The air was calm. The park was still. The only light came from the stars. No streetlights and certainly no visible moon. It was October 21, the night of the Libra New Moon.
Morgan had been waiting for this. After months of exploring her spirituality, she finally felt ready to act on what she had been studying. It had been a rough year, and the New Moon in Libra felt like the perfect way to begin her fresh start. She was ready to let go of the past and step into the best version of herself.
She arrived at the park around 8:30, skipping down the path, her heart lifted by her confidence in the moon’s energy. She continued down the path, headed for the fountain. This is when she saw Carter.
He was the kind of boy everyone at school knew—an athlete with tons of friends and seemingly the perfect life. Morgan had never spoken to him, even though they had gone to school together since middle school. She thought about skipping past him but was stopped by the melancholic expression on his face. His usual carefree image was gone, replaced by something heavy, almost defeated.
“Hey, are you okay Carter?” she asked softly.
He reluctantly looked up, “Honestly no,”
Morgan hesitated, then asked if he wanted to talk about it. After a few long moments, he nodded. She took a seat next to him, and slowly, the words spilled out.
Carter confessed his cool and confident persona was just a mask. He admitted things with his parents were not good, as they placed a ton of pressure on him. He had been working himself to exhaustion to prove his worth, but it always ended the same: burnout. His parents never saw his effort, only his collapse.
“And that’s how I ended up here,” he said, looking down at his hands. “I’ve had enough. I just needed a break and a quiet place to think.”
Morgan felt a wave of sympathy fall over her. She was grateful he trusted her enough to say this. “You are not a failure,” she told him gently. “You just need to find a balance.”
The word echoed in her head. Balance. That is when it clicked. Tonight was the Libra New Moon, the one tied to balance, fairness, relationships, and new beginnings. This was no coincidence. This was a sign.
“I think I can help,” she exclaimed to Carter. She explained the ritual she had planned: write down affirmations, speak them aloud, reflect on them, believe them, and tuck them somewhere the moonlight could reach.
Carter laughed as he said, “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I should’ve just minded my business,”
Morgan insisted, “Just try. Believe. What do you have to lose?”
After a long silence, Carter agreed.
The two began. Morgan wrote about starting a new chapter of her life, strengthening her relationships, and deepening her spirituality. Carter only wrote about one thing— balance. He wrote about balance in school, work, and sports. He wrote about losing that zero or a hundred mentality. He wrote about a more balanced relationship with his parents. The two reflected on these affirmations as they spoke to them out loud. Carter tried his hardest but was still skeptical. Morgan told him to imagine everything he wrote becoming reality and submerging himself in that energy. After many tries, something shifted. For just a second, he believed these desires were reality. The two tucked between the wedges on the bench, so the moon hit them just right. They said their goodbyes and called it a night. Morgan reminded Carter not to lose hope.
Carter came home, bracing himself for the chaotic atmosphere that awaited him, but to his surprise everybody was asleep. For the first time in months, he felt a sense of serenity. Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe it was the moon. Either way, he decided to trust it.
The next few weeks were unbelievable. Carter slowed down. He made a schedule allocating time for everything, and to his surprise he followed through on it. Not only that, but his parents expressed pride in him for the first time in a long time. The pressure was still there, but the crushing weight had been lifted. Carter kept this hopeful mindset up. Slowly but surely, he changed his lifestyle to a more balanced one—something he never imagined happening. He thought he would be living on the edge forever.
Eventually, Morgan and Carter returned to the park. They found their papers and realized both their affirmations had become reality. Carter profusely thanked Morgan, but she did not accept it. She gave all credit to Carter.
“You did this. You utilized what was right in front of you and believed you could change,” she told me.
The two sat in silence for a moment as the stars shimmered above them. The moon, hidden yet present, lit both their faces with a faint glow. They had both made a friend in the moon and in each other. They had found proof that change was possible.
