Prologue (not in Opal's view)
Some people don't really know where she came from. Some people thought she was from an island in the Pacific Ocean and managed to get here, in the U.S. Others thought she was a human sized,wingless fairy who was banished from her land. But I believe she's from the moon- because she told me. She crashed in my backyard about 2 years ago now, down here on Earth. She was fair skinned, with flowing, brown hair, and blue-gray eyes. She was pretty. She told me about her village-and yes, it was on the moon.
Opal's view
"Charen," I said, "Aren't there others like us? Are we alone in our world?" Charen turned from organizing the books to look at me and put some of her dirty blond hair away from her face. She sighed, "Maybe, Opal. But maybe on the other side there are more like you and me and someday I might take you there." She smiled, looked at me with her pale green eyes and asked, "How about that?" I smiled back and nodded, even when I noticed the look of doubt on her face. 'But how can we?' I thought to myself.
Charen has taken care of me since my parents got killed in an accident. I don't really remember my own parents, though. I know that there names are Mary and George. We, the people in my village, don't have last names. Us girls use our father's name as last names and when we get married, we use our husband's name.
Charen always says I remind her of my mother so much. I have a picture and I guess it's true. When I look at my mother's picture, I see gray eyes, flowing brown hair, and fair skin. And when I look in the mirror, I see the same exact thing...Except a 13-year old version.
My father is totally different. The only thing I have related to him is that I have a blue tinge in my gray eyes. He has blond hair and almost pale skin.
My parents are believed to have disapeared in an accident after my 1st birthday. Since then, they have been proclaimed dead. Charen was our housekeeper back then too. But she doesn't like to talk about my parents or the accident for that matter.
Charen told me my mother named me Opal because that was her favorite gem and I was her favorite little girl...really her only little girl. I'm 13 years old and I live on the moon in MoonDoon village.
Charen and I aren't the only ones who live on the moon. There are other moon people, of course. It's just I've always wondered if there were more like us. I want to know if we are the only ones.
MoonDoon village is the only village on the moon, where most moon people live. There is also one other city on the moon known as the Foundation, where most of the population work; the popular busines is law.
Both cities, MoonDoon and Foundation, are placed on what we call the "dark side" of the moon. The line that seperates the "light side" and the "dark side" is called the terminator. It's like the dark side slowly fades into the light side.
Moon people have created a semicircle that covers our side and protects us from the space junk and keeps oxygen in. And if you look up, you can hardly see it. Sometimes it's fun to see the meteors crash against our invisible shield and shatter into glowing pieces of debris.
The "dark side" is really the spot that isn't hit by the sun's light until an eclipse. In an eclipse, we are to go in our houses until it's safe to come out and not be hurt by the sun's harmful rays. Sometimes, during an eclpise, I can see tons of the sun's ray find their way into our house and shine very bright.
Instead of using the sun's light, we have "light birds" or more specifaclly, "linas". Linas are small birds that emit a warm, blue glow from themselves. There is about one lina in each household.
The "light side"is a forbidden place. In school, we are told that th Sun's harmful rays may burn our delicate skin. Anyone who crosses the terminator to the other side, is thrown out into space, never to be seen again. If a young child (12 and under) is caught on the other side, they are simply grounded. If you are 13 and up you are thrown into space.
Our judge has designed a "safe way" to throw a person in space.He created another semi-circle attached to our atmosphere. The circle side is on the outside and there is a door within our side. The judge opens the door and thows the person in and locks him inside. On the other side, there is a door leading into the atmosphere. The judge then presses a button and the person flys out into space. Everyone 13 and up has to go to this "execution". I wish I didn't have to see this; I hate seeing the expression on the face of the executed. They look like they wished that they haven't done what they did. But what did Charen mean she'll bring me to the other side someday? Surely it must've been a lie.
