by William Salsman

Created on: August 16, 2008   Last Updated: August 23, 2008

Man in the Moon

Dirk Suhnz sailed out to the middle of the lake and dropped his anchor. He was preparing to go for a swim and when he looked down into the water he noticed that it reflected the cumulus clouds that had gathered above him. To his astonishment, he then could see the sharp reflection of a huge cargo plane as it glided by at a low level with its wing lights flashing. He could hear the rumble of the plane but when he looked up at the sky, it was nowhere to be found. There were only the scant few clouds that he had seen reflected in the water. This baffled him and he thought he was losing his mind.

At other times Dirk had seen the reflection of objects that were not so large, but were nonetheless just as eerie and disturbing. There were things like mechanical dragonflies that circled around and pulsed on and off with a green glow and had wingspans of about ten feet or so, and wild animals like leopards, tigers and jaguars that would leap over him and disappear. At another time he'd seen the strange reflection of a paint bucket as it circled around him, spilling its silvery contents that fell toward the face of the lake, streaming and vanishing into the air before entering the water, as though seeping into another dimension.

In every instance he would look above him but the real object was nowhere to be found. He never told anyone what he'd seen because he was certain no one would believe him and he didn't want to be perceived as a lunatic.

On a clear day the mysterious lake reflected the big white observatory that was visible on the mountaintop above his cabin. This always gave him some assurance and it was like having a giant scarecrow up there warding off those evil spirits, but when the clouds got thicker the reflection would fade and this sometimes made him feel uncomfortable.

When the moon waxed full and bright on a clear night, Dirk would not be seen in the observatory, which is where he spent most of his time. He believed that on such a night it was the moon's turn to look at the earth and everything in the biosphere. On those nights he stayed inside and kept his curtains closed. His neighbors knew this about him and knew that he was possessed by this foolish idea but they let him have his views and said nothing to him about it.

Dirk always felt at ease during the third and first quarter moon phases. He knew that during such a period he could gaze into the heavens without the moon ever knowing what he was up to. New moons were the best. On such

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