I hesitated, unable to comprehend what exactly I wanted to ask her. After a few moments of contemplation, the purest question that came to mind slipped through my lips.
“Saki, have you been coming here every night recently?”
“Yeah, pretty much,” she responded with a nod. “Until the blue moon ends.”
A gust of wind blew by me and rustled the trees in the deserted streets. That’s when I heard it — the phrase that caught my attention: blue moon. I glanced up at the sky; it was awe-inspiring. A deep azure hue radiated from the full moon, making it seem surreal and out of this world, almost as if it had something to tell me. Could this mysterious color be from the so-called blue moon?
“I’m home!”
The sound of the doorbell echoed when I opened the entranceway. Nobody answered me from inside, yet the many shoes lined up during the day had vanished, indicating that everyone had already gone off to bed after attending the memorial service. Quietly and gently, I shut the sliding door and removed my shoes before entering the house.
My grandmother’s house was a conventional wooden home in the midst of nature, with a broad garden adorning its veranda. As I strolled along the veranda toward my room, I spotted a perfectly shaped pine tree, a bonsai plant, and flower beds in the distance.
Gazing at the night sky absentmindedly, I observed a full blue moon peeking through the eaves. I had never before paid attention to the phases of the moon, as it seemed of no concern to me. But tonight, I truly examined its color and shape, studying it intently.
“I'll stay here until this blue moon ends,” her voice echoed in my head. She said it with a slight tinge of loneliness. Her tone captivated me as if the story she was reading had an unexpected conclusion. I sat on the veranda and pulled out my smartphone from my pocket. I opened the browser and typed blue moon.
“Wow. That’s interesting.”
At that moment, an eerie figure appeared behind me, illuminated by the light from my phone, giving it a pale blue hue reminiscent of horror films.
I stepped back, turning around in trepidation. “Granny.”
And there she was.
“Huh? Who is it?”
“Who do you think?”
The darkness must have clouded her vision, and she was unable to see who it was.
“It’s Keiichi,” I responded.
“Oh, really, it’s Keiichi…”
Granny turned on the porch light and looked at me with surprise in her aged eyes.
“You don’t have to be so surprised.”
“What’s the matter? …What brings you here at this hour?”
“No reason. I just couldn’t sleep,” I lied.
“So, you came all the way here to catch the night breeze?”
“That’s right.”
Her voice was a little lower than I thought it would be.
“I see. Well, take your time,” Granny said as she turned toward her room.
“Oh, wait. Granny,” I called to her back, and she slowly turned around.
“What?”
“Do you know what a blue moon is?”
“A blue moon?”
“Yeah. A blue moon.” I shrugged.
I had always admired how wise Granny was. She had taught me everything I knew since I was a child — things my parents could never have imparted to me. But even she didn’t know about a blue moon.
The silence between us stretched taut for a few moments before I shrugged. “Never mind. Forget I asked.”
Granny sat on the veranda and peered at my face.
“Grandma, what are you doing so close to me?” I said with a hint of annoyance.
“Ah, now I get it.” Granny smiled as if she had come to some realization. “Keiichi, do you know how many times the moon completes its cycle in a month?”
I didn’t know much about the moon and rarely got to witness a full moon, so I hazarded a guess. “Once?”
“Correct. One time in a month,” Granny explained.
“Oh, okay.”
Granny was incredibly knowledgeable and knew things I didn’t. I lent her my attention to listen to her story.
“However, most months consist of thirty or thirty-one days, except for February, right?”
“Yes.”
“So the full moon cycle, which takes 29.5 days, gradually shifts over time. And every few years, there will be months where two full moons occur within the same month,” Granny said as she looked up at the bright full moon in the night sky.
“Whoa…” I couldn’t help but let out an impressed sound.
“The phenomenon of two full moons appearing in one month is referred to as a blue moon,” Granny added before smiling knowingly.
As I gazed at the moon, I felt inexplicably drawn to it. It shined a mesmerizing blue — the first blue moon of the month.
My grandmother sighed admiringly, her voice carrying off in the night sky. “It’s a rare thing to see a blue moon,” she said softly.
Do the math, I thought. If this is August 1st, the second blue moon will fall on the 30th.
Still looking skyward, I asked my grandmother, “What makes it a blue moon?”
She regarded me calmly before explaining that there are various theories. But one suggests that the extra full moon in a month has an especially bluish hue.
“Why did you ask about the blue moon?” my grandmother shifted her gaze to me and asked quietly.
I couldn’t bear to look her in the eye and kept my eyes trained on the night sky as I spoke. “Because… I saw it just now.” And yet, here it was again; even once it had set, I still felt its presence.
“Ah.” She smiled. “Then let me tell you about a legend passed down in this town.”
An icy shiver coursed through my body My parents had warned me of this very day; they were staying later than usual for a memorial service and had expressed concerns about Granny living alone since Grandpa passed away. So, this is it, I thought with regret.
“What legend?” I prompted.