the necklace for a while. The chain broke a few years back while I was in Pasadena, and I just never bought a new one. It’s funny, I went so many years feeling like that necklace was a talisman of sorts, and when I didn’t have it, I chalked up all the bad things in my life to that specific cause. And now, without it, sometimes I feel bare, naked. For years, I relied on that necklace for strength.”
“How did you become so…moon—”
“Moon obsessed?” She laughs and shrugs, a seriousness taking over her features. “It may not seem like it, but my parents fought a lot, and it was hard to deal with as a kid. I didn’t want to have to choose a side. I didn’t want to have to love one parent more than I loved the other, because, at times, it felt as though I was expected to pick. When they weren’t on speaking terms, I was always the middleman. I had to make my dad dinner when Mom refused to. And when Mom couldn’t figure something out, she had to come to me, because both of them were too prideful. It was tough. I spent a lot of time locked in my room, trying to ignore the sound of their shouting. It was always about the same thing. Money.”
Something heavy settles over my chest as I listen to her. She seems deep in thought. Lost in her own mind.
“I remember one night while they were arguing, I opened the window and considered leaving. Not for long, because, obviously, I was just a child, but I thought just to get some fresh air and get away from their constant bickering. When I opened the window, I spotted the moon, and I don’t know what it was about that night, but I stopped and really looked at it. So many times, we look up into the night sky and just skim over the moon. What’s so special about something that’s there every night, right? But that night, it was different. I felt like, for once, I had someone I could talk to. Someone I could confide in. Someone who would be there to listen each night.
“After that night, I started doing my own research on the moon, the phases, and what they meant in terms of spirituality. I was always interested in mythology, and it seemed the two intertwined. Then I became fascinated with the mythology behind the moon and the moon goddess. I felt like a kindred spirit with her since her name was Selene, too. I wanted to feel like there was a reason I felt so attached to the moon. Maybe there was; maybe there wasn’t. But that’s what I loved about the moon. The ability it has to change lives. Change the earth. It’s stronger and much more resilient than people give it credit for.
“After all that, I started becoming obsessed with using the moon to manifest my intentions. Which I know, it sounds crazy, but you’d be surprised what believing in something can do for you. I learned about crystals and chakras, all the ways the earth gives us the tools to heal ourselves, without medication but our own divination. I even opened my own shop in Pasadena. It was a healing store.”
My brows shoot up. So that was the business she lost out there? I wasn’t expecting that.
“Wow. I had no idea your love for the moon began all those years ago. What happened with the business, if you don’t mind me asking?”
She sighs, clearly still deflated by this. “Moonchild did well for a while, but where we lived in Pasadena, we needed more customers than my few regulars and some tourists. People would come in and look, but it was hard making a profit when there are bigger chains people flock to. Healing and ‘magick’ stores are often overlooked. People tend to think they’re only there for hippies or witches, but that’s not true. I don’t practice witchcraft, but just like them, I do believe in manifesting your own intentions by using your own power. We were open for a little over a year and a half before I had to close. One day, I’d like to try again, but right now, making a decent living and taking care of my dad and Luna will have to do.”
“You never thought about opening one here?”
She shrugs, glancing around at the lively bar-goers. “I never had any intention of coming back here.”