Moon Dallas” sign brightened by the midday sunlight and the golden gate bridge standing gracefully far away. It was so beautiful and I instantly said “Oh well, I need your help. Can I stay in for a few days until I find a job and a flat?”.

Crystal & Loanne :

I kept my eyes on it as it rose into the night sky, not turning away until it had found its place in the darkness.

10 years later …

The last signs of the sun lurk behind the mountains, leaving only a dark and hazy impression in the sky. I put my hands on the cold rock I’m sittinng on. These huge rocks by the sea leave many and many possibilities to hide there, and they became my little corner of paradise and rest as soon as I discovered them. Sheltered by another rock above me, this small cliff makes me think more of a cave and reinforces this spirit of isolation that I seek.

I take a deep beah, remembering how the last few years had unfolded, until the phone call that changed my life cames along. « Hello Marco, it’s <Kitty. I would like… I would like to talk to you about something important. Face to face. » refusing th Moon Palace, we agreed to meet in a rather rustic little cafe that had just opened. Seeing Kitty after all these yars overwhelmed me. She had changed very little, except that she had become even more beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled up into a sleek bun, which addesd a harsh, stern look to her. Still, she seemed vulnerable and anxious. Her fingers continued to move nervously over the cup of coffee she hadn’t even drunk.

- I have to confess something to you, she began. It will be hard to hear and i twill shock you. Please takes this news with sympathy.

She sighed, aware that her announcement was going to turn my life upside down.

- I have a child. Finally, we have a child.

As expected, it gives me a shock. I began to remember everything I had experienced, reflex after each upheaval. Instantly, she took my hands, squeezing them a little, without taking her eyes off me. I asked her why she was telling me thisnow, so late. After more or less swallowing the news, I ask for information about my child. He was a young boy of just over eleven years old named Neil, in reference to Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon. I can’t thank Kitty enough for choosing this first name, having first been inspired by the meaning of my first names as well as many interest in the moon and the place of our meeting. « This adds a part of you to him. » she said sadly.

Suddenly, Litty had waved to people behind the glass, who entered. These was a man about my age and a little boy I guessed to be Neil. They walked over to our table and Kitty instantly spoke.

- Neil, this man is mom’s friend. His name is Marco, he took care of you when you were a baby. I would like you to get to know each other, I’m sure you have a lot in common.

I realized then that h didn ‘t know that I was his father, at least not right away. His eyes were identical to her mother’s and exuded natural sympathy. The human being who represented the perfect fusion of Kitty and I left me speechless.

Niel greet me, and we chatted for a little while. I offered to meet again, whitout knowing why. He was adorable, Kitty and this man had done a good job.

That’s why I can’t think of myself as his father.

I feel a tiny gravel between my finger, take it and throw it into the sea, disturbed.

This kind of decision is not easy to take. Only, I am happy with the life I had.

I met extraordinary people who helped me build myself and have a goal at a time when I was indifferent to it. I had become who I am because of these expériences, and I feel like I had finally accomplished my mission. I’ve finished my adventure, I didn’t want to start a new one. Moreover, I did not feeel capable of raising a child, having myself been deprived of a paternal presence. It might sound selfish, but I’m sure this child will be much happier with his « father » who has been raising him for so many years. Kitty must have realizes that, otherwise she wouldn’t have revealed tom me the presence of a son ten years after our relationship ended.

The sky darkens and let the clarity of the moon which is reflected on the waves. Appear Kitty… sort

of saved my life. I will be eternally grateful to her for entering my life. Even with my other companions, I did not feel what I felt with her, but rather than persisting on my fate, I prefer to realize how lucky had been to have her and remember our good times with melancholy.

- Forgive me… I breathe.

I get up, look at the full moon, breathe in that fresh, pure air one last time. I would have loved life to the end. I was not disappointed, I knew I am doing the right thing. Neil, excuse me for not waiting to see you again, but it’s too hard for me. My child, I bequeath to you my most precious possession, fifty-four boxes of books. It’s symbolic to me.

The waves stir and crash violently against the rocks. The air was now cold, but it was not unpleasant. Smiling, I pulled out of my pocket a piece of paper and place dit delicately on the ground, bocking it under a small stone so that it does not fy away. I chose to deposit my will at the last placed I would be. If he flies away, then he was not to be found. It’s time I joined you, Uncle Victor, Grandpa Victor, I doesn’t care who you really was except the one who raised me.

I quickly spread my arms, took a deep breath and scream face to the sea :

- I AM MARCO STANLEY FOGG !

I then took a step forward, tehn another, to finally fall into the void. With a slight smirk, I closed mye yes to feel every detail of my fall. This were when my adventure end.

Carla FOURNIER :

After a long night watching the moon shine, I finally fell asleep on the beach. I woke up when I felt the heat come over me, the sun was rising. I started to think about Kitty Wu, Zimmer and all those that I had lost. I wasn't sad because I understood that their presence was a burden for me and that I had been a burden for them. So now I was alone, but I didn't have that feeling of loneliness anymore, I felt good with myself. I was starting a new life; I was a new man with new ambitions. I needed new things, new experiences, new landscapes and new adventures. I started by trying to find a place that I had never been to, there a few of choices. I could have made the decision to go to Canada, New Mexico, Florida or Quebec, but ultimately, I made the decision to leave America. At the time I made that decision I didn't have the money for a plane ticket. I went to Manhattan beach next to the International Airport of Los Angeles. I was sitting on Manhattan Beach avenue in front of a Japanese restaurant, when suddenly, a young man came out of the restaurant completely confused. He thrown his apron on the ground and sit two meters away from me. I asked him: "- Are you okay?" He answered me: "- No, it's not okay! But I don't want to talk about it, thank you." He spoke to me in such an aggressive way that I didn't dare to answer. We stayed there, both sitting in the street without speaking to each other. In the ten minutes that followed, our eyes met three times. The first time, I was looking at him, he saw me and we looked away. The second time, he was looking at me, I saw him and we looked away. The third time, we looked at each other for a few seconds and then he left without saying goodbye. He had left his apron behind him. I took it and went into the restaurant to return this apron. A rather old man came out of the kitchen and beckon me to follow him. I came into the kitchen and he said to me: “- Do you know how to hold a tray? - Uh yes … - So keep this apron with you, you’re hired!” I was surprised, I didn’t know what to say, I couldn’t believe what I just heard, it was surreal. It wasn’t the first time that things had come right on when I needed them most. I had found a job in an Asian restaurant and because it was near the beach there were a lot of customers so it was well paid. I worked from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. When I wasn’t working, I was walking on the beach and in the city. I felt like I was making discoveries on each street corner, I was amazed all the time. In the evening, I slept either on the beach or in the restaurant. The cook, who was also the boss, was a rather old, very kind but he didn’t talk much. The only times he spoke to me was to tell me which table I should serve. His name was “Ruto”, it was the other employees who called him like that, but I didn’t know if that was his first name, I guess it was a nickname. After one month of work, I received my salary, I was starting to like this restaurant but I had not forgotten my goal to leave America. After saying goodbye to Ruto and thanking him for his welcome, I picked up my stuff and I went to the International Airport of Los Angeles. When I arrived there, I took a plane ticket for a flight at 8 p.m., it was 5 p.m. During three hours I visited the airport, I didn’t expect it to be so huge, I felt like a sailboat in the ocean, I was tiny. It was my first time on a plane but I wasn’t afraid, it was the beginning of a new adventure, I couldn’t wait to be in my new life. At 7:45 p.m. I got into the plane, I was sitting in the third row by the window and I was looking outside. The plane started, and the pilot spoke into the microphone: “- Welcome to the flight 369 to Paris. I am your captain, Jackson Presley, and I wish you a pleasant flight.” it was the night, I was still looking through the window when the plane took off. The city light fade away to make way for the stars and the moon that I could see through the clouds.

Cristiano & Charlotte :

Then the moon came up from behind the hills. It was a full moon, as round and yellow as a burning stone. I kept my eyes on it as it rose into the night sky, not turning away until it had found it's place in the darkness. As it stood still, there was this little beam that was hovering over something. I followed the beam with my eyes,until my orbs fell upon a church. A church, in the middle of nothing. No religion freak close enough to come and pray. Imagine my surprise when I saw it. That and the fact that the moon was shining right on top of it. I felt compelled to go there. I started walking over to the church, when this sudden exhaustion came upon my body. Each step was draining me more and more of my energy, I felt as if my feet were getting stuck in the ground, like when walking on snow during a blizzard. I kept walking. Going to the church wasn't a curiosity anymore,but an urgent need. The light started fading out...I didn't know if it was the moon or me, and then all went black. 

I found myself in a dark,sunken place. All was silent besides a gentle caring feminine voice in the distance. "Everything is going to be alright.", I heard it over and over again, like an echo. The voice started to becoming nearer and clearer, until I opened my eyes. I wasn't in the field anymore, I was in a church. The church where I wanted to go in the first place. The gentle voice I heard was coming from a Sister that worked there. She explained to me that after I blacked out, she saw me and carried my body to the church. She took care of me.  I looked around. The church was in a bad shape. The wood boards which were used to make the chapel were old and some walls had holes in them. I wanted to show the Sister I was grateful and so I asked her if she had any tools I could use. I started doing some work inside and outside the church, with the Sister helping me around, while the moon still illuminated the building and his surroundings. The extreme exhaustion i felt before was still very much present, but I wanted to help the Sister. While working, we talked a little bit. I told her about my life, what I did before, the people I knew, who I was, and she told me what kind of work she did as a Sister. While talking about my life, I realised I wanted to take a trip and visit new places: this is what I thought my new life was at the time.

We worked all night, finishing early in the morning. I then went to the train station that was some miles away, and the Sister accompanied me. I bought my train ticket. " 9:37" that was the time the train was supposed to arrived, so I had some time to kill. I went to sit down with the Sister, and while walking over to the bench I started coughing. The coughing became really bad, and it was finally finished, I looked at the tissue where I coughed on and saw blood. Something was wrong... I realised that I probably didn't have that much time to live. I then sat down and talked a bit with the Sister. Thinking about the bloody tissue, I started to become anxious and looking back at my life.  "I'm dying... and looking back at my life, the only thought that comes through my mind is...that I've lived a bad life Sister..." I told her.  She smiled at me,and told me that we've all lived bad lives, that we all sin, but that she knew me. I laughed. "You don't know me" I answered.  "Forgive me, but that's the problem. You don't know you." I was surprised with what she said. I asked why. She proceeded to tell me that from the stories I told her about my life and the fact that I helped around in the church, she could see that I was always trying to help people and smiling. I laughed again, a little desperate this time. " I had a son...he passed away. I had a girl who loved me, I threw that away. My momma died when I was a kid, and my daddy... well I watched him die." "My husband died a long time ago. Life is full of pain..." , she answered "but there is also love and beauty." I understood what she was trying to tell me, but I still didn't know what to do. I looked at the bloody tissue again. I stood silent, thinking about what I was going to do now. What was I going to do with my life (or at least the rest of it)? The only thing I knew was that she was right, I liked helping people. The sister saw that I was getting sadder by the second, and she told me "Be grateful that for the first time, you see your life clearly."  "But I still don't believe in nothing..." "Often, neither do I..." I was astouned when she said this. A nun who doesn't believe in anything?  "but then, I meet someone like you and everything makes sense." I laughed. She was too smart for me. She was right though, but I still felt something preventing me of doing what I wanted to do... fear. I was afraid, and the Sister could see it in my face. "There is nothing to be afraid of, Mr.Fogg. Take a gamble that love exists, and do a loving act." "I shall try", I told her,and I meant it. From that point on, my life changed. My new life began. The train arrived, and I said goodbye to the Sister.

A few years passed, and I spent that time doing what I told the Sister I was going to do: helping people. My deceise also progressed with time. Each day that passed I was one step closer to my last day on Earth, but that didn't matter to me...I was finally doing what I loved. Long life or not, it was a good one.  I traveled all around America, helping those who needed me. The last person I helped was in New York, and that's where I stayed ever since. I feel my body shutting down... I know today is my last day on Earth. So I came to Central Park. How ironic. I guess I wasn't wrong. I always liked this place. Even at the time, it never bothered me to die here. It's such a calm and beautiful place. Everything is connected here: the grass, the trees, the flowers, the water from the lake, the birds, the bees, everything, even me. And now here I am, writting this last page, looking at the sunset for the last time. What a good life it has been. What a big adventure it was...and I'm looking forward to the next one.

 Carla GREMONE :

Then the moon came up from behind the hills. It was a full moon, a round and yellow as a burning stone. I kept my eyes on it as it rose into the night sky, not turning away until it had found its place in the darkness. Little by little my eyes began to sting and my eye lids became heavy. Closing them, just to rest, I found myself shedding a tear. I don't know if it was from my difficult journey or just from all the sadness I had accumulated and which I hadn't realised. These questions quickly became short lived when I felt a wave of energy. It was warm, it was familiar to me. Suddenly, I had like an electric shock. This cloud set my body a blaze, it supported me and cuddled me. A warm torrent was pouring down on my cheeks. I don't know what came over me, but an arrow full of hope pierced me at that moment. Accompanied by that energy that made me so special, a smell. Or rather smells. Was it the fruit of my imagination or was it my loved ones, here present and lying next to me?  Were they supporting me in my journey, in my misery? Shortly afterwards, I was seized by an immense anguish. It was as if the moon had caught up with me, or rather as if I had accepted to confront her all these years. This evil ball inside me travelled from my stomach to my throat. There, it was struggling to get out, it was choking me, strangling me. I thought for a short moment about swallowing it, but I didn't want to be the one I was, the one who was giving up. So I just had to face it, to feel, to feel every inch of it in my throat. I was brave. This stage seemed long to me, but it gave way to a strange vision. I found myself in front of my body, which looked so peaceful. The moon still hadn't found its place in the darkness, so I sat down to wait for it. No more noise, no more smell, no more presence, it was just her and me. A romantic rendez vou sbetween the one who was chasing her beauty and the one who was slow to show up. I turned to see myself and seemed to have fallen into a long, sweet sleep, nothing could disturb me. I was fine where I was. Little by little I saw her coming closer to me, she dazzled me, she was beautiful. She exceeded mywildest fantasies, she was my hope. My vision became blurred when we were too close, I wished I could have reached her, if only to touch her.