Moon watched as Air, Water, Earth, and Fire played on the nearby sphere. Air, her form so flowing and free, teased the other elements. Water, his depths dark and quiet, moved with Air. Earth, strong and motherly, nurtured the life that lived on her surface. And Fire, the angry son, danced as a wisp of red and gold. Whether in peaceful harmony or tumultuous chaos, the elements lived together. This Moon envied, not the peace or chaos between them but the simple fact that they were not alone, that they had each other. Across the nothingness of space Moon had only himself.

Since the beginning Moon had wondered what it would be like to interact with the elements. Would they see him as a friend, or as a strange unknown not welcome? The latter scared him, kept him from speaking to them. At times he had thought about trying, but doubt and fear would always change his mind.

Sometimes he could hear the elements talking to each other. They would have conversations about many different things, Moon had always wanted to join them. Air would talk to Water and discuss the beauty of the waves they created, at times Earth scolded her for helping Fire. Water had very long conversations about life with Earth, supposedly he too raised life within his depths. Earth mostly gave the others advice or at times criticize them in a motherly way. Fire was silent most of the time, often acting out against the other elements, but at times he helped them, such as burning away dried dead life on Earth to make way for new life.

Moon often listened to them talk. He would imagine himself joining them, thinking about what he would say to them. Besides the fear of rejection, he was also scared that he wouldn’t have any thing to say if he got the chance to talk to them. He thought about conversing with them of the grey dust and craters that covered his surface, but when he simulated it in his mind the conversation always turned out to be very short, embarrassingly short.

So time passed as Moon observed the elements in the distance. Sometimes the urge to speak to them nearly overcame his fears, but his fear always triumphed in the end. _Will time end before I speak to them? _Moon thought to himself. _Will I always remain silent? I can’t be this way forever, I have to make the first step. _

__

“Hello!” Moon shouted to the elements. Anxiety and excitement surged throughout his being. _Did they hear me? Will they respond?_

__

He waited and waited but not a reply came.

_Maybe they just don’t want to talk to me. _Moon thought to himself. _But I can’t stay silent forever, I have to try again._

__

“Hello!” He shouted once more.

Suddenly the elements stopped what they were doing. Moon froze.

“Hello?” Air called out. “Is someone there?”

“The voice came from there.” Water pointed to Moon.

_Oh no, they’ve noticed me! What do I do? _Moon panicked._ _

“It couldn’t be the gray one as he has no voice.” Said Earth. “Air, are you playing tricks? I’ve told you about this.”

_Maybe they don’t notice me._

__

“It wasn’t me, not this time.” Said Air._ _“Even Water heard it come from the grey one, it couldn’t have been me.”

“Well, there is only one way to find out the truth. Hello, grey one out in the distance, did you speak?” Earth shouted across the nothingness.

Time passed without a word said. Moon trembled. _What do I say? What do I say? _

__

“What do you have to say for yourself Air. I told you the grey one does not speak.”

_I’ve got to say something!_

__

“Earth, I promise you it wasn’t me.” Air pleaded.

Earth started to speak, but before he could the Moon squeaked, “Hello.” All of the elements stared out at Moon. He nearly fainted.

The following silence that followed seemed to last an eternity to the Moon. Were they going to reply? Were they going to get angry at him? Or were they simply waiting him to say more?

Before Moon could speak again, Air said, “Earth, I told you it wasn’t me, it was the grey one.”

Water spoke up, “Hush, all of you. The grey one is trying to say something.”

Moon pushed back against the fear that muted him, “Hello, I have watched you all for as long as I can remember. I have listened to your deep conversations, I have watched you fight, and I have envied your friendships. Up until now being able to speak to the four of you had only been a fantasy, a fantasy surrounded by the barrier of fear. But today that barrier no longer exists, and I float before you open and free. I have many questions I want to ask you all, and many things I wish to tell you.”

Fire burst from Earth’s surface. “Why should we communicate with you? You may try to harm us, or worst. We do not know you.” Pessimism and anger burned in Flames voice.

“I am curious to what he has to say, Fire. Let him speak.” Water cut in. Earth grunted in agreement.

“Think of what he may do to us, the things he may say.” Fire replied. “He may hurt us in ways we can’t imagine.”

“Your pessimism is no more than an assumption. How will we know who he is unless we try to understand him?” Earth said.

“Don’t cry to me if my pessimism turns out to be sound reasoning.” With that Fire retreated below Earth.

“Grey one,” Water spoke to Moon, “Why do you wish to speak to us after all this time being silent?”

Moon hesitated. _What if I say the wrong thing, what if they believe the things Fire says? _He thought to himself. _Either way I cannot stay silent or their doubts will grow. _

__

“Simple curiosity,” Said Moon, “I’ve lived alone out here longer than my memory can recall, and out in space there is nothing interesting to sate my boredom.”

Air butted in, “What if the grey one is lying, what if Fire was right? Maybe we shouldn’t speak to him.”

“I will tell you as I’ve told Fire, we can’t know unless we know. Let’s give the grey one a chance. Besides, I’m curious to know what it’s like out there where the grey one floats.” Earth said.

“Me too.” Agreed Water. “Grey one, do you have a name?”

“Moon.” Moon replied.

So Moon and the elements talked into eternity. He had long discussions with them about the craters that covered his surface, surprisingly the conversations were not as short as he had envisioned before. Air wondered what it was like in empty space, the Moon replied empty, even Fire laughed at the joke. Water and Earth usually asked the most questions, sometimes Air butted in, and surprisingly, even Fire.

He asked them questions too. The talks about life with Water and Earth were the most interesting to him. Who knew such a strange, diverse, and ever-changing thing existed. He also talked to Air, sometimes even to Fire.

Time went on and the element’s doubt towards him eventually faded. Moon was happy now, he was no longer alone or tormented by words unsaid. He was free.