She rested her chin in her hands and tilted her head tentatively. Her master was regaling her with her favorite story. And as the words spilled out one after another, Tuzi became absolutely enthralled. It was her favorite because this story is the one about her, and how she came to be in this vast universe. Her origin story.
"Humans are quite possibly the most unreliable species of all creatures," she said. "I should have known that, but I still made mistakes."
That statement itself was pretty powerful, considering who was telling the tale. She was The Goddess: An all powerful deity, existing long before the passages of time had begun to be recorded. She is a representation of warmth, kindness and mercy. She is a mother who has created lives across multiple planes, time, planets, and galaxies. When you feel the essence of happiness from marriage, friendship, and family, that is her invention. When you feel the loss of a love-one, a heart break, a bitter-sweet memory, that is also her invention. She was the almighty goddess who was the birth mother of many wonderful dreams.
Over the many millenia, she has acquired innumerable names: Aphrodite, Guan Ying, Artemis, Kali. Different names for representing the different gifts she has granted over time. But one of the more popular names that has been given to her is the name of the Moon Goddess. Worshiped by countless cultures and species, the Moon Goddess has survived every iteration of Gods captured by religion and literature. She was merciful, kind, and the gifts she bestowed were bountiful to all. When one thinks of The Goddess, they imagine this warm soft glow of light. It is why they say, when you glance at the Moon, you really see The Goddess.
She governed the universe as a senior god alongside other veteran deities, who were powerful in their own realms. Being in the presence of such a mighty god can bring even seasoned deities straight to their knees in worship. But not Tuzi. She adored the Moon Goddess as her family, friend, lover, and creator. And the story the Goddess was telling her, was not an epic tale of great battles or the creations of human and species-kind. This was a simple tale about how Tuzi's life, as the only rabbit-shifter in the Universe, came to be.
"The Earth was being scorched by many Suns at that time. The God of Sky thought the planet needed to be as hot as purgatory because humans were too immature and violent. But I," she said wisely with a smile, "thought it was a hasty decision to make. Humans were so young back then. They needed time to grow."
Tuzi nodded her head in agreement. She could never see any fault in The Goddess's way of thinking.
"Can you imagine, Tuzi? The Earth has one Sun now. But before, there were 9 Suns! Why bother creating life onto that planet, only to have them live in misery? It was too hot. Our human children were not living long enough to learn anything at all!"
The Goddess had a mischievous look on her face now. "But somehow, I thought I knew better. I thought, Huh. I am going to fix this. I will make Earth liveable for my children! I will prove that humans can live in harmony and be kind to one another. I will get rid of the Suns and teach my children to love."
She leaned in close to Tuzi and then shook her head slowly. "But boy was I wrong in my assessment. Tsk tsk." She shook her head left to right, and Tuzi shook her head left to right.
"I didn't think about my actions too hard at all," she continued. "At the time, a mystery man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, in that region they called China. He was not one of my creations. One of the Gods, whoever that coward is, decided to tamper in my business and created this man named Houyi. Some say Houyi came from the sea. Others say he came from the Heavens. Wherever he came from, he was simply divine and delicious."
A twinkle appeared in The Goddess's eyes and she licked her lips. "Oh, he was FINE." Tuzi giggled mischievously with The Goddess.
"Not only did he have a nice set of abs, but that man had a face as beautiful as Adonis's. Plus, he began to perform good deeds all over the land. Helpful ones. Risky ones. Heroic ones. Houyi was quickly becoming a legend to humans everywhere."
"Wow…" Tuzi mouthed, her hazel eyes wide in wonder. Each time, hearing the story still felt like it was new to her. "What happened to Houyi? Did the Suns burn him? Wasn't he hot?"
The Moon Goddess covered her mouth and giggled wickedly. "Oh yes, he was VERY hot."
Tuzi, who still had a hard time with Earthling slang, wrinkled her forehead. "Did he get incinerated then?"
"Of course not! Because if he did, there would be no story to tell," she said and patted Tuzi's head. The Goddess crossed her legs and sat in a more comfortable position. "Houyi was a hero. A man among men. There were so little of them back then. I thought he was a man worth investing in."
She sighed, "But I didn't think my plan through. It was an impulsive thing I did. At the time, I just wanted to get rid of the Suns and end the suffering of my children. Seeing how abled Houyi was, I decided to pay him a visit while he slept."
Tuzi blinked, "A divine dream?"
"Yes," The Goddess continued. "I gave him a divine dream. I came to him in his sleep and told him that I would grant him rewards beyond his wildest dreams, if he can help me remove the Suns. The more Suns removed, the better."
"Did he do it? How can a man climb to the Heavens and remove the Suns?" Tuzi asked with a tilt of her head.
"Houyi was a smart man that was gifted with the skill of archery. He never missed," The Goddess answered. "And so, I gifted him a set of enchanted diamond arrows. When he woke from his dream, he aimed the arrows at the sky and began to shoot the Suns down, one by one."
"He shot down 8 of the Suns with the arrows. I thought he would've stopped at 6, but he continued until there was only 1 Sun left in the sky." The Goddess stroked her chin thoughtfully with her slender fingers. "Sometimes, I wonder if Houyi was trying to show off for me. 8 is an auspicious number for the Chinese."
"Regardless, the man was successful in cooling down the planet dramatically. Sometimes a little bit too successful," she grumbled as she thought of the North Pole.
"But where do I come in?" Tuzi asked a little impatiently, even though she already knew. She just wanted to be a part of The Goddess's story.
"Patience, Tuzi," The Goddess reminded her. "We are getting there." She cleared her throat and continued, "The humans were ever so grateful to Houyi. And who could blame them? It not only changed their lives, but their existence forever after. They crowned him their King and he became the ruler of China."
"Some of the Gods were, of course, not happy with me. They felt that humans needed to be punished for their selfish tendencies. But I wanted to rub it in their faces that what I did was right. So to drive home my point, I took human form and married Houyi. Our union was celebrated by everyone across the land." Her eyes misted over as her mind traveled back to that time long ago. "I remembered being so happy that day. Houyi was a beautiful man, and he performed such a powerful deed for the humans. It was not hard to love him. The celebration given for our wedding lasted months. I still remember the smell from the fireworks, the delicious food, the decorations…"
The Goddess's voice gradually got quiet. Eyes beginning to glaze over, she said softly, "But I should not have trusted him…"
Tuzi sensing her unhappiness, covered her hand over The Goddess's, as a way to comfort her. Recognizing the kind gesture, The Goddess lightly tapped her finger to return the favor. "Power…" she began, "in the wrong hands, can corrupt even the ones with the best intentions. And Houyi, as great as he was, began to lose his way…"
The story continued with Houyi's descent into madness. Waging countless and needless wars in an effort to rule over all. "Consumed with greed, he cared for no one… After a few years, I hardly recognize him from the Houyi I once knew. My human children were suffering again, this time not from burning Suns in the sky. But from the decisions made by the greed of one man. He had stopped listening to me."
The Goddess paused, her lips drawn into a line. "During that dark time, I silenced my own voice because all I could think of was what I lost. It took some time to pull myself out of that stupid period of self-pity. My human children needed me."
"During those few years of withdrawing into myself, I did not realize that a few Gods had begun to dabble in my business again. They were upset by my actions to remove the Suns and marry this man. So to punish me, they were making promises to Houyi that fed his thirst for blood. The God of War, The God of the Underworld, and the God of the Sky. They were out to get me. Houyi became an abusive son-of-a-bitch."
Tuzi felt her eyes become wet as she wrapped her arms around The Goddess. She nuzzled the deity's nose with her own. "But you had me. I was there."
"Indeed you were, my dear," The Goddess said with a smile and kissed her lips. "Indeed you were."
Tuzi was just a small white bunny at the time. No more than just a simple house pet, who was gifted to the Queen, the Goddess, as a gift. Tuzi kept the Queen company, while she whispered her sorrows to the little bunny. "I was so wrong to believe him… Humans are unreliable, but I didn't listen to anyone…" Her voice broke, and Tuzi the white bunny would rub her furry head against the Queen's hands.
In her human form, The Goddess was Queen Chang'er. A beautiful lady, married to the most powerful man on Earth. But in her human form, she was powerless. During that time, she wondered if she would be called a coward, if she gave up on humans and returned to the Realm of Gods. Though a powerful Goddess that she was, Queen Chang'er was heavily guided by her emotions.
"When I realized that these trouble-making Gods gifted Houyi with a potion, to grant him immortality, it woke me up. Imagine if this horrible man lived forever! What would happen to humanity?! But these idiot Gods wanted that. They did not think the humans were worthy, and wanted Hell on Earth. I started to get some clarity at this point."
The Goddess cleared her throat slightly and continued. "Houyi was such a vain man. He did not simply want to drink the potion and get it over with. He wanted a ceremony in front of the humans he ruled, to show them that his power would be infinite. But before the ceremony, I had a plan…"
She tapped her head and looked at Tuzi with a determined demeanor. "I was wide awake by this time. I would no longer play the fool. Before the ceremony, I snuck into the palace where the potion was being guarded and I drank the whole thing!"
She laughed softly. "I left nothing for that bastard! He found me as I finished the last drop and boy was he mad!" The Goddess continued giggling. "He thought he had won, but now, he was helpless. He was angry. He started to beat me."
Retelling this tale would make any woman feel pain. But instead, The Goddess raised her eyes to Tuzi and said steadily, "What I hadn't expected, was for a creature as small as you, to jump in front of me, to try and protect me from that evil man. Something as tiny and helpless as you. So loyal… So loving… So brave…"
Tuzi's eyes teared up. "I couldn't let him do that to you…"
The Goddess stroked her head softly. "Thank you, my love…" She wiped a tear from Tuzi's eyes. "That potion had magic. And I began to float during his cruel violence. There was nothing he could do to stop me. I held on tightly to your body. There was nothing left for me to want on that planet at that point. Nothing but you, Tuzi."
Tuzi held The Goddess's hands tightly to her chest. "And I only ever wanted you to be happy. I could never leave you."
And she never did… Queen Chang'er floated to the skies. Driven mad with anger, Houyi grabbed his diamond arrows, gifted to him by The Goddess herself, and shot them one by one at her, as she drifted to the Heavens. Each arrow painfully pierced through her body. She did not use magic to numb the pain, as she wanted to remember this lesson. She brought this on herself. She held the little white bunny to her chest, as her view of the planet became smaller and smaller. Houyi became smaller and smaller. Soon, she could no longer see him. She knew that in a few short years, Houyi would die. Humanity would finally find peace.
The Goddess remembered that day clearly. As she floated in the sky near the cold doors of death, she shivered. She had lost too much blood. The pain was overtaking her senses. She knew she was dying.
She hugged the rabbit in her arms even tighter, not wanting to drop her loyal friend.
How the Goddess had wished she could see her loved one, just one last time, she thought sadly.
The cold began to invade every part of her body, spreading itself like sharp frost through her bones. She had not thought that she would die feeling so lonely and scared. She choked back a sob. She wasn't sure if her eyes were becoming hazy and blurry from her tears or from her consciousness slipping away. Her heavy eyelids began to pull themselves close.
Just as she began to accept the inevitable, the chill began to melt away, replaced by a soft warmth that enveloped itself around her entire body. It was such a comforting feeling that she leaned into it, nuzzling her face against the sensation.
As her mind drifted off, she vaguely heard some words being spoken to her. She couldn't catch all of it, but the last few left her with an immense sense of relief.
"You're safe now… I will never let anything bad happen to you…"
"Thank you…" she whispered gratefully.
When the Goddess finally awakened, she was home within her palace in the Realm of Gods. She sat up slowly in her bed assessing her surroundings.
Sunlight shone through the grand windows onto freshly cut flowers on the bedside table. She could hear the song birds serenading the world outside. The air smelled like a mix of vanilla and honey.
Nothing was out of place here. She was wearing a light nightgown. She lifted the hem of it so she could take a look at her body. Her light skin was smooth and glowing. There were no injuries at all.
For a moment, she wondered if her time on Earth as Queen Chang'er was nothing but a dream. She took a deep breath when she felt something moving under the blanket. Curious, she lifted back the covers and gazed into the face of the little rabbit who had been her companion through it all.
The Goddess's eyes became wet with tears as she lifted the rabbit up onto her lap. She couldn't believe that the little bunny survived the journey to the Realm of Gods.
"Was it you who saved me…?"
The rabbit rubbed its furry face against her hands, wiggling her little cotton tail, happy that her master had finally awakened from her long slumber.
"You silly one…" The Goddess touched her finger against the rabbit's nose, which caused it to twitch slightly.
"For your kindness," she said gently, "I will repay you, my little Tuzi."
The Goddess worked her magic and changed Tuzi's form into a human. Forever her companion and friend. The legend of Chang'er goes, that she became the Moon Goddess in the heavens, accompanied by her loyal white rabbit. Sometimes, if one stares long enough at the Moon, they can see the rabbit shift into a human.
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Author's Note:
Our Moon Goddess thanks you all for taking the time to read this novel. This author is truly grateful for her readers. If you click into the comment, you can see an image of her. I will add in character images in the story as we go.
Are you enjoying the story? Please help this novel succeed by adding it to your reading collection or voting with a power stone! I am a first time novice writer. Please help this novel succeed! You guys are angels!
August 10, 2024 Update - Hi everyone! I created an audiobook for this first chapter! If you are interested, you can listen to it here. Thank you!
Part 1: https://youtu.be/VfJv7MJguGA?si=xsK0Zp_-HbtCoZiR
Part 2: https://youtu.be/ftW_cGTf4I4?si=EiSqaLLggQ4WraAs
Part 3: https://youtu.be/IAxyNLcxKEE?si=qdupYntthYXsBTtV