Angela's New Year

By MGL HoneyBee20

I can feel sleepiness seeping in. After falling down the cliff I’m glad I am still alive. I believe after a good rest I will be back to functioning well again. Father did make sure I had a body that could speed up regeneration.

As I was getting ready to just sleep & recuperate in the forest floor I heard a deep bass voice calling down from the clifftop.

"Angela.. Angela.. Angela…"

That voice sounds familiar. He sounds a bit like father.

I feel like I should answer that person. He sounds so worried but I could feel a domineering heaviness pressing down on my weary body. I could barely keep my eyes open. The man gave out a shout one last time, I heard the sounds of fighting and an electronic drone that seems to be calling out to me too. 

Why are they so familiar?

As that question passed through my mind I could feel myself losing conciouness.

"Angela!"

Ah, someone else is calling for me. 

I feel like this time I can surely meet this person’s expectations. Straining to open my eyes I hear the person give out a sigh of relief.

Now fully awake,I find myself being stared at by a young and familiar face. Rosy round cheeks, pure eyes and a gentle aura. In my memories I’m sure this person should have dark mahogany brown hair and black eyes but the girl in front of me has light brown hair and hazel eyes.

“Chang-e?” I couldn’t help calling out the name in confusion.

Giggling, the girl reached down to give me a reassuring hug. “I knew you could recognize me Angela!”

Blinking, I carefully sat up as she went back to her seat. “Chang-e? How many years has passed?”

The pretty girl broke out into peals of laughter, “Relax! You’ve only been asleep for around 3 months.”

My eyes couldn’t help but widen in shock. How could three months make the little moon girl look like someone in her early teens?!

Chuckling, Chang-e proceeded to explain to me that she had casted a spell around herself to change her appearance. When I continued staring at her in disbelief she reminded me that she wasn’t a mortal in the first place so this is quite normal. Apparently, she was able to breakthrough upon absorbing the energy from the last harvest moon.

“Anyways, get some much needed rest. I will cast the spell on you after three days when the crescent moon is at it’s highest vantage point in the sky.” Chang-e said this as she smoothed down the bed covers.

“Chang-e, how did I get here? Where am I?” I quickly asked her.

Titling her head, Chang-e looked at me this time with slight worry. “I can tell you but you have got to promise me that you will keep an opened mind to possibilities.” 

The condition surprised me but I trusted this pure hearted moon girl and gave out a firm nod.

Giving out a little smile at me, “It was Mr Alpha & Beta who came to me. They asked me to watch over you here in Dragon Village.”

I didn’t know how to react to that. “They were the ones who saved me? Bur I thought they were after my father and wanted to kill me.”

“Apparently, Alpha hasn’t been with the society for nearly as long your father Angela. He was saved by Saber and they have been doing their best to stop the society from their experiments.”

Lacing my fingers together, I try my best to accept the truth as Chang-e elaborated on how she came to know Alpha and Beta. It seems on one of her excursions to look for her brother Zilong she heard a rumor of a golden armored man weaving a long golden spear saving a couple of villages and town from the monsters of the abyss. Believing that it must have been her brother she had quickly made her way to the last rumored spot and met Alpha instead.

Surprised Chang-e had decided to follow Alpha and Beta, discovering that they weren’t evil at all. They were quite morally upright. Later on she had even taken the chance to get into contact with them asking about her brother. They had helped her out by escorting her personally to Zilong.

“So you see they aren’t such bad guys after all.” Chang-e smiled at me.

I was happy to hear that but I could feel that she was hiding something from me.

“You should really get some rest. Three nights from now is the village’s New Year’s festival. I want to show it to you and bring you around. You will love it! It’s a night when love and hope fills the heart of every villager! You’ll see.” Winking at me Chang-e quickly made her way out of the room.

I smiled wryly at the closed door. Perhaps Chang-e will tell me something then.

“This is amazing, Chang-e! I look completely different but still bearing a resemblence to my normal form!” I couldn’t help but turn around in front of the mirror a couple of more times while inspecting my new look.

The girl in the mirror was wearing a tang suit of white with red accents. She was tall and slim. Her long straight black hair and warm golden eyes was the biggest surprise to Angela. She couldn’t help but find herself pretty cute.

Laughing, Chang-e appeared beside the transformed healer with a box of hair accessories. “Come on Angela let me do your hair. I will make you look like a cute shanghai maiden.”

“I don’t think I would look good in your elegant updo though.” Angela grinned at Chang-e who was dressed up in blue palace robes with her complex hairstyle.

Rolling her eyes, Chang-e pushed Angela down on a chair. In a little while, Angela was beaming at her reflection which had on small hair buns wrapped in white cloth and bright red ribbons. Putting on her cloth shoes Angela quickly went after Chang-e who was at the door.

They happily toured the merry village while shopping for auspicious fruits and treats that they plan on presenting at their own cottage. Angela was mesmerized by the beating eastern drums and the dragon dance in the village plaza. Later on Chang-e taught her that back at the hidden valley their people would celebrate this festival too. She then learned about the various round fruits and their symbolism. 

Angela had fun picking the round sweet fruits and candies together with the now mature moon girl. Buying some flowers, candles, and golden trinkets they proceeded to go back home. At midnight it was as if the whole village had lit up fireworks that nearly made the night sky looks as bright as it was in daytime.

Staring at the blooming fireworks Angela said, “I always believed like my father that love and hope are the world’s greatest inventions. Today you made me see it in one of it’s most beautiful forms. Everyone we met whether they were rich or not had smiles filled with love to their family and now they are celebrating the dawn of a new year with hope in their hearts.”

Beaming Angela gave a short bow to Chang-e “Thank you for opening up my eyes to this just as I was falling into darkness. Next time I will definitely meet Saber, Alpha as well as Beta with an open mind and heart. I want to know thier stories and how they are related to me and father.”

Smiling mischeviously Chang-e answered back, “That’s great Angela! I wish you a happy new year and may you have lots of luck in finding your father as well as your big brothers Alpha & Beta.”

“Eh?!!!” Angela squealed in shock at the revelation while Chang-e burst into peals of laughter.