THE ENCHANTED HALO

Weary of the day and stressed of latest challenges, I stepped out after having dinner. Lonely, just to have a self-talk and to remind myself that I shall make through this time. The little crossroad just a few meters away was all dark, due to unserviceable streetlights. Although, it wasn’t all dark, I could still see very faint shadow of mine. I took an about turn, oblivious if I really wanted to return this soon.

And then, my usual admiration for the night sky drove my vision to the sky. I could still feel the chill in air after the evening rain showers. The dark sky was all cloudy with no visibility to stars, giving it a very hazy concrete grey look. It was as though I could spend my whole life gazing and admiring the moon if it could stay as long as I wished. It felt as though all my fatigue had evaporated that very instant.

It was a Halo-moon (also known as Lunar Halo), something which I had neither noticed before nor known about. Well to those who are also new to this term, scientific definition says that it is caused by the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals of cirrus clouds in the upper atmosphere. Keeping it aside, let’s show you what I saw. It was a placid view of a rainbow of red, faded red, gradually extending to white circles encircling the moon. Apparently the moon looked more glorious and closer to eyes than it was.

Something worth mentioning here is “What would people say?”. Well, there are beliefs both positive and negative and there always are for rare and undetailed natural marvels such as these. Let’s name it Halo-moon (referring to the introductory term I used earlier), it is a prediction of something bad to happen in near-future and that one should be alert. And then, terming it as Moonbow (short for rainbow around the moon) it is going to fetch you new ideas, opportunities, thoughts and beliefs.

But to selenophiles, it means everything above and beyond the general beliefs. A vision, a memorable one as I pen down the exact details months after I witnessed it. It’s definitely not an uncommon occurrence but the firsts are always special. And so on I shall keep looking, for when it happens next around the drizzles and across the clouds in the night sky.

                                                                        VEDIKA